Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 223rnd 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.
Many households need services for cleaning, laundry and cooking. But they also need quality and background verification for the service providers. Where is the startup opportunity here?
There are plenty of brands with products for adults and babies – but less choice for children aged four to twelve. What’s a good way to target this market gap?
India’s textile industry is vast, but much of its innovation has been concentrated in mainstream hubs. How can heritage from smaller hubs be turned into modern formats?
Kombucha is becoming popular in the market, but many products use pasteurisation and artificial carbonation. Where is the entrepreneurial opportunity here to provide a higher-quality product?
Much startup attention understandably focuses on healthcare, fintech and consumer technology. Where are the entrepreneurial opportunities in other fields like civil engineering and geophysical sciences?
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!
Founded by Anjali Sardana, Pronto provides an on-demand platform connecting urban households with background-verified professionals. They carry out everyday chores such as cleaning, laundry and basic meal preparation.
“We're excited to back Anjali and the team as they scale a trusted, high-quality standard for Indian households," says investor Rishi Navani, Managing Partner of Epiq Capital. Read more here about how Pronto competes with Snabbit and Urban Company's Insta Help, and aims to reach 70,000 average bookings per day by June this year.
Founded by Harini Rajagopalan and Mahesh Muraleedharan, kids brand Basil has designed essentials for children aged 4-12, such as lunchboxes, bottles and school gear. Millennial parents are willing to spend more on their children as compared to earlier generations.
Its products combine functional industrial design with imaginative visual design, thus appealing to both parents and children. Read more here about how the company has grown to ₹36 crore in annual recurring revenue in less than two years.
Founded by textile designer Anushka Das, Studio Anurupa is reimagining Assam cotton as a contemporary design identity rooted in heritage. She is positioning traditional weaving for modern homes as well as global markets.
“The fabric we developed is meant to be both pride and necessity, a bridge between heritage and everyday use,” she explains. Read more here about the support she received from the Assam Startup initiative, and how she has been approached by Dubai’s Noon.com for a platform showcase.
Founded by Arvind Mohan and Ashvini Birghoffer, Kerala-based Kumbayah Kombucha has developed its products as a living, fermented beverage. It has grown from a personal experiment into a brand selling over 1.5 million bottles annually across South India.
“We don’t pasteurise it and we don’t add artificial carbonation,” Mohan affirms. Read more here about the beverage’s pricing at Rs 125 for 275 ml, and its goal to step out of the health shelf into everyday food culture.
Founded by Reepjyoti Deka, Aorvis Technologies is building indigenous solutions that integrate AI into subsurface exploration for civil engineering and mineral exploration. It has developed a patented technology called Vidarshan to create a digital twin of the underground.
North East Frontier Railway used the startup’s technology in the Imphal–Jiribam project to identify water seepage zones, which were then stabilised with silica. Read more here about how this startup has helped reduce costs and restart construction that had been stalled for years.
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.
