CMAT 2025 Slot 2 Question Paper

Scaling a business means increasing revenue significantly faster than costs. This is achieved through developing sustainable processes and systems that handle more demand efficiently. Assertion (A) is true in that it accurately defines 'scaling a business'.

A niche market is a small, specialised market for a particular product or service. The reason (R) is also true as it captures the meaning of a niche market. But (R) fails to explain (A). The existence of niche markets does not account for why scaling a business necessarily means business expansion. The correct answer is option B, while both the assertion (A) and the reason (B) are valid statements, (R) is not a correct explanation of (A).

A pitch deck is a concise presentation that businesses and startups use to give a high-level overview of their company to potential investors, partners, or clients. This is best captured in option B, which is the correct answer.

In a given situation, a manufacturing plant might indeed host a business incubator. Statement A's validity can be held for a while. Statement B is false; entrepreneurship is for people willing to take risks and accept that incomes may not be stable. Statement C is true; the very definition of a business incubator describes it as a workspace that offers resources and support to new startups. Statement D is false; whether or not a person can be an entrepreneur is independent of their age, caste, gender, or social stature. Option E, following the same reasoning as D, is also false. 

The statement C is true, while the statement A might be true. Statements B, D, and E are all false. Option D is the correct answer.

Statement I can be said to be true: Innovation is about finding creative solutions to commonplace problems or problems that traditional solutions solve only inefficiently. Innovation is indeed the creation or adoption of new ideas, products, services, programs, technology, policy, structure, or administrative systems. 

Statement II is false: Adopting innovation is not a blind endeavour in business settings; it requires thorough analysis of requirements and feasibility. 

The correct answer, therefore, should be option C. Statement I is true, but statement II is false.

One of the essential characteristics of an entrepreneur is an acceptance of risk and a willingness to take risks in the capital landscape. (A) is wrong as it goes against the risk-taking mindset. All other characteristics provided in the question are, in one way or another, essential aspects of being an entrepreneur. Since B, C, D, and E follow, the correct answer is option D.

In business, pivoting is a strategic change in a company's direction, product, or business model in response to market conditions, customer needs, or other external factors. Statement I describes pivoting correctly and is true. Statement II describes a mechanism by which a business actualises pivoting, saying that it is 'essential' that a business change the target market while pivoting, which is wrong. While changing the target market can be one of the things that an organisation does while pivoting, it need not be essential or compulsory. Statement II is wrong. The correct answer is option C.

Scalability is the ability of an organisation or a company to handle a growing amount of work or demand without sacrificing performance, quality, or efficiency. A value proposition is a clear statement that explains the specific measurable benefits a customer receives from a company's product or service. Lean startup is a methodology for developing businesses and products that aims to shorten product development cycles and rapidly discover if a proposed business model is viable. A minimum viable product (MVP) is the most basic version of a product that a company can release to early customers to gather feedback and validate its core idea.

Based on the summary provided above, the most suitable list of pairs is provided in option D, which is the correct answer.

A venture capitalist (VC) (can be me or you) can be described as an investor who provides capital to early-stage, high-growth potential companies (can be you or me, but not me myself or you yourself) in exchange for equity or ownership. Both 2 (your idea and my money) and 4 (my idea and your money) directly follow, and option A is the correct answer.

The assertion (A) provides us with the fact that business accelerators are set up with the primary objective of offering mentorship and resources to speed up the growth of startups. The fact that business accelerators are making investments in the growth of startups hints towards two things being the reasons why the planners would have gone ahead with the accelerators:

1. They believe that the startups need help.
2. They are hopeful that these startups might succeed.

The reason (R) is a reasonable explanation for the two points listed above. It explains that the startups need help because they face difficulties and challenges in their growth stage. It also explains that planners can probabilistically hope for success because 'most' startups face such challenges.

Therefore, reason (R) is the correct explanation for assertion (A) and option A is the correct answer.

A serial entrepreneur is an entrepreneur who invests their time, money, risks, and efforts into multiple ventures. Blue ocean strategy is a business approach in entrepreneurship that focuses on creating new market spaces and demand rather than competing in existing, saturated markets. Open innovation is a business strategy that uses both internal and external ideas, technologies, and resources to accelerate innovation. Unlike the traditional "closed" model, which relies solely on in-house R&D, open innovation involves collaborating with external partners, such as startups, universities, and even customers, to access a broader pool of knowledge and expertise.A profit margin is a financial ratio that measures the percentage of profit a company earns relative to its revenue.

Based on the summary of the meanings discussed above, the most suitable pair matching is provided in Option A, which is the correct answer.