Case study

Tech start-up leaders Compete in simulation at Danske Bank FinTech hub

By Ken Thompson, May 30, 2025 Last updated Jun 3, 2025

30 participants from a variety of different organisations in the FinTech sector went head-to-head on our 2-hour intensive Compete simulation at the Danske Bank/FinTech hub.

The challenge

To operate successful artisan coffee businesses competing in a virtual market over four trading weeks
To establish a high-performing team with players they have not met before!

Each team was made up of 5 players playing the Compete business acumen simulation. They had to manage their coffee company over the trading period to achieve directed and self-directed objectives.

It was always going to be very competitive, as each team were fighting over the same market - for any team to gain market share, another team would have to lose it!

Decision-making

Each round of the simulation teams had 4 big decisions to make:

Decision-making

Each round of the simulation teams had 4 big decisions to make:

PRICING – Finding their pricing sweetspot with respect to their customers and, of course, other teams – too high and they lose customers but too low and they leave money on the table
STRATEGY – A choice of 4 strategies – each team seeking to differentiate itself and also making sure their Strategy and Pricing are consistent
EXECUTION – A choice of 4 management priorities to effectively execute their strategy noting that anybody can have a good strategy but only the best can execute it well
MARKET DEVELOPMENT – Should they do market development knowing that visitors may well buy from their competitors and should they collaborate with other teams on this?

Each days trading was very tight but in the end the leaderboard showed there was a clear overall winner in the simulation ... however it was not really about winning a simulation but using the simulation to develop deep experiential learning about business acumen , strategy execution , negotiation, effective teams and collaboration.

Feedback from delegates was excellent:

“I have been a trainer myself and have tried various approaches - but I don't think I have ever done such an engaging and enjoyable team exercise.”

“A fantastic fresh take on corporate training, fun, engaging and rewarding"

"The business simulation was an effective way of identifying the importance of teamwork and strategy. I found it beneficial and applicable to everyday skills necessary in the workplace. "

A final word

I will leave the last word with David Allister from the Danske Bank FinTech hub, who sponsored and hosted the event:

At the Danske Fintech Hub we are always looking to offer our members valuable new experiences which they can fit in to busy work schedules. From the great feedback we received the simulation provided highly effective experiential learning on two business topics vey close to their hearts - business acumen and high-performing teams. All in a couple of hours and it was fun too and some great networking! We are looking forward to the next event run by Ken and his team, and I understand that other parts of the Danske organisation, plan on utilising these powerful simulations in the future.

For more information on the Compete simulation, take a look here:

Compete

About the Author

Ken Thompson

Ken is an expert practitioner, author and speaker on collaboration, high-performing teams and game based learning.