| Name | LinkedIn Reflections |
| Siti Nuraina - University Malaysia Pahang | Recently joined the MonsoonSIM Business Simulation Competition, an international business simulation involving universities from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
We may not have taken home the win, but the learning experience was priceless. Big thanks to my teammates (LOWKEY CHAMPS) for the hard training, motivation, and never giving up. Proud of the effort we put in together
Overall, MonsoonSIM changed how I think about business decisions, from “What will boost results now?” to “What decision creates sustainable value over time?”
Grateful for the learning, the challenge, and the opportunity to grow alongside my teammates. Click here to see the post
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| Biyanka Imelda - Universitas Pakuan | Joining the MonsoonSIM Business Competition – Retail was a meaningful learning experience for me and my team. Throughout the competition, we worked closely together to discuss strategies, analyze data, and make the best possible business decisions.
In Round 1, out of 7 teams, only 4 teams advanced, and our team qualified in 2nd place. The challenge continued in Round 2, where only 2 teams could move forward, and unfortunately our journey ended in 3rd place.
Even though we did not win, MonsoonSIM taught me valuable lessons about teamwork and data-driven decision making, and changed the way I view business by showing that every marketing and operational decision has a real impact. This experience also reminded me that reflecting on each decision is essential for continuous improvement and stronger strategies in the future. Click here to see the post |
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| Samuel - Universitas Pakuan | We open our laptops while drinking coffee, but within hours, every decision has a real impact on the business.
During the MonsoonSIM Business Competition Retail, I learned that leadership is not about asserting control, but about sustaining direction under pressure.
Pricing decisions reshaped demand, inventory choices tested risk appetite, and short term performance often competed with long term positioning. In this environment, leadership required ensuring decisions were anchored in data, clearly understood, and collectively owned.
The true challenge was not analytical complexity, but alignment. With constrained time and imperfect information, leadership meant translating differing perspectives into decisive, executable action.
One principle became clear:
strategy is not the optimization of a single metric, but the disciplined management of trade offs.
This experience refined my approach to future decision-making measured, collaborative, and long-term oriented recognizing that real business contexts rarely afford ideal conditions. Click here to see the post |
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| Kong Zhen Mike - University Malaysia Pahang | 10 Dec 2025 marks the day of my final participation in the MonsoonSIM Business Competition on the international stage. After 3 years of competing throughout my university life, this journey has come to an end. Not with a trophy, but something valuable
Not every wise decision assures the best result.
Sometimes the best thing isn't the perfect outcome, but the process behind our actions and the lessons we learned. MonsoonSIM taught our team the true purpose of collaboration in dealing with external factors and uncertainties. From pricing strategies, marketing efforts, and demand forecasting to inventory management, we experienced the significant ripple effects they could have on a company's performance.
Sometimes unknown crises drop.
The most challenging, yet the fun part, was reacting to sudden market crises and vendor out-of-stock situations. These moments are definitely testing our adaptation to unforeseen situations. The right way is always keeping our inventory intact and enabling shipping options to replenish stocks in certain retail locations.
All these experiences have shaped my perspectives on business decisions. Now, I value teamwork, adaptability, and open communication, which are key components not only in business but also in other aspects of my life. May the lessons gained over these years guide me into my future career. Click here to see the post |
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| Nurliyana Adilah Binti Abdullah - University Malaysia Pahang | Participating in the MonsoonSIM Business Simulation was a valuable learning experience that allowed me to apply business concepts in a realistic and competitive environment. The experience challenged me to think critically, make strategic decisions under pressure, and understand how small choices can create significant impacts on overall business performance.
Being part of Lowkey Champs made the journey even more meaningful. Through collaboration and adaptability, i learned that consistent effort, clear communication, and thoughtful decisions are key to achieving sustainable results.
Grateful for the experience, lessons learned, and growth gained throughout MonsoonSIM. Click here to see the post |
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| Stephen Anderson - Yayasan Perguruan Sutomo | When my team and I first joined MERMC 2024 last year, we had very little understanding of how real business decisions actually worked. In our first round, we finished 6th overall. We felt disappointed and unsure of ourselves, but that result became an important turning point.
Instead of blaming luck, we reviewed our decisions carefully. We realized that we were making choices in isolation—pricing without considering demand, inventory without thinking about cash flow, and reacting too late to changes. This reflection helped us understand that business decisions are connected, and one weak decision can affect everything else.
In Round 2, we applied what we learned. We relied more on data, planned ahead, and discussed trade-offs as a team before deciding. That change in mindset led us to place 1st in the round, allowing us to advance to the semifinal stage.
