Techstar Group is a global digital solutions and professional services firm that empowers businesses to compete by leveraging emerging technologies. They are committed to delivering cutting-edge solutions for their clients with agility, responsiveness, transparency, and integrity.

The Business Analyst position at Techstar Group focuses on loss mitigation, particularly within the mortgage sector. Key responsibilities include translating business needs into user stories, maintaining readiness for sprints, and ensuring all acceptance criteria are met. This role requires strong SQL knowledge, financial services experience, and effective communication skills to manage user stories, requirements, and backlog prioritization.

If you’re considering a role at Techstar Group, this guide is for you. We'll walk you through the interview process, common interview questions for the Business Analyst role, and provide valuable tips. Let’s get started!

Submitting Your Application

The first step is to submit a compelling application that reflects your technical skills and interest in joining Techstar Group as a Business Analyst. Whether you were contacted by a Techstar Group recruiter or have taken the initiative yourself, carefully review the job description and tailor your CV according to the prerequisites.

Tailoring your CV may include identifying specific keywords that the hiring manager might use to filter resumes and crafting a targeted cover letter. Furthermore, don’t forget to highlight relevant skills and mention your work experiences, particularly within the realms of loss mitigation, mortgage experience, and SQL knowledge if applicable.

Recruiter/Hiring Manager Call Screening

If your CV happens to be among the shortlisted few, a recruiter from the Techstar Group Talent Acquisition Team will make contact and verify key details like your experiences, skill level, and eligibility for the role. Behavioral questions may also be a part of the screening process.

In some cases, the Techstar Group Business Analyst hiring manager will be present during the screening round to answer your queries about the role and the company itself. They may also indulge in surface-level technical and behavioral discussions.

The whole recruiter call should take about 30 minutes.

Technical Virtual Interview

Successfully navigating the recruiter round will present you with an invitation for the technical screening round. Technical screening for the Techstar Group Business Analyst role usually is conducted through virtual means, including video conferencing and screen sharing. Questions in this 1-hour long interview stage may revolve around business processes, user stories, backlog management, and SQL queries.

Apart from these, your proficiency against understanding business needs, translating them into requirements, and SQL fundamentals may also be assessed during the round.

Depending on the seniority of the position, case studies and similar real-scenario problems may also be assigned.

Onsite Interview Rounds

Followed by a second recruiter call outlining the next stage, you’ll be invited to attend the onsite interview loop. Multiple interview rounds, varying with the role, will be conducted during your day at the Techstar Group office in East Brunswick, NJ. Your technical prowess, including business analysis abilities and stakeholder management qualities, will be evaluated against the finalized candidates throughout these interviews.

You may be given the opportunity to discuss and present user stories, work on business process improvement methods, and demonstrate a deep understanding of the business and its needs.

Quick Tips For Techstar Group Business Analyst Interviews

You should plan to brush up on any technical skills and try as many practice interview questions and mock interviews as possible. A few tips for acing your Techstar Group interview include:

• Know Your Industry: Techstar Group places emphasis on previous experience in financial services, particularly mortgage or consumer lending. Brush up on industry-specific terminology and concepts to demonstrate your familiarity.
• Be Detailed: During interviews and practical assessments, ensure your explanations are clear and detailed. Techstar Group values thorough documentation and the ability to ask probing questions.
• Be Agile: Show your ability to work on multiple user stories simultaneously and maintain flexibility. Illustrate your capability in managing and prioritizing backlogs effectively while aligning with business needs.

Typically, interviews at Techstar Group vary by role and team, but commonly Business Analyst interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.

• Write a SQL query to select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department. Write a SQL query to select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department. If more than one person shares the highest salary, the query should select the next highest salary.

• Write a function to find the maximum number in a list of integers. Given a list of integers, write a function that returns the maximum number in the list. If the list is empty, return None.

• Create a function convert_to_bst to convert a sorted list into a balanced binary tree. Given a sorted list, create a function convert_to_bst that converts the list into a balanced binary tree. The output binary tree should be balanced, meaning the height difference between the left and right subtree of all the nodes should be at most one.

• Write a function to simulate drawing balls from a jar. Write a function to simulate drawing balls from a jar. The colors of the balls are stored in a list named jar, with corresponding counts of the balls stored in the same index in a list called n_balls.

• Develop a function can_shift to determine if one string can be shifted to become another. Given two strings A and B, write a function can_shift to return whether or not A can be shifted some number of places to get B.

• What are the drawbacks of having student test scores organized in the given layouts? Assume you have data on student test scores in two different layouts. Identify the drawbacks of these layouts and suggest formatting changes to make the data more useful for analysis. Additionally, describe common problems seen in "messy" datasets.

• How would you figure out where the mouse is using the fewest number of scans? You have a 4x4 grid with a mouse trapped in one of the cells. You can scan subsets of cells to know if the mouse is within that subset. How would you determine the mouse's location with the fewest scans?

• How would you decide which Dashers do deliveries in NYC and Charlotte for Doordash? Doordash is launching delivery services in New York City and Charlotte. How would you select Dashers for these deliveries, and would the criteria for selection be the same for both cities?

