YourStory's weekly Lateral Sparks quiz is designed to test knowledge in various fields, as well as business analysis and unconventional thinking skills. This 248th edition features case studies faced by real entrepreneurs during their startup journey.
Participants are asked to consider situations where they would be in the place of these innovators, and after completing the quiz, the actual solutions adopted by the entrepreneurs are revealed. This allows for reflection on possible alternative actions.
Additionally, readers are encouraged to check out the YourStory book reviews section, which compiles insights from over 355 publications on creativity and entrepreneurship, as well as the PhotoSparks section for artistic inspiration.
The quiz includes five questions concerning current issues: what useful products can be created from plastic waste of packaged goods to prevent them from ending up in landfills; how to improve student assessment systems that show results but do not always reflect depth of understanding; how to bridge the gap between traditional handicraft skills of rural women and access to markets, design, and stable income; how to more effectively utilize large volumes of data collected by satellites but cannot be transmitted to Earth; and how to solve the problem of fraud carried out using voices generated by artificial intelligence and synthetic media.
Examples of solutions include stories of several startups. Minus Degre, founded by Rahul Washukhi and Vikash Kumar, processes plastic waste into a material called Eco-Panel, which is then used to make various items, from keychains to furniture. Over its operational period, the startup has recycled 300 tons of plastic and served over 200 business clients, achieving an annual revenue of 1.25 crore rupees in the fiscal year 26.
The AssessPrep evaluation platform, created by Karan Gupta, Shikhar Sethi, and Abhimanyu Jajharia, tags each question with a specific theme and curriculum standard. This allows schools to identify weaknesses in both individual students and entire classes. The system is integrated with over 600 sets of standards, including IB, Cambridge, NGSS, Advanced Placement, and ACARA, and operates with over 800 schools in 85 countries, using AI to generate assessments combined with teacher feedback.
Earthomadic Foundation and Project Anuswaar, founded by Nagmani Roy, connect traditional crafts with the modern market, creating opportunities for sustainable earnings for rural women. The programs go beyond basic training, covering design, product quality, and marketing. Through clusters working with bamboo, terracotta, appliqué, leather, crochet, jute, and water hyacinth, they have managed to generate a business worth about 1.5 crore rupees over four years.
Ronak Kumar Samantray founded TakeMe2Space, which developed technologies to process satellite data directly in space. This allows useful information to be transmitted to Earth instead of just a stream of raw data. The company charges $2 per minute of computing time on its satellites and is currently raising funds to build a 50-kilowatt data center in orbit. Investors include Chiratae Ventures, Unicorn India Ventures, Artha Venture Fund, and SeaFund.
Tarini Padmanabhuni founded DetectifAI, which creates technologies for verifying people and detecting audio generated or manipulated by AI. This helps prevent phishing attacks, financial fraud, and disinformation. The fraud detection models are designed to run on the device and at the network edge, allowing for prompt flagging of fake callers without cloud reliance. The technology is applied in the BFSI and healthcare sectors, where voice verification systems are critically important.