The UP Fund is grounded in thorough research and unconventional thought. The following exercise is intended to evaluate your level of interest in joining our investments team and your ability to contribute to our process.
The Task
Read Porter’s “Understanding Industry Structure” (attached below) and then analyze a business of your choosing and the industry it exists within using the framework and ideas laid out by Porter. Present your analysis in a document or slide deck and upload a PDF to the application form with your name as the document title.
You may choose any business that you’d like, though we prefer that you analyze publicly traded businesses (in simplified terms, a company whose stock you could purchase). Please note that the task does not ask you to pitch an investment or present an opinion on the quality of the business- in fact we expressly ask you NOT to do that. The analysis we would like you to conduct is presented clearly by Porter and no analysis outside of the scope of the reading is required.
Evaluation Methodology
The primary goal of this exercise is to answer the following questions:
Your submission will be judged most strongly for its ability to answer the questions above. Beyond that, we will assess your work ethic (based on the amount of effort placed in your presentation), amount of unconventional thought, and enthusiasm for the task
If you do not find this exercise enjoyable, it is worth considering whether joining the investments team is the right decision for you. The type of thinking and research that this assignment requires is fundamental to our investment process and something that members of the investments team will perform regularly.
The reading is attached below. Use this link if you would like to download the document.
Understanding Industry Structure - Porter.pdf
Sample Porter's Five Forces Analysis