Team ‘Sangria Solutions’ on a case-cracking high

A crew of four nimble-minded students from Te Kura Pakihi Otago Business School are on a case-cracking high.

Team ‘Sangria Solutions’ – Caleb Kiss, Anika Kelly, Nicole Ladrera, and Bracken Norris – recently won the online round of the Oceania Online Case Competition against 29 other teams from nine universities across Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines.

(Why Sangria? Anika explains: “All of the teams had to choose food and beverage themed names. I always talked about wanting to try mulled wine in Queenstown, but Mulled Solutions was not ideal, so we settled for Sangria Solutions instead.”)

With the online competition win under their belts, the Sangria crew pitted their smarts against 13 other teams from Australia and New Zealand in the competition final, held over two days at the Queenstown Resort College and co-hosted by the University of Otago Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka and the University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau.

The teams were given case studies on two South Island businesses – Isabella Miscisco’s sustainable clothing brand CiscoBella, and NZ Fine Prints, owned by Antony Ellis and Georgina Grice. Associate Professor Sergio Biggemann (Department of Marketing) wrote the first case study and assisted Antony with the latter.

After presenting their business strategies to a panel of judges, Sangria Solutions placed third behind a team from Melbourne’s Monash University (first place) and the University of Technology Sydney (runner-up).

Though all four Sangria Solutionists are Bachelor of Commerce students, their varying academic specialties boosted the team’s combined nous: Anika is majoring in Marketing, Caleb in Accounting and Finance, Nicole in International Business, and Bracken in Economics and Finance (alongside a Bachelor of Science in Data Science).

“Our secret sauce is our ability to bounce ideas around, bring knowledge from different areas to the table, and not be afraid to challenge each other’s thinking or play devil’s advocate." – Anika Kelly

“We genuinely need each other to come up with our best strategies,” Nicole says.

“When we first read a case, our brainstorming naturally brings out different strengths. Bracken and Caleb often drive the initial idea generation, Anika brings the creative touch, and I tend to tie everything together and look for opportunities to incorporate a technology or innovation angle.”

Anika thinks a supportive team vibe was another vital aspect to their success.

“Our secret sauce is our ability to bounce ideas around, bring knowledge from different areas to the table, and not be afraid to challenge each other’s thinking or play devil’s advocate. It also helps that we’re all such great friends now, so even when we’re under the pump during a case crack, we manage to keep it fun which really makes all the difference.”

Dr Natasha Podgorodnichenko (Otago Case Club Coordinator) helped organise the competition and says it gave Otago tauira an opportunity to experience different approaches to problem-solving and to benchmark their skills against peers from both sides of the Tasman.

“Just as importantly, they might build connections that can last well beyond the competition, as the students they meet today may become their future colleagues, collaborators and professional contacts,” Natasha says.

Nicole says the conversations that took place around the edges of the competition with other team members were hugely rewarding.

“There’s something really special about being able to completely lock in for up to five hours, work intensely on a case, and then come out the other side having the most random conversations, sometimes about the case, and sometimes about absolutely anything else. I also really enjoyed being surrounded by people who are similarly passionate and enjoy the same kind of challenge.”

Anika thinks the fact that all of the teams stayed together at a lodge in Queenstown had a big impact on the collective mood and the tone of the inter-university rivalry.

“We loved how supportive the competition environment was. While we were waiting to present in the finals alongside one of the Monash University teams, we ended up spending the whole time chatting and laughing rather than acting like competitors.

“There was a constant buzz of energy throughout the weekend. We talked to so many cool people, both at the competition and the social events, and there was such a great atmosphere with everyone excited to be in beautiful Queenstown.”

– Kōrero by Claire Finlayson, Communications Adviser (Otago Business School)