Update: Introducing Topic Sprints, a Second Practice Format

HARDO now offers two practice formats instead of one. This update covers what changed, how the new format works, and what stays the same.

The short version: the full interview remains the original round, 12 questions in the superday flow from fit through technicals to case and curveball, with a complete scorecard and a hire call. The topic sprint is new: 3 questions on one topic of your choice, roughly ten minutes, graded with the same system as the full round.

Why this was added

Two inputs drove the decision. The first was direct: requests for a shorter format have been the most frequent piece of feedback since launch. The second was behavioral: platform data showed candidates opening the full interview and abandoning it within the first few questions. The questions weren't the problem. A 45-minute session under pressure is a commitment, and between classes and work, the time most candidates actually have is closer to ten minutes.

The previous setup forced an all-or-nothing choice: run the full round or don't practice. The sprint removes that constraint.

How a sprint works

• 3 questions on one topic, ordered easiest first, so the session ramps from warm-up to pressure.
• The interviewer generates follow-ups when it detects weakness, same as the full round.
• Every answer is graded with the same scoring system, a score plus specific feedback, and the session ends with a scorecard.
• Voice or text input: one minute per question spoken, two minutes typed.
• All three levels are available: Intern, Analyst, Associate.
• Repeat sprints on the same topic pull fresh questions. The platform tracks what you've already seen and avoids repeats.

Duration is approximate. A sprint runs longer or shorter depending on follow-up depth and input mode.

The six topics

• Accounting: Three statements, working capital, corporate finance mechanics
• Valuation: DCF, trading comps, precedents, and when the multiples disagree
• M&A & Deals: Merger models, accretion / dilution, deal process, diligence
• LBO & Private Equity: Leverage mechanics, returns math, credit and restructuring
• Markets & Brainteasers: Capital markets, market views, mental-math curveballs
• Behavioral & Fit: Your story, why banking, and the pressure questions

Intended use

The sprint is built for targeted repetition on weak areas. The full round requires answering across all eleven question categories, including the ones you've already mastered, to reach the ones you haven't. A sprint isolates a single topic, so a candidate who scored poorly on M&A in their last full interview can drill that category directly without re-running behavioral or accounting questions they have down.

The practical recommendation: pick the topic with the lowest grade on your last scorecard, not the one you're most comfortable in.

The two formats are complementary rather than substitutes. The full round simulates the actual interview, end to end, under sustained pressure. The sprint is repetition on one muscle. Full rounds measure readiness; sprints close specific gaps.

What's excluded from sprints

The Case Study remains exclusive to the full interview. This is deliberate: a case is a multi-step exercise with up to five levels of follow-up, and compressing three of them into ten minutes would produce the appearance of practice rather than practice. Candidates who want case reps should run the full round.

Plans

The free plan now includes one full investment banking interview and one topic sprint per account, metered separately, no card required. The paid plan is unlimited in both formats at $14.99 per month, cancel anytime.

Session setup

Session creation has been consolidated onto a single screen with four numbered steps: Format, Topic, Level, Delivery, followed by a Start button. The previous multi-step "Continue" flow has been retired.

Going forward

This release came directly from user feedback, and that process continues. The team will keep collecting input and shipping changes with the same aim: making investment banking interview preparation more convenient, simpler, and more useful. No preparation tool can promise offers, and this one doesn't. What it can do is make the reps easier to fit into the time you have.

The first sprint is free on every account. Available now.