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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 67th 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: Fintech success

Fintech startups have captured a lot of media attention, founder interest, and investor funds. They have been more nimble, savvy, and data-driven than some larger incumbent players like banks. But this need not be a competitive scenario – how can fintechs and banks collaborate?

Q2: The edtech boom

The pandemic lockdowns fanned the growth of online sectors of education, retail and healthcare. However, normal activities are back in schools and colleges. How is this impacting ed-tech, and what are the new measures of success?

Q3: The ecommerce advantage

Ecommerce opens up new channels for large firms and D2C brands to reach their customers, and offers attractive benefits like convenience, breadth of choice, and comparison shopping. What are some more benefits of ecommerce for smaller players, and other communities?

Q4: HR impacts

Online channels and platforms open up new opportunities for jobseekers and employers alike. New waves of HR tech show the benefits of AI and ML in descriptive, diagnostic and predictive analytics. How does such technology deliver value to the HR function?

Q5: Climate change opportunities

Earlier waves of economic development and consumer culture are wreaking havoc on the environment, leading to the climate change crisis. What are the entrepreneurship opportunities opening up in this space, and who is moving in?

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: Fintech success

“There is a lot of potential for collaboration between fintech startups and banks. Both have unique value propositions to ensure the proliferation of financial services,” explains Raul Rebello, COO of Mahindra Finance.

According to a recent Bain India CXO survey of fintech leaders, nearly 60% of them believe that obtaining appropriate licences and core capabilities will be essential. “Most fintechs seek partnerships with incumbents for regulatory expertise, requisite licences and access to low-cost capital,” the report shows.

A2: The edtech boom

Post-pandemic return to normal educational activities led many ed-tech startups to scale down their online activities and lay off some of their workforces. “While investors’ intent to invest in edtech companies has taken a sharp setback, the conversation has now moved to unit economics, profitability, and sustainable cash outflow as compared to the TAM [total addressable market] earlier,” observes Phalgun Kompalli, Co-founder, upGrad.

Krishna Kumar, Founder and CEO of Simplilearn, adds: “When edtech was making headlines, many players wanted to tap into the edtech market, considering it is the next golden goose. In the process, some of them took hasty decisions such as excessive hiring, investments, and partnerships.” Read more here about shifting edtech dynamics.

A3: The ecommerce advantage

“India has witnessed a growth in ecommerce which has made it possible for women to sell products from anywhere, anytime across the country and the world,” observes Rachana Chowdhary, CEO, MVW-MSME Development Centre.

“We are also seeing more and more small businesses emerging from non-metro geographies that are now expanding internationally on the back of social media and digital,” adds Archana Vohra, Director, Small and Medium Business at Meta in India.

A4: HR impacts

“We’ll see accelerated adoption of machine learning HR technology to calculate the optimum number of required employees for sustainable growth. It’ll save employers from over or under-hiring,” observes Sumit Sabharwal, CEO of TeamLease HRtech.

“The evolution of technology will definitely evolve HR functions. While data will continue to be the key part of recruitment, the adoption of technology to simplify HR functions will only increase,” adds Sachin Alug, CEO of workforce solutions provider NLB Services.

A5: Climate change opportunities

“Climatetech innovations are attracting second-time entrepreneurs, product managers, and engineering talent driven by consumer awareness and demand and the ever-increasing scope for innovation,” observes Sumeet Singh, Partner, Climate Angels.

“Despite the digital revolution in the tech business space, the market is still very inefficient and unstructured in terms of sustainability,” adds Nidhi Mehra, Co-founder of Myplan8. Read more here about the startup helps track, reduce and offset carbon footprints.

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).