Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 196th 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: AI capabilities
Most companies struggle to get AI into production due to challenges of fragmented tools, slow iteration cycles, and heavy infrastructure overhead. What’s a way out of these problems?
Q2: Road safety
Indian roads are plagued with too many accidents. How can technology help not just monitor and record accidents more accurately, but also help prevent them?
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Q3: Prosthetics
For widespread adoption, bionic devices need to be cheaper than those available in the market but without loss of quality. They also need to be stronger than basic mechanical hooks, and be easy to repair. Where is the entrepreneurship opportunity here?
Q4: Dairy and fodder
Farmers in the dairy sector are often plagued by the lack of green fodder, which impacts cows’ milk output. How can this challenge be tackled?
Q5: Student gig economy
Many college students struggle to find ways to earn extra income, gain work experience, and manage expenses. How can this student gig economy be better organised?
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: AI capabilities
Founded by Nikunj Bajaj, Abhishek Choudhary and Anuraag Gutgutia, TrueFoundry enables enterprises to build, deploy, and manage GenAI applications seamlessly across cloud and on-prem infrastructure. Its self-serve platform offers flexibility, speed and governance needed for modern AI applications.
It aims to be a platform where AI manages AI via a self-sustaining, intelligent control layer that runs autonomously. Read more here about how its platform supports agent-to-agent (A2A) communication, tool chaining, and real-time execution of complex AI tasks.
A2: Road safety
Founded by Ankit Acharya and Pranjal Nadhani, Cautio has developed AI-powered, connected dashcams designed not just to record accidents, but to prevent them. Backed by investors like Antler, 8i, 9Unicorns, and the founders of Cars24, the startup’s dashcams detect fatigue, rash driving, and potential incidents in real-time.
There are alerts for fleet operators and video footage for evidence as needed. Read more here about its local service support for school transport, intercity buses, logistics, and staff transport sectors.
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A3: Prosthetics
Founded by Dhruv Agrawal and Faith Jiwakhan, Aether Biomedical has developed the Zeus Hand, reportedly one of the strongest bionic hands on the market. The device has been instrumental in providing prosthetic limbs to amputees in war-affected areas like Ukraine.
There is also an entire digital platform that works as a digital twin for the patient, and monitors device usage. Read more here about its B2B and B2C models for different markets, and its plans for special devices designed for people with smaller hands.
A4: Dairy and fodder
Founded by Vijay Singh, Shunya Agritech grows green fodder in climate-controlled environments, and ensures that cattle get proper nutrition leading to increased milk yields. “Indian livestock gives about four litres of milk a day when the world average is eight litres,” Singh observes.
The startup grows the fodder through hydroponics, which allows for nutrient-rich feed, a faster growth cycle, and less wastage. Read more here about its B2B2C model via Shunya Saarthi Centres in villages, and its use of AI/ML tools to predict the growth cycle of fodder.
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A5: Student gig economy
Founded Mythri Kumar and Apoorv Prasad, Timbuckdo is empowering college students to earn, save, and grow by offering them verified part-time jobs, discounts, and AI-powered growth tools. The platform currently reports over 200,000 registered users.
It helps them save with exclusive QR-enabled discounts for shopping, food and lifestyle expenses. Read more here about its AI-powered matching engine to offer smarter job recommendations, advanced filtering, and campaign management.
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).
