I cobbled together a short checklist from forum posts and veteran tips that I now recite mentally during sizing prompts: 1) define market boundaries, 2) state top 2 assumptions, 3) pick top-down or bottom-up, 4) do the math with rounded numbers, and 5) finish with a one-line sanity check. Saying just those things out loud feels defensive and tidy. Does anyone keep a different live checklist or tweak the order?
that checklist is fine but try not to read it like a script. interviewers don’t want a teleprompter. use the checklist as internal discipline: open with the market def, say the two assumptions, then move into a quick calculation and sanity check. also, ditch step numbering out loud—just be concise. people who recite checklists sound nervous; people who deliver them naturally sound confident.
one more tip: make the sanity check savage. compare your result to an external anchor (population, competitor revenue) and call out if it feels off. interviewers respect the person who flags the mismatch rather than pretending the number is gospel.
i write my checklist on the corner of the page — helps me stay on track and not forget a step under pressure. works well so far!
short note: i stopped listing too many assump. 2 is enough and less scary.
question: should i say the checklist steps out loud or only the assumptions and final check?
A concise, rehearsable checklist is excellent. My recommendation is to verbalize only the market definition and the headline assumptions; keep the operational checklist (method, rounding, sanity check) as your internal process. Saying too many steps aloud can consume time and appear rehearsed. Instead, present a short plan, execute, and close with a comparative sanity check that references a public data point or logical bound.
When candidates use a checklist effectively, it’s because they’ve internalized it. Practice under timed conditions until the sequence is automatic. A good interview cadence: plan (30–60s), compute (2–4 mins depending on case), validate (30s). That rhythm signals control and shows you can deliver under pressure.
this is brilliant! a short mental checklist will calm you and sharpen your answer. keep practicing—you’ll nail it!
I used to try to announce every step, which felt robotic. A mentor suggested saying just the market def and two assumptions, then doing the rest silently. The change made my delivery more natural and got fewer interruptions. The crowd-sourced checklist is useful if you internalize it rather than recite it verbatim.
another habit that helped: I kept a tiny ‘sanity anchors’ list (population, avg spend) in my notes. When my result looked odd, I compared it quickly. That one extra check saved me in two interviews where my initial number would’ve sounded absurd.
Operationalize the checklist into measurable steps: (1) define market in <15s, (2) list ≤2 assumptions, (3) choose approach and compute using rounded figures, (4) perform one external sanity check. Time each step during practice sessions. I found that adhering to this cadence reduced assumption errors by 40% in timed mocks and improved clarity scores from peers. The checklist is effective when practiced to muscle memory.
If you want a minimal live checklist, condense it to: define, assume, compute, validate. That four-word prompt is easy to remember and maps directly to interviewer expectations. Track your adherence in mocks and iterate on which validation anchors you prefer for different industries.