Free lesson · 1 of 3 free · Case Ace Learn

How a case interview unfolds

Anyone can tell you a case interview is “an hour of business problem-solving”. This free lesson shows you one. You read the same briefs a candidate reads, watch a setup exchange play out turn by turn, then follow the structure, the sparring and the synthesis that turn a messy prompt into a recommendation — the full arc, one beat at a time. It is the widest-angle view of case interviewing we teach, and the fastest way to know whether this format is for you. Read it signed-out; if you want to keep going, a free account saves your place.

Chapter: 1 · How the case works·Format: interactive, reads like a lesson·Cost: free, no card
A sample of the first brief in this lesson, shown as it reads in the lesson.

Prompt

Summit Fitness

  • A budget gym chain running 180 locations.
  • Over two years, memberships climbed 18%, yet profit per gym dropped sharply.
  • The CEO wants the decline explained before signing off on more expansion.
  • What is going on, and what should Summit do next?

The arc, beat by beat

The lesson walks five phases — the same rail every Case Ace case lesson rides. Exhibits build on the page as you read: brief cards, a live transcript, buckets and slots.

Prompt

Three real briefs land one after another — a gym chain losing members, a portfolio question, a market entry. Same length, same vagueness as the real thing.

Setup

A worked setup exchange: the questions worth asking, the ones that waste a minute, and how the good ones sharpen the brief.

Structure

The candidate’s plan takes shape — buckets that don’t overlap, a priority, and a first hypothesis worth testing.

Explore

The analysis sparring: what the numbers say, what they don’t, and where the interview pushes back.

Recommend

Synthesis — the answer, the so-what, and the next step stated like a consultant, not a student.

“You’ve seen how a case unfolds. Now run one.”

Case Ace’s AI interviewer runs every case like this lesson — questions, exhibits and a scored report. Case Ace has 46 full AI-interviewed cases and 221 quick-fire drills across 35 lessons.

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Free account, saved progress

The first part of the lesson is open to everyone. Create a free account — ten seconds, email or Google/Microsoft — and the whole lesson opens, your spot is saved, and the other free lessons are waiting.

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