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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 97th 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: Field service management

Many small business owners and managers are manually tracking the activities of their field workers like electricians and plumbers. But using only phone calls or WhatsApp messages is laborious and can lead to duplicate tasks or missed opportunities. What’s a way out of this?

Q2: Healthcare facilities

Millions of people around the world, especially those in remote areas, lack access to basic healthcare facilities. What is an effective way of overcoming this disparity?

Q3: MSME financing

MSMEs faced challenges in getting short-term financing, which impacts their cash flow and cascades adversely across operations. How can technology help MSMEs meet their working capital needs?

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Q4: Talent solutions

Many mature economies are experiencing a significant shortfall of tech workers, resulting in a massive loss of revenue. What opportunities lie here for other countries amid this scarcity?

Q5: Sustainable consumption

The constant purchase of new smartphones is leaving behind a huge carbon footprint. But pre-owned smartphones come with significant wear and tear and lower battery life. What’s a creative way to fix these problems?

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: Field service management

Founded by Amit Dhawan, Corefield Technologies has developed a SaaS product called FieldWeb for business owners. It helps them systematically track and manage their field operations digitally.

A range of business activities can be tracked from a single app, such as inventory management, lead generation, hiring, and managing staff. Read more here about how the startup has garnered around 10,000 clients, raised worker productivity, reduced customer churn rate, and increased revenue.

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A2: Healthcare facilities

“One of the most significant challenges faced by healthcare systems worldwide is providing equitable medical services to remote and underserved regions, and satellite laboratories have emerged as a formidable solution to bridge this gap,” explains Dinesh Chauhan, CEO of CORE Diagnostics.

Such satellite laboratories have amplified the potential of PoC diagnostics, bringing advanced testing capabilities to the patient’s bedside. Read more here about how such satellite laboratory networks helped conduct mass testing during the pandemic.

A3: MSME financing

“Data and technology are transforming the supply chain financing landscape, making it easier and more affordable for MSMEs to access the capital they need to grow,” observes Prasanna Madhyasta, Head – Supply Chain Finance, U GRO Capital.

“Data analytics can be used to assess an MSME’s historical financial performance, order book, and customer base,” he adds. Read more here about how such applications create accurate credit scores, enhance supply chain visibility, and improve the efficiency of the financing process as well.

A4: Talent solutions

Companies in countries like India can use HRtech platforms to streamline recruitment processes and find the right talent. Such platforms leverage AI and analytics to automate and optimise talent acquisition, onboarding, and management, according to Adithyan RK, Founder of Hyring.com.

“With the rise of remote working culture, there has never been a better time to tap into India’s talent pool,” he adds. Read more here about how HR tech platforms can enhance transparency in the recruitment process, create a fair and inclusive environment, and leverage gamification in the recruitment process.

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A5: Sustainable consumption

With an aim to provide a sustainable solution in the smartphone ecosystem, 21-year-old Yug Bhatia founded ControlZ in 2020. The startup refurbishes old smartphones using a streamlined industrial process, along with comprehensive component-level renewal.

The startup plans to set up an in-house research department and increase its renewal capacity to 6 lakh devices a year from 20,000 devices currently. Read more here about how this founder became aware of this opportunity during the pandemic and is creating business value while also cutting down e-waste.

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).