Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 106th 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: Payment capabilities
The pandemic boosted digital payments in the ecommerce sector, along with features like contactless transactions. However, payment companies are no longer limited to transaction processing. What are the new services that have been added, and what new kinds of partnerships emerge?
Q2: The media business
Planning to set up your own media business in news or entertainment, for example? You need to begin with market research to understand your audience and competition and find a sustainable business model. What else needs to be in your checklist of activities?
Q3: The ‘funding winter’
The ‘funding winter’ can be challenging for entrepreneurs and the broader startup ecosystem. Some ideas may not come to fruition without capital for launch. However, such funding shortages and down-cycles can actually have benefits as well. What are they?
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Q4: Democratising technology
Many founders with a business and creative background may not have the right technology skills to launch their startups. Many software skills are in short supply around the world as well. What’s a way to democratise technology creation and enable more ideas to bloom?
Q5: Customer connections
Technology is a key enabler for customer connects today. Cloud infrastructure can boost the robustness and agility of services, while immersive media delivers rich experiences. But what’s another tech capability that is a must for D2C businesses?
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: Payment capabilities
Payment companies have rolled out additional layers of services such as APIs to connect various platforms, data analytics for informed decision-making, and underwriting and lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), observes Gaurav Shisodia, Vice President, Payoneer India.
The agility of fintechs and the large customer bases of banks leads to powerful partnerships as well. Read more here about how Payoneer not only facilitates international transactions but also offers infrastructure to make these transactions seamless.
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A2: The media business
In the media business, journalistic integrity is key. Make sure you practice rigorous fact-checking and balanced reporting, nd avoid sensationalism. The right ethical foundations are a must.
There is much misinformation and hate speech out there—make sure you set your standards to rise above the noise. Read more ‘mediapreneur’ tips here about complying with regulatory and legal requirements as well.
A3: The ‘funding winter’
The ongoing funding winter may benefit the startup ecosystem in the long term, according to Ajinkya Kulkarni, Founder of Wint Wealth. “Founders are now required to bring more commitment to the business and be accountable for their business performance,” he observes.
During hype and boom cycles, growth at all costs is wrongly ignored over unit economics, sustainability, and profits. Read more here about why founders must think hard about actual success metrics versus vanity.
A4: Democratising technology
“We see a future where ideas are not limited by the understanding of technology,” observes Anju Chaudhary, Senior Director of Sales and Partnerships at Builder.ai. The company aims to democratise software development by uniting traditional and low-code solutions with cutting-edge technologies.
Its AI tools also help with project management across the software development lifecycle. Read more here about Builder.ai algorithms that create prototypes and proactively identify potential project delays, thus bridging the gap between technology and creativity.
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A5: Customer connections
Personalisation is key to impactful and long-lasting customer connections. “We decided to give a personalised video that featured me wishing each of our stakeholders with their names. This was the most impactful Diwali gift that I had given and was well received,” recalls Arjun Vaidya, Founder of Dr. Vaidya’s, speaking at the TechSparks 2023 conference.
Ruia’s brand Beco established customer connections by sending personalised videos of their celebrity brand ambassadors and also offered coupon codes to those who had abandoned their shopping carts. Read more here about why personalisation is key to connecting with consumers at scale.
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
