Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 76th 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: The cloud advantage
Cloud technologies have helped large firms and particularly scale-stage startups in managing, securing, and scaling their digital infrastructure and applications. This gives additional benefits as well in becoming better organisations, not just bigger ones. What are the cloud advantages here?
Q2: Smartphones and beyond
Affordable computing and ubiquitous connectivity have transformed devices like phones and TVs over the past two decades in almost unimaginable ways. But this is just the beginning. What other devices can be transformed with smart connectivity, and what value would they deliver?
Q3: From waste to wealth
Reduce, reuse, recycle is the mantra of the green movement today. Repurpose and upcycle are other compelling practices as well. How would this apply to generating wealth from the packaging waste of consumer products? What new products can be created here?
Q4: Tech transformation
Innovations in digital, materials and biological spaces are transforming the IT, manufacturing and healthcare industries. But they have other ripple effects also, particularly in business architecture. What are some of these effects?
Q5: Edtech opportunities
Academic curricula, test preparation, and extra-curricular activities are some of the educational sector segments targeted by edtech startups. Institutional workflow and teaching enhancement are some other focus areas. What’s another important contribution of startups for students on the educational front?
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: The cloud advantage
“The ability to experiment and innovate has gone up tremendously while the cost has come down. We see cloud as a democratic and catalyst for innovation,” explains Amitabh Nagpal, Head of Startup Ecosystem, Amazon Web Services (AWS) India.
AWS plans to introduce customised programmes for Indian startups in the healthcare and logistics sectors. Read more here about its other initiatives for mentorship support and global exposure for founders to help them innovate better and connect with the broader ecosystem.
A2: Smartphones and beyond
“Even though phones and TV have come a long way, the other home appliances with which we interact all day, have been static in technology since the 1960s,” observes Mahek Mody, Co-founder, and CEO, React Labs.
The startup has launched an initiative called Upliances to take appliances to the next level with connected and smart technology. This includes touchscreens that can display recipes and cooking instructions. Read more here about its smart cooking assistant ‘delishUp’ and other products.
A3: From waste to wealth
“There’s economic value in waste, a value that could be used to empower waste pickers,” affirms Anish Malpani, Founder, Ashaya.
The social enterprise has launched Without, a brand of sunglasses that use frames made from packaging waste.
The Pune-based company is looking to introduce more products made from MLP (multi-layered packaging) waste that includes chocolate wrappers and chips packets. Read more here about its patent-pending technology to convert waste into high quality products, thereby empowering waste picker communities as well.
A4: Tech transformation
The value unleashed by technologies gets amplified when they converge. “Technological advancements in biology, AI, and automation are transforming the industry, with business models seeing the convergence of traditional players in novel ways,” observes Robert Mittendorff, Managing Director, General Partner, and Head of Healthcare at B Capital.
“We are witnessing unprecedented innovation across the healthcare landscape,” he adds.
B Capital was founded in 2014 by Raj Ganguly and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. Read more here about its startup funding activities in the US and Asia.
A5: Edtech opportunities
“In India, there is a severe gap for authentic counselling and guidance for the youth, especially in towns and Tier II or developing cities,” observes Prachee Gaur, Founder and CEO, Remarkable Education.
The Jodhpur-based startup helps students learn about the career and higher education options available to them based on their skills and interests. Read more here about how its Career Rocket app leverages personal guidance counsellors as well as technology through artificial intelligence (AI).
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).
