Test your company’s creativity with edition 57 of our quiz!
Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from Your story, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen and lateral thinking (see previous edition here). In this 57th edition of the quiz, we present issues tackled by real-life entrepreneurs on 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 founders and innovators themselves actually did. Would you do things differently?
Check out YourStory’s Book review section too, with takeaways from over 340 titles on creativity and entrepreneurship, and our weekend PhotoSparks part about creativity in the arts.
Q1: Fintech opportunities and challenges
The widespread availability of consumer devices, affordable network access and behavioral data are some drivers of the fintech industry. But there are also challenges that fintech entrepreneurs should keep an eye on. What are some of these ethical concerns?
Q2: E-commerce: transactions and more
The digital medium opens up a number of opportunities for sellers through websites, apps and e-commerce portals. But just being able to sell online is not enough – what other challenges will e-retailers face?
Q3: Demographics and technology
Much attention is understandably focused on the generation of youth today who are digital natives and can unlock a new wave of markets and business models. But there is also another demographic that can benefit, but in different ways – how?
Q4: New media boundaries
Digital media have disrupted traditional models of book publishing, music, movies and payments. Another wave is gaining momentum – synthetic media. How does this work, and what are the consequences?
Q5: Sustaining business growth
Going from idea to implementation is a big first step for startup entrepreneurs. Product market fit, traction and fundraising are other landmarks on the journey. But what is an important business model factor than can ensure continuous growth?
Answers!
Congratulations on making it 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 founders’ solutions. Good reading, good learning – and good creation!
A1: Fintech opportunities and challenges
“The proliferation of digital lending apps has also created problems such as excessive interest rates, unethical recovery practices and data privacy,” it warns Shaktikanta Das, Governor, RBI. It is important for the ecosystem to strike a balance between consumer protection and promoting innovation.
The fintech journey may not always be smooth either. “It is inevitable that both fintech and regulators will make mistakes, evolve and learn along the way,” observes Vishal Kampani. CEO of JM Financial Institutional Securities.
A2: E-commerce: transactions and more
“The advantage of selling through e-commerce portals is the high visibility a brand gets, but then you are also competing with hundreds of brands in all price ranges,” observes Chinu Kala, Founder of Rubans, a jewelery brand that sells on Myntra.
There is also more to online customer interaction than instant transactions. “D2C is important because you have a continuous consumer connection,” he advises Ananth Narayanan, Founder, Mensa Brands. “The post-purchase experience is as important as the pre-purchase experience and plays a central role in building a robust and sustainable business,” adds Saahil Goel, Co-founder, Shiprocket.
A3: Demographics and technology
“Adopting new technology can help older adults avoid social isolation, boost brain health and lead healthier and happier lives,” advises Deval Delivala, co-founder of GetSetUp.
She cites the launch of companionship-as-a-service startup Goodfellows, backed by industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata, as an exemplary digital platform that helps older adults live independently. read more here about how GetSetUp helps seniors learn new skills, connect with others and unlock new life experiences
A4: New media boundaries
“Synthetic media is poised to become ubiquitous in the near future, and voice is at the heart of it,” predicts Ankur Edkie, co-founder of Murf AI. The synthetic speech technology startup raised $10 million in a Series A funding round from Matrix Partners India and Elevation Capital.
AI-powered text-to-speech (TTS) capabilities can track and learn from a vast amount of contextual information to generate relevant responses. read more here about how the startup’s SaaS tools and voice library make it possible to create lifelike voices for content by teachers, writers and coaches.
A5: Sustaining business growth
“Don’t build a business model to raise money, actually build a business model to solve problems and the money will follow,” advises Vishal Gupta, co-founder of Gynoveda.
Aspiring entrepreneurs should first recognize a problem that can be solved effectively. read more here on factors such as pricing models (e.g. paid or freemium), frequency of product purchases and the time it takes to become a market leader.
YourStory has also released the wallet “Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups” as a creative and motivating guide for innovators (can be downloaded as apps here: Apple, Android).
