Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 188th 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: Hot stuff
India is the world’s largest producer of chillies but accounts for just 2% of the global hot sauce market. Where is the entrepreneurial opportunity here?
Q2: Commercial vehicles
The market for used commercial vehicles in many emerging economies is unorganised and fragmented. How can the frictions here be removed and new opportunities unlocked?
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Q3: Cigarettes and pollution
The practice of smoking affects not just the lungs but also pollutes the environment. How can the management of this cigarette butt waste be made efficient and viable?
Q4: Direct deliveries
Ecommerce giants dominate the market for next-day deliveries, but smaller D2C brands who use their services pay hefty commissions and lose out on customer data. How can D2C brands be empowered for better ecommerce opportunities?
Q5: Climate action
Climate change is a pressing problem for society, biodiversity, and the environment. How can climate actions such as green energy solutions and the move to EVs be made more viable for adoption?
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: Hot stuff
Founded by Sagar Merchant and Arjun Panwar, Kaatil makes hot sauces, hot ketchup, and chilli oils from Indian chillies. “I saw a huge opportunity to showcase India’s indigenous chillies to a global audience,” says Merchant.
Kaatil uses chilli varieties such as Jwala, Sankeshwari, Lavangi, and Bhut Jolokia, and balances heat with fresh ingredients like onions, tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, and spices. Read more here about the products which are priced between Rs 275 and Rs 350, and are being exported to the US, Canada, New Zealand, and the UAE.
A2: Commercial vehicles
Founded by Siddharth Sharma, Vikas Sharma, and Abhishek Gautam, 91Trucks is a full-stack platform to simplify the process of buying used commercial vehicles. It manages financing, insurance, fitness checks, and RTO transfers
“Their ability to integrate technology with offline retail brings efficiency and trust to a market that has historically lacked both,” says investor Bala Srinivasa, MD, Arkam Ventures. Read more here about how its revenue has grown eight-fold in the last two years, and its plans of using AI to smoothen operations.
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A3: Cigarettes and pollution
Founded by Ketan Prajapati, BuffIndia provides businesses with an end-to-end cigarette waste management solution and creates awareness about proper disposal. It has a footprint in 22 states and 85 cities across India, with its primary waste processing site in Ahmedabad.
Its flagship product is a fire-proof recycling kiosk for cigarette disposal, which is installed on-premises on an annual rental basis. Read more here about its revenue growth, and how the cigarette waste is even upcycled into eco-friendly decor items under the brand Eco Art.
A4: Direct deliveries
Founded by Chandan Singh Ghugtyal, DAAKit is a smart logistics startup helping smaller brands match the speed of ecommerce giants. DAAKit (derived from ‘daakia’, the Hindi word for postman) operates as a D2C enabler, offering end-to-end warehousing and logistics solutions backed by smart technology.
It helps brands decentralise inventory through a network of 10 warehouses across India. Read more here about its proprietary Warehouse Management System (WMS) and its AI and ML algorithms to offer deeper insights, like identifying hero products by geography.
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A5: Climate action
Green fintech startups that are innovating solutions to protect the environment while enhancing financial inclusivity are in the investor spotlight, observes Harsh Gupta, Principal India, Flourish Ventures. Such climate finance enables various climate-positive actions—from financing green energy solutions to protecting farmers through crop insurance.
For example, Stepchange enables ESG reporting and sustainability management in the BFSI industry, and Vidyut provides Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) electric vehicle financing. Read more here about how other green fintech solutions are enabling banks to introduce green financial products to incentivise consumers to embrace climate change.
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 Kanishk Singh