By the end of the competition, we achieved 2nd Runner-Up in the Retail category. More importantly, through multiple MonsoonSIM competitions, we grew from a team that guessed to a team that analyzed, reflected, and improved. We learned that success in business is not about being right the first time, but about learning quickly and adjusting wisely.
MonsoonSIM transformed mistakes into learning moments and helped us develop skills in critical thinking, teamwork, and decision-making that go beyond the competition.
Grateful for my teammates and this journey of growth. Click here to see the post |
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| Ren Sheng Tham - University Malaysia Pahang | Growth is a Tactic, Not a Strategy — The Lesson That Cost Us the Leaderboard
Business is often viewed as a zero-sum game against rivals. But my recent MonsoonSIM Business Competition run proved a different reality: the biggest threat to profitability isn't the competition—it is your own internal inefficiency.
My team prioritized aggressive conquest: rapid expansion, prime leases, and heavy marketing to force traffic.
The sales bars skyrocketed. And honestly, it was exhilarating. We high-fived over record revenue spikes, assuming that "busy" stores meant "successful" stores. We felt invincible.
Then came the post-mortem.
The celebration stopped. Despite leading the lobby in revenue, our profit margins had silently eroded. It was almost comical in hindsight: We had been sprinting toward a cliff, convinced it was the finish line. Our "assets" were actually liabilities draining capital faster than sales could replenish it.
Staring at the data, I realized we had unwittingly re-enacted the "Growth Trap" Howard Schultz warned about during the 2008 Starbucks crisis: "Growth is not a strategy, it is a tactic. When growth becomes a strategy, you lose your way."
We fell into that exact trap. We were so focused on getting bigger that we forgot to get better.
This exposed our true challenge: The "Inertia of Success." With a new team fueled by adrenaline, the hardest task wasn't analyzing the P&L—it was breaking our own momentum. Arguing for caution when you are #1 in sales feels counter-intuitive. We had to learn that true synergy isn't just about moving fast together; it requires the psychological safety to hit the brakes when everyone else wants to floor the gas.
It changed my definition of success. Revenue captures headlines, but operational discipline captures value. Real growth isn't about the size of the pie you take, but the sustainability of the business you build. Click here to see the post |
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Aldrick Akbar - Yayasan Perguruan Sutomo
| I recently completed the MonsoonSIM Business Competition — Retail, and the experience was both rigorous and highly instructive.
One of the most important lessons I learned is that effective business decision-making requires balancing interconnected trade-offs rather than optimizing a single metric. The simulation highlighted how pricing, inventory management, marketing spend, and customer satisfaction are deeply interdependent. Interpreting performance dashboards as a system, rather than as isolated numbers, significantly improved the quality of our decisions.
A particularly valuable learning moment came from a failed hypothesis. During one round, we tested the assumption that a 10% price reduction on our top-selling product (SKU) would increase sales volume enough to improve overall profitability. While demand did increase, we underestimated lead times and safety stock requirements, which led to stockouts and margin erosion. This failure reinforced the importance of evaluating pricing decisions alongside supply-chain constraints and focusing on profit outcomes, not just revenue growth.
Perhaps the most impactful takeaway is how MonsoonSIM reshaped my perspective on business strategy. It encouraged me to think experimentally—forming hypotheses, testing decisions, evaluating outcomes, and iterating quickly. This approach strengthened my strategic thinking and highlighted the importance of long-term value creation over short-term gains.
Overall, MonsoonSIM provided a realistic and insightful platform for applying theory to practice, and it has meaningfully enhanced the way I approach complex business decisions. Click here to see the post
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Evangeline - Yayasan Perguruan Sutomo
| Joining the MonsoonSIM Business Competition was not just about numbers, rankings, or winning—it was about learning how messy real business decisions can be. At the beginning, our team struggled to align. We had different opinions, different strategies, and sometimes strong disagreements. There were moments when communication broke down, assumptions were made too quickly, and decisions didn’t go as planned.
We made blunders. We misjudged demand, underestimated costs, and once trusted a strategy that clearly wasn’t working. Those mistakes were frustrating, especially when the results didn’t reflect the effort we put in. But that was also when the real learning started. We were forced to slow down, listen to each other, analyze data more carefully, and admit when something needed to be changed.
Through MonsoonSIM, I learned that teamwork isn’t about always agreeing—it’s about adapting, taking responsibility, and making better decisions together after failing. The simulation changed the way I think about business: every choice has consequences, and resilience matters just as much as intelligence. What felt like a setback often became our turning point.
