Location: Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi, India
Team Size: 1-3
Members Registration Deadline: 20 September 2026, 11:59
PM IST Eligibility: Engineering Students, MBA Students, Undergraduate, Postgraduate Stages and Timelines Registration Opens - 27/08/2026 Registration Closes - 20/09/2026, 11:59
PM Round 1: Concept Note Submission - 21/09/2026 to 24/09/2026 EOD Registered teams will receive a list of real Indian startups or businesses that have failed or undergone significant decline. Teams must select a start-up/business from the list provided and submit a 3-slide deck analysing the reasons behind the failure, critical decisions, missed opportunities and what could have been done differently. Submission to be done via Unstop.
Round 2: Revival Challenge - 26/09/2026 to 30/09/2026 EOD Shortlisted teams will take their Round 1 diagnosis further and develop a detailed, end-to-end revival strategy for their chosen business. The strategy should demonstrate not only what the business should have done differently, but also how the revival could realistically be implemented and sustained. Teams must submit an approximately 8-slide deck , excluding the cover page, thank you page and appendix, addressing key aspects of the revival strategy. Submission via Unstop. Round 2 is non-eliminative. All shortlisted teams will proceed to the on-campus final presentation, with the submitted deck forming the basis of their final presentation and evaluation.
Round 3: On-campus Final- 01/10/2026 Finalists will present their proposed revival strategies before the panel of judges. Each team will have 5 minutes for presentation followed by 2 minutes of Q&A. All that you need to know about the competition The Sambhavana Case Challenge invites undergraduate students to revisit the stories of businesses that failed or underwent significant decline and explore what could have been done differently. Participants will be given a real Indian startup or business and asked to understand the reasons behind its failure before developing a practical strategy for its revival. The competition draws on the idea of Sambhavana - the possibility that exists beyond what actually happened. It encourages participants to look beyond the outcome and consider the possibilities that could have led to a different, successful one. A business failing does not necessarily mean that its failure was inevitable. Businesses can decline due to a combination of factors - strategic, economic, social, psychological, behavioural, technological, policy-related, operational or market-driven. Often, failure is not the result of one isolated mistake, but a series of decisions and circumstances that gradually weaken a business. The challenge, therefore, is not simply to identify what went wrong. Participants must diagnose the underlying factors that contributed to the failure, identify the decisions or opportunities that could have changed its trajectory, and develop a credible path towards revival. We are not looking for possibilities merely because they sound innovative. We want participants to demonstrate the ability to recognise which possibilities could realistically retrieve the business, given its customers, market, resources, competitive environment and broader context.
Venue
Lady Shri Ram College for Women
South Delhi, India
The central question is: “If you could go back before the business failed, what would you have done differently?” The competition will test participants on research, contextual understanding, analytical reasoning, strategic thinking and decision-making. Participants may draw upon perspectives from economics, business, marketing, psychology, sociology, technology, public policy and other relevant disciplines to understand the factors that shaped the business's trajectory. The emphasis throughout the competition will be on feasibility and sustainability. A successful revival strategy must not merely appear attractive on paper; it must be capable of being implemented and sustained in the real world. Ultimately, the challenge is to move from failure to possibility, and from possibility to a plausible path for revival. Why Participate? Analyse a real-world business failure through an interdisciplinary lens. Apply economics, marketing, policy, consumer behaviour and strategic thinking to a live case. Develop a practical and sustainable revival strategy. Test your adaptability when faced with an unexpected market development. Defend your decisions before a panel of judges. Gain recognition, experience and a valuable addition to your academic and professional profile. Evaluation Criteria Problem Diagnosis Quality of Strategic Insight Revival Potential Market Understanding Feasibility Innovation & Originality Process Registrations will be open from 27th August 2026 to 20th September 2026 (EOD) . Registered teams will receive the Round 1 case on 21st September 2026 and submit a 3-slide diagnosis by 24th September 2026 (EOD) . Shortlisted teams will receive the detailed case briefing and Round 2 instructio