Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 167th 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: Eldercare
The growth of the elderly population is causing challenges to society with respect to senior care, engagement, and a sense of belonging. Where are the entrepreneurial opportunities here?
Q2: Air cooling
Air conditioners face a challenge in becoming carbon neutral due to their high electricity consumption, carbon emissions, and potential HFC leakage. What kinds of alternate cooling solutions can be deployed here?
Q3: Education: mindset and skills
Education based only on classroom-based learning has limitations. How can students’ minds be enhanced to become better problem-solvers?
Q4: Cross-platform gaming
Gamers are demanding seamless, device-agnostic experiences. As cross-platform gaming becomes more established, what opportunities open up for startups and large firms?
Q5: Mental healthcare
In many societies, the costs of mental healthcare are prohibitively high, keeping such precious interventions out of reach for lower-income groups. How can such care be provided in an affordable manner while also being sustainable?
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: Eldercare
A number of startups are entering the elder care segment—such as Primus Reflection, a senior living community with modern facilities and healthcare support. KITES Senior Care offers rehabilitation services, dementia care, and palliative care.
Samarth Care’s app integrates technology with a human touch to bridge the digital divide among seniors. Read more here about the offerings of other startups like Emoha Eldercare (IoT and remote health monitoring) and Khyaal (entertainment content, financial services, interactive sessions).
A2: Air cooling
Founded by Jeeten Desai, Ambiator claims to offer alternate cooling solutions that use 80% less electricity. The modular, scalable cooling products can be used in residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial settings.
Its proprietary heat exchanger reportedly gives air conditioning-like cooling using 80% less electricity and can run on solar energy. Read here about how it already has six clients in five states, including Mahindra LifeSpaces, Selco Foundation, Brigade Group, and Mapro.
A3: Education: mindset and skills
Meenal Majumdar, Founder of The Innovation Story, believes that experiential learning can teach technical skills and also shift learner mindsets, making them see challenges as opportunities for innovation. Hands-on, project-based learning empowers students to believe in their ability to solve problems.
“Whether through hands-on projects, robotics competitions, or collaborative team activities, our programs encourage students to think critically and creatively,” she explains. Read more here about the startup’s innovation labs in Mumbai, its empowerment of over 10,000 students from municipal schools, and global awards for International Journey in Geneva.
A4: Cross-platform gaming
Pioneers like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Call of Duty: Warzone have championed cross-platform play across consoles, PCs, and mobile devices, according to Jaya Chahar, Founder and CEO of Trade Fantasy Game. “Cross-platform gaming is not merely a trend but a reflection of the industry’s commitment to inclusivity, accessibility and innovation,” she explains.
Platforms like NVIDIA GeForce Now, Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Google Stadia enable playing games across devices with minimal hardware requirements. Read more here about the use of tools like Unreal Engine and Unity, as well as services like Epic Games’ account system.
A5: Mental healthcare
Paras Sharma and Rashi Vidyasagar founded The Alternative Story with a novel ‘pay-what-you-want’ (PWYW) business model for mental therapy services. The entrepreneurs observed that by removing the financial barriers, people would also be less hesitant to seek help.
About two-thirds of the sessions are offered under PWYW and one-third at regular fees. Read more here about how the platform has already catered to 15,000 users and around 30 companies and institutions.
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).