This experience reminded me that growth doesn’t come from perfection, but from reflection. I’m grateful for the challenges, the pressure, and the lessons learned alongside my teammates. MonsoonSIM didn’t just teach us how to run a business—it taught us how to think like decision-makers.
Click to see the post |
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Cathy Lawrence - Yayasan Perguruan Sutomo
| The MonsoonSIM Business Competition - Retail turned out to be much more than just a simulation for me.
One memorable lesson I learned is that asking for help is not a weakness. This was never an individual competition, it was a team effort. I realized that keeping everything to myself only limits the team's potential. Once I started trusting my teammates' abilities and sharing responsibilities, decision-making became more effective and less overwhelming.
One of the biggest challenges I faced was during the enterprise competition, where managing seven retail stores largely fell on my own shoulders. It wasn't just about the workload, I had to quickly analyze the graphs provided and make immediate decisions based on each store's situation. This required a sharp mind and the ability to think on my feet. Since getting help from teammates wasn't always possible, I practiced consistently to handle the pressure, prevent stockouts, and maintain stable earnings across all stores. This experience significantly strengthened my ability to make fast, data-driven decisions under time constraints.
A fun and completely unexpected moment came at the end of the competition. It was a brutal experience, and our team genuinely believed we wouldn't make it into the top three. So, when the results were announced and we placed third, we were absolutely speechless. It was a powerful reminder that persistence and teamwork can lead to outcomes you don't always expect.
This competition changed the way I think about business decisions-showing me the importance of collaboration, adaptability, and confidence under pressure. Click here to see the post
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Victoria Mitsu - Yayasan Perguruan Sutomo
| I still remember how this journey began.
I wasn’t confident.
I wasn’t experienced.
I was a complete beginner, shy, unsure, and honestly just trying to survive each decision.
At that time, I didn’t even know what I was capable of.
I never imagined that this would become a story I would carry for the rest of my life.
At the very beginning, I couldn’t see my own potential. But our teacher Ms.Widalicin Januarty did. They believed in us when we were still doubting ourselves, and from that belief, a team was formed. It wasn’t perfect. We didn’t connect. We struggled to understand each other, and there were moments when it felt easier to give up than to continue.
So we chose courage instead.
Me & Cathy Lawrence rebuilt the team. We invited Aldrick Akbar, Evangeline - , and Stephen Anderson not knowing exactly how the future would look, only knowing that we trusted their capability and their character. Looking back now, that decision changed everything.
Slowly, uncertainty turned into trust.
Trust turned into teamwork.
Teamwork turned into friendship.
We didn’t just compete. We grew up together. We failed, we argued, we learned, and we kept choosing each other. Our preparation wasn’t always serious. Sometimes it was Monopoly nights, laughter, and small moments that somehow taught us big lessons about business, leadership, and life.
Then came the moment that still gives me chills.
We became the first team to ever represent SMA Sutomo 1 Medan on an international stage.
From a shy beginner to carrying our school’s name beyond borders. From uncertainty to responsibility. In that moment, I realized this journey was no longer just about us. It was about honoring the trust of our teacher, the pride of our school, and the growth we had earned together.
MonsoonSIM didn’t just teach us how to make decisions.
It taught us how to believe in ourselves.
Because of this experience, I found the courage to step into other business idea competitions, realizing that the foundation MonsoonSIM gave me never left. The pressure felt familiar. The strategy made sense. The fear was still there, but it no longer controlled me.
Our “Mafia” team was born here. From MonsoonSIM.
Now we’re more than a team. We’re family. We go everywhere together, grow together, and dream together, all because one opportunity brought us into the same room.
This competition didn’t just simulate business.
It transformed us.
Grateful beyond words for the journey, the people, and the version of myself that MonsoonSIM helped create. Click here to see the post
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Furqon Mubarok - Universitas Pakuan
| My name is Furqon Mubarok, and I participated in the MonsoonSIM Business Competition – Retail as part of Team MoonSimLight.
A memorable lesson I learned is that business decisions are not about being confident, but about being responsible for their consequences. MonsoonSIM trained me to question assumptions before trusting results.
A challenge I overcame was making clear decisions under time pressure while staying aligned with my team.
An unexpected moment came in Round 2, when store locations changed from Round 1. We had to quickly recalculate space, rental costs, and priorities—reminding me that assumptions can be riskier than uncertainty.
MonsoonSIM changed the way I think about business decisions by showing me that decisions are interconnected systems. Even without reaching the final round, this experience sharpened my judgment and strengthened my growth mindset.
More than a competition, MonsoonSIM became a mirror—revealing how I think, decide, and grow. Click here to see the post
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