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Difficulty: MediumCategorical Classification and Sorting

A venture capital firm classifies its portfolio companies into four strategic management categories based on two quarterly performance metrics: Burn Multiple (BB) and Customer Retention Rate (RR).

Classification Criteria:
- Category 1 (Prime Growth): B≤1.5B \le 1.5 and R≥85%R \ge 85\%
- Category 2 (Capital Efficient): B≤1.5B \le 1.5 and R<85%R < 85\%
- Category 3 (Expansion Focused): B>1.5B > 1.5 and R≥85%R \ge 85\%
- Category 4 (High Risk): B>1.5B > 1.5 and R<85%R < 85\%

Match each portfolio company to its corresponding strategic management category.

  • Company P: B=1.2B = 1.2, R=90%R = 90\%Category 1 (Prime Growth)
  • Company Q: B=1.4B = 1.4, R=80%R = 80\%Category 2 (Capital Efficient)
  • Company R: B=1.8B = 1.8, R=88%R = 88\%Category 3 (Expansion Focused)
  • Company S: B=2.1B = 2.1, R=75%R = 75\%Category 4 (High Risk)

Answer

Company P matches Category 1 (Prime Growth); Company Q matches Category 2 (Capital Efficient); Company R matches Category 3 (Expansion Focused); Company S matches Category 4 (High Risk).
Each company is mapped to its category by evaluating its two metrics against the threshold boundary conditions (B=1.5B = 1.5 and R=85%R = 85\%). Company P satisfies low burn (B≤1.5B \le 1.5) and high retention (R≥85%R \ge 85\%), placing it in Category 1. Company Q meets low burn but has lower retention (R<85%R < 85\%), placing it in Category 2. Company R exceeds the burn threshold (B>1.5B > 1.5) but maintains high retention (R≥85%R \ge 85\%), placing it in Category 3. Company S exceeds the burn threshold and has lower retention, placing it in Category 4.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Evaluate Company P (B=1.2,R=90%B = 1.2, R = 90\%) against threshold rules.
B=1.2≤1.5B = 1.2 \le 1.5 is true, and R=90%≥85%R = 90\% \ge 85\% is true. This satisfies Category 1 (Prime Growth).
Both metric conditions match the exact criteria for Category 1.
2
Evaluate Company Q (B=1.4,R=80%B = 1.4, R = 80\%) against threshold rules.
B=1.4≤1.5B = 1.4 \le 1.5 is true, but R=80%<85%R = 80\% < 85\% is true. This satisfies Category 2 (Capital Efficient).
Low burn multiple combined with retention rate below 85%85\% places the entity in Category 2.
3
Evaluate Company R (B=1.8,R=88%B = 1.8, R = 88\%) against threshold rules.
B=1.8>1.5B = 1.8 > 1.5 is true, and R=88%≥85%R = 88\% \ge 85\% is true. This satisfies Category 3 (Expansion Focused).
Burn multiple exceeding 1.51.5 combined with high retention places the entity in Category 3.
4
Evaluate Company S (B=2.1,R=75%B = 2.1, R = 75\%) against threshold rules.
B=2.1>1.5B = 2.1 > 1.5 is true, and R=75%<85%R = 75\% < 85\% is true. This satisfies Category 4 (High Risk).
Both metrics fail the favorable thresholds, placing the entity in Category 4.

Key Concept

Categorical Classification and Sorting
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Topics

Categorical Classification and Sorting

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