Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 115th 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.
.thumbnailWrapper
width:6.62rem !important;
.alsoReadTitleImage
min-width: 81px !important;
min-height: 81px !important;
.alsoReadMainTitleText
font-size: 14px !important;
line-height: 20px !important;
.alsoReadHeadText
font-size: 24px !important;
line-height: 20px !important;
Q1: Agritech startups
Many investments have poured into agriculture startups that offer platforms for farm inputs, supply chain, and marketplaces. Despite the funding downturn, there are opportunities in other agritech spaces as well. Where are some possibilities here for entrepreneurs?
Q2: The data advantage
To harness the data advantage, retailers and ecommerce startups need to bolster their data collection. They also need to move from reactive to proactive data consumption. What’s another key approach to harnessing data for business impact?
.thumbnailWrapper
width:6.62rem !important;
.alsoReadTitleImage
min-width: 81px !important;
min-height: 81px !important;
.alsoReadMainTitleText
font-size: 14px !important;
line-height: 20px !important;
.alsoReadHeadText
font-size: 24px !important;
line-height: 20px !important;
Q3: Marketing and technology
Marketing technology (martech) has become a core component of marketing campaigns today. But there are hundreds of tools and vendors to choose from. How can this challenge be tackled to effectively benefit from martech capabilities?
Q4: Personal brands
Creative storytelling can help build personal brands and boost sales. Authenticity and trust are also key success factors for brand growth. What are other requisites to create an effective personal brand in the long run?
Q5: The digital opportunity
Setting up a website and app helps entrepreneurs launch their foray into digital business. Effective social media engagement is also a must. What else is needed to scale operations, and where is the entrepreneurial opportunity here?
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: Agritech startups
“On the sidelines of supply chain-based investments, we have seen some credit and financial services startups come up,” observes Pankaj Raina, Managing Director of Investments and Research at New York-based private equity firm, Zephyr Management.
Investor Omnivore has also backed companies such as sustainable packaging company Fibmold, biomaterials startup altM, and insurance broking startup for rural customers, Finhaat. Read more here about how startups have pivoted from B2C to B2B models in this space, while investors take on seasonal instead of monthly perspectives.
A2: The data advantage
Artificial intelligence is a key part of customer strategy for retailers to gather insights for real-time decision-making. “This enhances customer and associate experiences across our systems, ultimately closing the loop on our omnichannel strategy and continually improving our operations,” explains Chandhu Nair, Senior Vice President, Data Analytics and Computational Intelligence (DACI) & Marketing Technology at Lowe’s Companies Inc.
“In our organisation, we have dedicated teams responsible for core data science, data governance, and data privacy functions,” he adds. Read more here about Lowe’s One Roof Media Network and its approaches to ensure sustainability via smart homes.
.thumbnailWrapper
width:6.62rem !important;
.alsoReadTitleImage
min-width: 81px !important;
min-height: 81px !important;
.alsoReadMainTitleText
font-size: 14px !important;
line-height: 20px !important;
.alsoReadHeadText
font-size: 24px !important;
line-height: 20px !important;
A3: Marketing and technology
“A consolidated martech stack reduces the complexities of managing data across multiple platforms. It helps save time while accessing data alongside reducing the risk of data silos and operational bottlenecks,” explains Jacob Joseph, Vice President – Data Science at CleverTap, a customer engagement platform.
“A consolidated stack has the potential to reduce software licensing and maintenance costs as marketers can let go of applications that aren’t helpful to operations,” he adds. Read more here about how unified martech ecosystems can drive business efficiency and growth.
A4: Personal brands
“Notably, in today’s market, people buy into a personality, a lifestyle, rather than just a product,” explains Paras Tomar, CEO and Founder of Stud Muffyn. “You might buy into my persona initially, but only a genuinely effective product will encourage repeat purchases,” he cautions.
He also emphasises the need for innovation and learning to sustain a brand’s relevance. Read more here about the importance of constant and consistent evolution to fuel a brand’s success, from Tomar’s keynote address at YourStory’s Techsparks Delhi conference.
.thumbnailWrapper
width:6.62rem !important;
.alsoReadTitleImage
min-width: 81px !important;
min-height: 81px !important;
.alsoReadMainTitleText
font-size: 14px !important;
line-height: 20px !important;
.alsoReadHeadText
font-size: 24px !important;
line-height: 20px !important;
A5: The digital opportunity
Founded in 2021 by IIT Bombay alumni Rahul Gope and Anjan Kumar Patel, the Gurugram-based startup Oyela helps new-age social media stores and product creators grow their businesses through its network-driven collaborative commerce platform.
It provides small business owners with tools, resources, and mentorship. For example, it helped an online women’s clothing store bump up sales from 200 products a month to 3,000 products. Read more about Oyela’s Instagram automation tools here.
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).
Edited by Kanishk Singh
