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Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 147th edition of the quiz, we present issues tackled by real-life entrepreneurs in their startup journeys.

What would you do if you were in their shoes? At the end of the quiz, you will find out what the entrepreneurs and innovators themselves actually did. Would you do things differently?

Check out YourStory’s Book Review section as well, with takeaways from over 355 titles on creativity and entrepreneurship, and our weekend PhotoSparks section on creativity in the arts.

Q1: Healthcare

In many countries, there is a huge demand for ICU beds in hospitals, but not enough intensivists to manage them. How can this shortage of critical care specialists be addressed, and where is the entrepreneurial opportunity here?

Q2: Recruitment

The traditional recruitment process is often heavily dependent on manual screening. This can be time-consuming and prone to biases. What is a way out of these challenges?

Q3: Solar energy

Solar energy solutions are a compelling option for many emerging economies. But there are concerns about safety, affordability and performance. How can these be addressed?

Q4: Pesticides

Pesticides protect crops from disease and pests, but over-use can pollute air, water and soil. Traditional application methods such as ground and aerial spraying can also be wasteful. How can technology help here?

Q5: Professional networking

Building meaningful connections and business relationships can be challenging. Often, cold emails do not get responses, social media messages are ignored, and networking meetings do not go beyond handshakes. How can professional networking be improved?

Answers!

Congratulations on having come this far! But there’s more to come–answers to these five questions (below), as well as links to articles with more details on the entrepreneurs’ solutions. Happy reading, happy learning, and happy creating!

A1: Healthcare

Founded by Dr Dileep Raman and Dr Dhruv Joshi, Cloudphysician combines clinical expertise with technology platforms. It has partnered with over 200 hospitals in India, and claims to have helped manage care for over 100,000 ICU patients so far.

Its solution includes an AI-enhanced platform, high-definition cameras, and remote data management to help doctors make clinical decisions.

Read more here about its hospital partnerships with Motherhood Hospitals, HCG, SGPGI, and Cytecare.

A2: Recruitment

“AI’s potential to enhance efficiency and inclusivity in the recruitment process is immense, offering solutions that prioritise skills and potential over conventional qualifications,” explains Manikanth Challa, Founder and CEO of Workruit.

“AI tools can sift through vast amounts of data to identify the most suitable candidates quickly and accurately,” he adds.

Read more here about how AI-based tools can aid businesses with suitable candidates while also offering job seekers a fairer chance at securing employment.

A3: Solar energy

Solar Square, headed by Shreya Mishra, offers B2B and B2C solutions for the renewable energy sector.

“We introduced cyclone-proof installations, and offered performance guarantees to alleviate consumer concerns about investment returns,” says Mishra.

Solar Square client base now spans over 15,000 homes, 150 housing societies, and 500 commercial customers.

Read more here about its corporate customers like Johnson & Johnson and Swiggy.

A4: Pesticides

“The technology of drones serves as a modern option that guarantees to transform the use of insecticides while contributing to extra environmentally friendly agriculture,” explains Vidur Varma, CEO of Agri Wings.

Drones equipped with GPS, sensors and sophisticated software can precisely navigate fields and deliver the most suitable insecticides in the right amounts.

Read more here about how such practices can lead to huge reductions in chemical runoff and soil infection.

A5: Professional networking

Founded by in 2023 by Akash Anand, Unikon.ai offers an AI-powered peer-to-peer networking platform to help users connect with professionals for advice. It also enables experts to share knowledge and earn.

Unikon stands for ‘you and I connect’, and enables professionals to post short video glimpses of their 1:1 sessions.

Read more here about its expert discovery and recommendation services, and how it raised $2 million in a seed round led by Ananta Capital.

YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).