Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 192nd 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: Nutrition
Many people suffer from some form of nutritional deficiency, and chronic issues are appearing much earlier due to poor diets and sedentary lifestyles. How can these challenges be tackled?
Q2: Production in fashion
The fashion industry suffers from problems of excess inventory, sizing issues, outdated styles, and overflowing warehouses. In such a world flooded with fast fashion and unsold clothes, how can overproduction be reduced and sustainability be increased?
Q3: Safe spaces
Many members of the LGBTQ+ community suffer from discrimination, family rejection, workplace bias, and a lack of inclusive public spaces. How can such marginalisation and taboos be tackled?
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Q4: Electric mobility
Electric vehicles (EVs) have been adopted by large numbers of gig workers. But they face challenges in getting finance for the EVs, and in accessible charging. How can these issues be met?
Q5: Satellites and rockets
In the aerospace industry, satellites are getting smaller, faster, and more agile – but rockets are not keeping up with this trend. Where is 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: Nutrition
Founded by sisters Veda and Sai Sudha Gogineni, Earthful provides clean, plant-based nutrition based on 100% natural supplements. “Our main positioning is that nutrients—vitamins and minerals—have always existed in nature, and we have consumed them from fruits, vegetables and plants,” Ved explains.
They use Vitamin C from amla (gooseberry), Vitamin A from moringa, and calcium from marine algae. Read more here about how the company discovered white spaces around nutritional gaps during menopause, and has become profitable with 20-30% month-on-month growth.
A2: Production in fashion
Founded by Nitin Kapoor, Hema Kapoor, and Amit Gupta, IBA Crafts aims to reduce overproduction in the fashion industry by using technology for just-in-time production. Garments are produced only after an order is confirmed, and tools like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are used by customers to get realistic product previews.
The startup’s portfolio includes jumpsuits, tops, tees, and dresses. Read more here about the profitable startup’s use of other technologies like digital printing, and how it generated a revenue of Rs 37 crore in FY25.
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A3: Safe spaces
Founded by Aayushi Verma and Deepali Lakhanpal, First Contact is a tech-enabled space where queer people can connect without fear of judgement or exposure, even from smaller towns. The metaverse platform is not just a virtual reality hangout, but a curated digital sanctuary to interact, learn, and find solidarity.
The platform includes a mobile app for users who do not have high-end devices. Read more here about how its use of protected identity allows varying levels of interaction for over 10,000 verified users.
A4: Electric mobility
Founded by Satish Mittal and Varun Goenka, Chargeup is upgrading the business playbook for EVs with charging, leasing and financing solutions. It operates 300 battery swapping stations, and has onboarded 8,000 drivers on to its platform.
Vehicles on its platform get a pre-fitted tech-enabled IoT device to track battery usage and health. Read more here about how better battery health can help the drivers pay back their EMIs, which in turn ramps up their credit score for future financial transactions.
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A5: Satellites and rockets
Co-founded by Srinath Ravichandran, Agnikul Cosmos is redefining space transportation with modular, on-demand rockets tailored for the global small satellite market. The startup aims to democratise access to space with sustainable and inexpensive launch systems.
Small satellite operators no longer need to accept relegation to secondary payloads on oversized rockets. Read more here about the startup’s proprietary 3D-printed rocket engines, and how it has raised $50 million from Speciale, Artha, Pi Ventures, Celesta, and Mayfield
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).
Edited by Suman Singh
