Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 135th 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.
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Q1: Customer conversations
Manually auditing data from customer interactions is a monumental task for companies. At the same time, human intervention is still essential in high-touch businesses. How can technology assist here without losing the human touch?
Q2: D2C success
Having a broad selection of products at different price points for multiple customer segments can help D2C brands succeed in the ecommerce space. Effective customer service and logistics are also important. What else can help really move the needle for D2C impact?
Q3: Media and impact
Many well-meaning media professionals have chosen to document the lives of marginalised and exploited workers to increase awareness about their plight and improve their quality of life. What’s another creative way to enable such stories to be surfaced?
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Q4: Cybersecurity
In today’s always-connected world, cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated. Traditional reactive defence mechanisms often fall short of providing sufficient protection. How can AI technologies build proactive threat-handling capabilities?
Q5: Pine needles
Pine needles can be found in abundance in many mountainous regions. However, they are known to make it easier for forest fires to spread. What’s a way of tackling this challenge while also opening up opportunities for creative entrepreneurship?
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: Customer conversations
Proptech unicorn NoBroker leverages AI through its product, Convozen, which extracts insights from agent-customer conversations conducted in multiple languages. This is based on a small language model (SLM) that offers tools to customer service agents.
It uses ML to transcribe and extract insights from conversations accurately, across chats, emails, tickets, and social media platforms. Read more here about how Convozen transcribes six languages, with three more undergoing private beta testing.
A2: D2C success
The Good Glamm Group credits its unprecedented growth to an effective leveraging of the content-creator-commerce model. It has a market-leading portfolio of beauty and personal care brands spanning diverse segments.
This model helps enable deep customer listening and rapid feedback into its product development process. Read more here about how the companies engage 150 million monthly active users (MAUs), with 30% of content and conversations across platforms directly related to their products.
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A3: Media and impact
Chennai-based photographer Palani Kumar, while working on a documentary on people engaged in manual scavenging, noticed the refreshing curiosity and creative approach of their children. He pooled funds to train underprivileged children in photography to capture moments from their daily lives.
Many of the youngsters exhibited their works to wide acclaim, and some have taken up professional photography. Read more here about how such youthful media talents have helped document issues rarely covered by mainstream media and create transformative impact.
A4: Cybersecurity
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has emerged as a potent tool in cybersecurity, offering companies the ability to adapt to evolving cyber threats. By scrutinising vast datasets, GenAI algorithms can discern anomalies indicative of potential threats, according to Rajiv Warrier, VP of Sales, BD Software Distribution.
“Furthermore, generative AI facilitates the creation of lifelike simulations of cyber-attacks, enabling organisations to assess their defence mechanisms in a controlled environment,” he adds. Read more here about how GenAI can also make a substantial impact in the development of deception technologies.
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A5: Pine needles
Nupur Poharkar launched PIRUL Handicrafts in 2021 to makes artefacts from pine needles and give women a source of livelihood in Uttarakhand. The state has an abundance of pine trees that shed resin-rich, highly flammable needles.
She once came across a forest fire caused by pine needles, which burnt the grass used for cattle rearing. Read her inspiring story here, and how her organisation would eventually make rakhis, tea coasters, and even earrings from pine needles.
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 Suman Singh
