Meet the Winners and Top Performers of WeSolv’s Latest Pinterest Case Challenge
WeSolv is excited to announce the winners of the Pinterest Competitor Analysis and Business Development Case Challenge!
In a commitment to engage and hire more diverse talent, the Pinterest Sales organization partnered with WeSolv in another exciting Case Challenge focused on evaluating the competitive product landscape and better positioning new Pinterest Creator and Video solutions to serve customer brands and increase market share. 131 diverse candidates from 35 universities formed 53 teams to tackle this REAL prompt and have to opportunity to engage with colleagues, Pinterest leaders, and recruiters in a meaningful way.
After 3 weeks of extensive industry and product research, attending virtual office hours with Pinterest Sales leaders, and strategizing, teams submitted recorded oral and deck presentations to be evaluated by an objective scorecard by WeSolv subject matter experts. The top 10 scoring teams were then evaluated by Pinterest SMEs to identify the top 3 teams. Special thanks to our distinguished Pinterest judges: Bill Watkins — Global Head of Mid-Market & Small Business Sales, Arben Perkolaj — US Industry Lead- CPG, Amy Dziewiontkoski —Manager- Retail Partnerships, Carla Clayman —Manager- Partnerships, Sophia Foxworthy — Recruiter, Caitlyn Stocking — Senior Partner Manager, Chris Bohn — Senior Partner Manager, and Andrew Selby — Senior Partner Manager.
The following winning teams and top performers mentioned offer a small glimpse into the talented candidates and their insights from this Case Challenge. Please join us in congratulating these exemplary performers!
First Place: Jennifer Evensen & Martina Lee- Team 60 (New York University, Stern School of Business) — $3,000
What they had to say:
“The Pinterest Case Challenge was a great opportunity to dive into the evolving social media landscape and interact with the Pinterest team while tackling a compelling and tangible business objective.” — Martina Lee
“This Pinterest case was an interesting blend of competitive analysis and pitch practice. Through this experience, I was able to learn more deeply about the business side of social media platforms and explore creative ways to support partners and creators.” — Jennifer Evensen
Second Place: Cara Cassner, Ashley Jain, & Vishal Sharma- Team 13(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Gies College of Business)- $2,000
What they had to say:
“I enjoyed getting a crash course on the business models, not only of Pinterest, but also several other social media platforms. I appreciate the amount of time several members of the Pinterest team spent with us in Q&A and Office hours.” — Cara Cassner
“The Pinterest Case Challenge was an interesting opportunity to gain insight on the business of social media platforms & how to support creators in an evolving digital age.” — Ashley Jain
“I enjoyed learning a lot about Pinterest and its offerings, as well differentiating product factors” — Vishal Sharma
Third Place: Riddhi Jain & Michael Kim- Team 51— University of California, Berkeley- $1,000
What they had to say:
“I appreciated the coordination between WeSolv and Pinterest and enjoyed gaining hands-on experience through this Case Challenge. Thank you for the opportunity!” — Riddhi Jain
Pinterest Case Challenge Top Performers
In addition to the Case Challenge winners, the team scores and individual performance data identified participants who demonstrated excellence above the crowd.
Tom Smilovich — NYU Stern School of Business
Shyamal Munshi —U of I at Urbana-Champaign, Gies College of Business
Sai Rajyalakshmi Burugadda Kandala Venkata — U of I at Urbana-Champaign, Gies College of Business
Kate Fendon — U of I at Urbana-Champaign, Gies College of Business
Namratha Reganti — USC, Marshall School of Business
Rachel Miller — NYU, Stern School of Business
Chelsea Fenerin — USC, Marshall School of Business
Alex Martin — USC, Marshall School of Business
Nicholas Ortiz — University of Houston, Bauer College of Business
Harrison Sallow — USC, Marshall School of Business
Alla Awad — USC, Marshall School of Business
Devi Subramanian — U of I at Urbana-Champaign, Gies College of Business
Francis Tsui- USC, Marshall School of Business
Moumita Nath — U of I at Urbana-Champaign, Gies College of Business
Jayadev Velagandula — U of I at Urbana-Champaign, Gies College of Business
Megan Lunt —Pepperdine University, Graziadio Business School
Maria Gabriela Garcia — Pepperdine University, Graziadio Business School
Jacky Zhou — Pepperdine University, Graziadio Business School
What's Next?
The Pinterest sales organization was able to connect with 135 diverse candidates and evaluate their skills based on actual performance data through this real Case Challenge. Not only was Pinterest able to crowdsource innovative ideas and recommendations, but they also have a pipeline of eager and engaged talent to fill open roles. Top participants will have fast-tracked opportunities to interview and potentially join the Pinterest team.
To learn more about how WeSolv connects companies to more diverse candidates and leverages performance data to reduce hiring bias, check us out at www.wesolv.com.