• What factors could have biased Jetco's study on boarding times? Jetco, a new airline, had a study showing it has the fastest average boarding times. What factors could have biased this result, and what would you investigate?

• How would you design an A/B test to evaluate a pricing increase for a B2B SAAS company? You work at a B2B SAAS company interested in testing different subscription pricing levels. How would you design a two-week A/B test to evaluate a pricing increase, and how would you determine if the increase is a good business decision?

• How much should we budget for a $5 coupon initiative in a ride-sharing app? A ride-sharing app has a probability (p) of dispensing a $5 coupon to a rider and services (N) riders. Calculate the total budget needed for the coupon initiative.

• What is the probability of both or only one rider getting a coupon? A driver using the app picks up two passengers. Determine the probability of both riders getting the coupon and the probability that only one of them will get the coupon.

• What is a confidence interval for a statistic and why is it useful? Explain what a confidence interval is, why it is useful to know the confidence interval for a statistic, and how to calculate it.

• What is the probability that item X would be found on Amazon's website? Amazon has a warehouse system where the probability that a specific item X is available at warehouse A is 0.6 and at warehouse B is 0.8. Given that items are only found on the website if they exist in the distribution centers, calculate the probability that item X would be found on Amazon's website.

• Is a coin that comes up tails 8 times out of 10 fair? You flip a coin 10 times, and it comes up tails 8 times and heads twice. Determine if this is a fair coin.

• What are time series models and why do we need them? Describe what time series models are and explain why they are needed when we have less complicated regression models.

• How would you justify the complexity of building a neural network model and explain predictions to non-technical stakeholders? Your manager asks you to build a neural network model to solve a business problem. How would you justify the complexity of the model and explain its predictions to non-technical stakeholders?

• How would you evaluate the suitability and performance of a decision tree model for predicting loan repayment? You are tasked with building a decision tree model to predict if a borrower will repay a personal loan. How would you evaluate whether a decision tree is the correct model? If you proceed, how would you evaluate its performance before and after deployment?

• How does random forest generate the forest, and why use it over logistic regression? Explain how random forest generates its forest of trees. Additionally, why would you choose random forest over other algorithms like logistic regression?

• How would you explain linear regression to a child, a first-year college student, and a seasoned mathematician? Explain the concept of linear regression to three different audiences: a child, a first-year college student, and a seasoned mathematician. Tailor your explanations to each audience's understanding level.

• What are the key differences between classification models and regression models? Describe the main differences between classification models and regression models.

What is the average salary for a Business Analyst at Techstar Group?

Q: What is the primary role of a Business Analyst at Techstar Group?
A: The Business Analyst (BA) supports the Business Product Owner in translating business needs into detailed requirements and user stories for the development team. The BA ensures that business processes are clearly defined, user stories are ready for sprints, and all acceptance criteria are testable and comprehensive.

Q: What qualifications are required for the Business Analyst role at Techstar Group?
A: The ideal candidate should have experience in financial services, particularly mortgage or consumer lending. While super technical skills are not necessary, the candidate must possess strong analytical and communication abilities, proficiency in SQL, and the capability to document detailed requirements and break down tasks effectively.

Q: What is the working schedule and location for the Business Analyst position?
A: The position requires a hybrid work schedule, with 3 days in the office located in Lewisville, TX. Candidates should be local or willing to relocate 100%.

Q: What does a typical day look like for a Business Analyst at Techstar Group?
A: A typical day involves maintaining and defining requirements for 2-3 cards, collaborating closely with developers to understand the technical aspects, and acting as a liaison between business and technical teams. The BA will frequently update development and IT support teams with confirmed business processes, and actively participate in meetings to represent team needs.

Q: How can I prepare for an interview for the Business Analyst role at Techstar Group?
A: To prepare for an interview, it is essential to familiarize yourself with the company's services, understand the basics of loss mitigation in mortgage contexts, and practice answering questions about your past experiences and achievements. Utilize platforms like Interview Query to practice common interview questions and refine your problem-solving skills.

Exploring a career as a Business Analyst at Techstar Group offers a compelling opportunity to merge your business acumen with technical know-how, particularly in the mortgage and financial services sector. The role demands translating intricate business requirements into actionable user stories, owning the backlog, and ensuring each feature is thoroughly vetted and aligned with business priorities. It’s a dynamic hybrid position based in Lewisville, TX, or East Brunswick, NJ, with significant potential for impact over a 4-6 month duration.

If you want more insights about the company, check out our main Techstar Group Interview Guide, where we have covered many interview questions that could be asked. We’ve also created interview guides for other roles, such as software engineer and data analyst, where you can learn more about Techstar Group’s interview process for different positions.

At Interview Query, we empower you to unlock your interview prowess with a comprehensive toolkit, equipping you with the knowledge, confidence, and strategic guidance to conquer every Techstar Group interview question and challenge.

You can check out all our company interview guides for better preparation, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

Good luck with your interview!