This weekly quiz from YS tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see last week’s quiz here). In this sixteenth edition of the quiz, we present five 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 themselves actually did. Would you do things differently?
Check out YS’s Book Review section as well, with takeaways from over 320 titles on creativity and entrepreneurship, and our weekend PhotoSparks section on creativity in the arts.
Q1: Growth and capital
Times of furious business growth call for lots of financial spend in marketing and hiring. But another kind of capital is also key to ensure better business performance and productivity. What is this other form of capital?
Q2: The climate opportunity
Industry and government play a key role in addressing the challenges of climate change. So does civil society. Which constituent has the largest at stake in climate future, and how can they get better involved?
Q3: Not just about getting ‘high’
This ‘drug’ is not just about getting high, but has other positive benefits when used in a proper manner. It is even used to assist patients worldwide who are fighting cancer, bi-polar disorders, mental disorders, skin problems, and period cramps. How is this possible?
Q4: Toys and design
According to research platform IMARC Group, the Indian toys market was valued at $1.23 billion in 2020, with much room for growth. Advocates have pushed for not just attractive design but also cognitive and even cultural features in toys. What’s another key feature for toys?
Q5: Beyond ‘refuse and reduce’
‘Refuse and reduce’ is a mantra promoted by the green movement to avoid single-use plastics and reduce excessive consumption. But there are other elements to the circular economy that have a positive socio-economic impact as well. How are organisations tapping these other elements?
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: Growth and capital
“For a business to stay its course and solve real-world problems at scale with long-standing impact, knowledge capital has to take precedence over speed-to-market expediency,” argues Praval Singh, VP of Marketing and Customer Experience at Zoho.
“A good chunk of your funds and revenue should go towards constantly diversifying, broadening, and deepening your field expertise,” he adds. Founders and leaders should also focus on cultural capital and nurturing valuable know-how. Read more about knowledge management here.
A2: The climate opportunity
Preparation for CoP26 (the 2021 United Nations climate change conference) also had a specific track devoted to youth leadership in tackling climate change, called Youth4Climate. “The intersection of youth leadership and cross-sectoral solutions offers many opportunities for engaging young people in achieving COP26 goals,” explains Archana Sinha, Co-founder and CEO of the Nourishing Schools Foundation.
There are crucial leadership opportunities for youth in creating educational content about climate change, and promoting climate-resilient agriculture systems. For example, some children have also start homestead gardens to apply their learnings. Read more about these vital initiatives here.
A3: Not just about getting ‘high’
Many countries still consider cannabis as a drug or an illegal way of medical treatment. Fortunately, regulators are enabling its access to patients in need under medical supervision, in addition to use in cultural festivals in the form of bhaang.
“People are now studying medical cannabis with an open mindset and understanding towards what it has to offer from a therapeutic perspective,” explains Yash Kotak, CMO of Bombay Hemp Company. Read more about cannabis uses and impacts here.
A4: Toys and design
Shreya Mittal, founder of Delhi-based Curious Cub, emphasises that toys should be safe and environmentally friendly as well. Children tend to explore toys with all their senses, including their mouths.
Curious Club is an early education platform that imparts age-appropriate cognitive skills through playtime. “Having a completely safe toy ensures that a child can play without reservation. Hence, wooden and cloth toys are the best options to give at this tender age, as they contain no chemicals,” she affirms. Read more about Curious Club here.
A5: Beyond ‘refuse and reduce’
‘Recycle and donate’ are important parts of a circular and giving economy. For example, siblings Yash Gupta and Akansha Gupta launched Indore-based Daanpatra as an online platform that collects donations of all sorts and provides them to needy communities.
Clothes, toys, books, shoes, utensils, electronic items, and furniture have been given to more than 11.5 lakh needy families. “There is nothing useless. It is necessary that we should know how the waste material can be put to use,” Yash describes. Read more about how recycling improves lives here.
YS 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).
