Lateral Sparks, a weekly quiz from YourStory, tests knowledge across various fields, business acumen, and the ability for unconventional thinking. In this 247th edition of the quiz, problems faced by real entrepreneurs during the launch phase of their startups are examined.
Participants are asked to consider situations and decide what they would do in the place of these founders. At the end of the quiz, the actual solutions adopted by the innovators themselves are revealed, allowing reflection on possible alternative actions.
Furthermore, readers are encouraged to check out the YourStory book reviews section, which presents insights from over 355 publications on creativity and entrepreneurship, as well as the PhotoSparks section on weekends, dedicated to artistic creativity.
Five business cases requiring a creative approach were presented. For instance, when surveying the seabed, observing the coastline, or inspecting an offshore pipeline, the question of technological possibilities for an entrepreneur arises.
Another problem relates to the difficulties faced by elderly people and infants in finding reliable assistance, causing stress for working couples. The necessity of solving the issue of drone charging between flights was also discussed, which requires human intervention and can be costly with frequent use.
A serious barrier for women entrepreneurs remains access to formal lending, as many face rejection from credit institutions or are forced to involve a man as a co-borrower. Additionally, the traditional milk supply chain takes seven to ten days due to requirements for processing, packaging, and retail sale, which reduces product freshness.
Various companies were presented within the framework of solving these problems. Sagar Defence Engineering, founded by Nikunj Parashar and Mridul Babbar, manufactures unmanned vessels capable of operating in harsh conditions, which is useful for surveys, patrolling, and data collection. The company also uses autonomous aerial vehicles for area monitoring and has attracted funding from ONGC, IDBI, and Skegen.
EzyHelpers, founded by Priyanka Rastogi and Arun Mahendran, provides care services for the elderly and has trained over 2000 caregivers. The company's service spectrum has now expanded to include infant care, cleaning, and gardening. The company also manages the 'Nest' dormitory for staff training.
AlgoFET, founded by Ankit Mishra, developed an integrated drone station that provides autonomous docking, battery management, and high-power charging. This system helps continuously patrol the perimeter or inspect pipelines, providing precise analytics to operators. The company collaborates with ARTPARK IISc and has clients in defense, agriculture, logistics, and infrastructure inspection.
The financial company Progcap, founded by Pallavi Srivastava, launched the ProgShakti initiative to ensure access to small business loans led by women. The program is based on the '3 C' concept—Credit, Community, and Commerce. Creditworthiness assessments include KYC checks and financial audits, as well as site visits to businesses. Thanks to this, female owners can receive loans up to 10 lakhs without a man's involvement, and the total loan amount to women has exceeded 10,000 crores.
Milkvilla, a dairy industry startup founded by Mannu Ji and Aman Ji, optimized the supply chain from farm to cooling, distribution center, and customer. They claim that the entire hyperlocal process can be reduced to approximately 12 hours for milk sourced near urban consumers. The company uses specialized refrigerated transport and testing infrastructure, serving over 10,000 active customers.