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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 134th 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: Tradition and opportunity

In many emerging economies, traditional arts and crafts are dying with changing lifestyles. Many folktales and narratives are being lost. How can these be captured while also creating livelihood opportunities?

Q2: Ecommerce operations and impact

D2C commerce offers numerous opportunities for new brands, but there are challenges like cart abandonment, customer drop-off, and complexity of payment methods. What’s a way out of this predicament?

Q3: Coffee, tea, experience

Many customers at coffee and tea stalls and cafes are often glued to their phones while waiting for their orders. What’s a way to create a more engaging atmosphere here while passing the time?

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Q4: Logistics

Speed, efficiency, and accuracy are key success metrics for the logistics industry, especially for the crucial ‘last mile’ where the product meets its customer. What solutions can be designed to meet such challenges of same-day delivery and even 10-minute windows?

Q5: Local produce

Many areas in emerging economies are blessed with an abundance of local fruits and herbs, but local farmers are unable to maximise returns with respect to value-added products. Marketing these products is another challenge as well. Where’s the entrepreneurial opportunity here?

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: Tradition and opportunity

Kirat Brahma, an NID graduate from Assam, started Zankla Studio to capture the essence of Bodo culture through beautifully handcrafted soft toys. The startup now boasts of over 45 types of such toys.

Storytelling is central to every soft toy, ranging from Bodo freedom fighter Thengphakhri to social activist Upendranath Brahma. “By engaging with our heritage soft toys, the younger generation connects with the stories, traditions, and craftsmanship that define our community’s identity,” the founder explains. Read more of this inspiring journey here.

A2: Ecommerce operations and impact

With checkouts being a pain point for both customers and brands, ecommerce enablers like Shiprocket have stepped in to offer swift and seamless checkout solutions. This leads to higher conversions and personalised experiences for consumers.

Specific features include large databases for address prefill, responsive UI, after-sell features, intuitive dashboards, payment gateway integration, and a discount engine. Read more here about how brands like Blackberrys have streamlined operations and realised business impact.

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A3: Coffee, tea, experience

Started by 74-year-old Bhimabai Jondhale, fondly known as Aaji, the ‘book hotel’ Ajjichya Pustakancha Hotel (Grandmother’s Hotel with Books) offers over 5,000 free books to read. She launched this initiative to create a more engaging atmosphere for customers in her eatery on the Mumbai-Agra highway.

“We started encouraging people to pick up a book and read while we cook their meal,” she explains. Read more here about she also gives free books on special occasions such as Women’s Day and Republic Day to foster a habit of reading among people.

A4: Logistics

Ratnesh Verma, Founder and CEO of Pidge, has designed a mobile-friendly SaaS solution for real-time tracking, route optimisation, and AI-powered insights. “One of the things that sets Pidge apart is the unique interoperable hybrid network,” he describes.

In addition to a simplified, unified platform with a central dashboard for managing intra-city logistics, it deploys a 200+ strong network of local courier companies on the ground. Read more here about how this hybrid model has benefited over 9,000 businesses and facilitated more than 20 million deliveries.

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A5: Local produce

Based in Northeast India, Zomawii Khiangte co-founded Tui Bon Naturals as a maker and marketer of craft sodas with authentic regional flavours. Its beverage line called Local All Natural is made from locally sourced fruits like pomelo, roselle, orange, and dragon fruit.

 “We are promoting a whole region while offering high quality ingredients in a beverage,” Khiangte says. Read more here about these stand-alone products and mixers, and the startup support received from Alsisar Impact.

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).