1,600+ Five-Star Reviews and Offers at All Firms
Candidates I have worked with have gone on to offers at MBB, Tier-2, Big 4, boutique, in-house strategy, and tech consulting roles, from target and non-target backgrounds alike.
Florian is world-class. If you’re serious about landing an offer, work with him. It truly changed everything for me.
Fiza on PrepLounge
McKinsey & BCG
Florian is the absolute MVP. He was a fundamental lever in my path toward achieving multiple NYC MBB offers to join full time.
Candidate on PrepLounge
Bain & BCG
Took the course. Learned from Florian. Got the McKinsey Business Analyst offer. 100% worth the investment.
Charles on PrepLounge
McKinsey
I was told I was the ‘most definite offer’ of this recruitment cycle and that the partners immediately gave me a ‘yes.’
Candidate on PrepLounge
McKinsey
Modern Case Prep Is Broken
The prep industry sells volume. Memorize a set of frameworks, grind 50 or 60 practice cases, hope the pattern shows up on interview day. That approach was already weak ten years ago. Against how MBB interviews run now, it fails outright.
Here is what changed. Firms moved toward problems that resist templates: structuring from first principles, forming a hypothesis with incomplete data, reading a chart for the insight rather than the number, and defending a recommendation under pressure. A candidate who has memorized a profitability tree has nothing to fall back on when the case refuses to behave like one.
Meanwhile the tooling got worse. AI case bots recycle outdated case models and reward you for finishing them, which produces the feeling of preparation without the substance. Volume creates motion. It does not create skill.
What I teach instead: concise theory on what each interview actually assesses, targeted drills on the specific skill you are weakest at, practice on cases that behave like real business problems, and honest feedback on the gap between your reasoning and the standard. Fewer cases, done properly, beat a hundred cases done on autopilot.
Where Should You Start?
You are early, or still deciding if consulting is for you
Start with the free Case Interview Foundations course. 40+ videos, 7+ hours of instruction, and 200+ pages of reading material covering case and fit interviews for all firms. Additional advice on networking and applications. No cost.
START THE FREE COURSEYour interview is in two to eight weeks
The Case Interview Academy is the complete self-paced system: theory plus hundreds of practice drills across structuring, math, chart interpretation. Trusted by students from 18 of the top-20 MBA programs and 200+ universities.
GET INSTANT ACCESSYou have a test, game, or screen coming up first
Firm-specific preparation for the exact assessment you are facing: McKinsey Solve, BCG Cognitive Test and Online Case, and the Bain SOVA test. Playable simulations and real practice questions, not generic aptitude drills.
SEE THE TEST SIMULATIONSYou want a plan built around your specific situation
I take a limited number of clients each month, so every engagement starts with a real diagnosis rather than a generic curriculum. I work personally with every candidate in sessions and outside to perfect every aspect of their application.
BOOK A FREE CONSULTATIONWhat Is Holding Back Your Prep?
Six questions, about two minutes, no signup. You get a straight read on where you actually stand based on your stage, your timeline, and what you have already done.
Your single biggest bottleneck right now
What to work on over the next two weeks
Whether your timeline is realistic
TAKE THE 2-MINUTE QUIZFree · 6 questions · Personalized result · No signup required
Coaching Is Diagnosis, Mentorship and Iteration, Not a Practice Partner
Most people picture coaching as mock interviews with feedback at the end, booked a week before the real thing. That is the least valuable version of it, and it is why candidates who wait often get little out of it.
The highest-return moment to get a baseline is at the beginning, when there is still time to act on what it tells you. Coaching also works well mid-preparation, when you have plateaued and cannot see why, and immediately before interviews for calibration and pressure testing.
What I run is a skill development system:
DIAGNOSTIC AND BASELINING
I assess where you actually are across a real case simulation and actual evaluation criteria: structuring, math, data interpretation, brainstorming, communication, maturity, business sense, and fit. Not where you think you are.
BUILDING THE RIGHT PROFILE
I identify the specific bottlenecks holding your performance down, lifting your weaknesses to avoid rejection and building up your strengths to receive offers. You get a preparation plan and all practice resources built around those gaps and your real timeline.
CLARITY ABOUT YOUR PROGRESS
I track your development across sessions. You always know where you stand, where you need to go, and what’s required to get there. A candidate once described my feedback as surgical because I focus on the bigger picture as well as micro-habits across the case.
A NETWORK OF RESOURCES AND PEOPLE
I connect my clients with each other for focused peer practice. I also help them polish their application documents and provide access to all the essential theory and practice materials. These include recruiting test simulations, practice cases, and targeted case and fit interview drills.
Why Work With Me: Dr. Florian Smeritschnig
I spent 5 years at McKinsey & Company as a Senior Consultant and evaluated candidates for the firm, after earlier consulting work. That is the perspective this whole business runs on: I know what the scoring conversation sounds like after you leave the room.
Bestselling author: The 1%: Conquer Your Consulting Case Interview, plus the Case Interview Workbook and Consulting Career Secrets
1,600+ five-star reviews across PrepLounge, StrategyCase, Leland, and Amazon
Invited speaker at universities across Asia, Europe, and the US
12+ years in consulting, 5 of them at McKinsey
One mission
I worked backward from how case interviews are conducted and scored to develop a modern approach that helps my clients achieve consistent results.
In 2025, McKinsey removed me from its alumni network for helping hundreds of candidates get into the firm.
When I started out, my goal was to close exactly that information asymmetry candidates are up against, and I guess it has worked.
Not a machine
I cap the number of coaching clients I take each month. Every session and interaction is with me, and the preparation products are built out of my McKinsey experience and what comes up in those sessions rather than assembled from public material.
If you are looking for an AI case bot that generates infinite cases, there are cheaper options. They will not tell you why your structure was weak or how to improve from there.
CONNECT WITH ME ON LINKEDINSince leaving McKinsey, I have delivered 2,200+ mock case interviews and coached my clients to 700+ offers. I remain an active consultant and stay deeply involved in recruiting, which keeps the material current.
Common Questions
How far in advance should I start?
Eight to twelve weeks of consistent work is a realistic runway for most candidates starting from zero. Two to four weeks is workable if you work with a coach. Below two weeks, prioritize ruthlessly or, ideally, try to push your interview date back.
Does this work if I am from a non-target school?
Yes, and a large share of the candidates I coach are non-target. The screen you face is harder at the resume stage, which is a separate problem with separate solutions. Once you are in the interview, the evaluation is the same for everyone in the room.
What does it cost?
The Case Interview Academy is $179 with a money-back guarantee. The Foundations course and the 250+ guiding articles are free. Coaching packages run from $1,849 to $2,999 depending on session count, with individual sessions also available for much less.
Is this only for McKinsey, BCG, and Bain?
The material and approach are built to the MBB standard because it is the highest one, which means it transfers down. Candidates have used it for Tier-2 firms, Big 4 strategy arms, boutiques, in-house strategy teams, and tech consulting.
How is this different from doing 50 practice cases with a peer?
A peer can tell you that something felt off. They usually cannot tell you which specific skill failed, why an interviewer would score it down, or how to approach it differently. Practice partners are useful for repetition once you have the technique. They are a poor way to acquire it since they have no insider knowledge and rely on the same conflicting information found online or in outdated books.
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You do not need another framework list. You need to know which specific skill is costing you the offer, and what to do about it in the time you have left. Together, we’ll find out!