Side sparks, the weekly quiz of Your story, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen and lateral thinking skills (see previous edition) here). In this 149th edition of the quiz, we present issues addressed by real entrepreneurs in their startup journey.
What would you do if you were in their shoes? At the end of the quiz, you’ll find out what entrepreneurs and innovators actually did. Would you do things differently?
Discover YourStory Book Review section also, with takeaways from over 355 titles on creativity and entrepreneurship, and our weekend PhotoSparks section on creativity in the arts.
T1: Customer calls
Financial institutions store vast amounts of customer call recordings. This massive amount of unstructured data can provide valuable opportunities for customer service representatives. How can this data be leveraged at scale and in real time?
Q2: Fans and lighting
Traditional blade fans pose safety risks in low-ceiling environments. Round ceiling fans also don’t fit well in the typically square or rectangular rooms of homes and offices. How can you address these design constraints, while adding new features?
T3: Women’s health
Many young women in emerging economies and traditional societies feel uncomfortable asking questions about health issues such as the menstrual cycle and do not fully understand these concepts. How can we find a creative solution to this problem?
T4: Human-animal conflict
The expansion of human settlements leads to an increase in attacks on wild animals, which also cause serious damage to crops. How can this problem be effectively and sustainably solved?
Q5: Payments for food delivery
Food delivery is booming, but some customers and food delivery businesses still face payment challenges when exact change for cash on delivery purchases isn’t available. How can we solve this problem?
Answers!
Congratulations on making it this far! But there’s still more to come: answers to these five questions (below), plus links to more in-depth articles on entrepreneurs’ solutions. Happy reading, happy learning, and happy creating!
A1: Customer calls
“A lot of calls come into call centers, but a lot of upselling or cross-selling opportunities are missed by the customer service agent,” observes Harshita Srivastava, co-founder and CTPO of GreyLabs AI. The speech analytics startup uses GenAI to hone in on customer conversations and derive insights from them.
Its broad language models help financial services institutions understand customer needs and improve service based on interactions with them via calls and emails. here on how it signals opportunities for the outgoing team to reach out to customers to generate leads.
A2: Fans and lighting
Tanya and Karan Goyal launched Karban Envirotech to provide all-in-one climate alternatives to ceiling fans. Their rectangular units integrate air circulation, air purification, and stylish lighting, and are now available on Amazon.
Eliminating the need for multiple appliances saves space and money, and the bladeless design is also safer. here on how the success of this company’s innovative, multifunctional and aesthetic offerings helped secure funding from Titan Capital, All In Capital and Rainmatter.
A3: Women’s health
Reshma Arya and Anurag Hoon are the co-founders of Manzil Mystics, an NGO that educates young girls on gender issues. Her group, WeBhor (We Rise Together), uses music to educate adolescent girls from marginalized and low-income communities about menstruation, sexual health and rights.
“To challenge stereotypes, we need to present taboo topics in ways that prevent them from becoming even more stigmatized,” Hoon says. here on how this NGO has worked with around 20,000 girls to break taboos on such fundamental issues.
A4: Human-animal conflict
SR Ayan, founder and director of Katidhan, aims to reduce animal-human conflicts through innovative solar-powered devices. Launched in 2017, the startup has helped over 2,500 farmers with autonomous light deterrent solutions that can repel large animals like tigers, leopards, elephants and wild boars.
Katidhan has also developed a bioacoustic sound system to keep monkeys away from farmland. Read more here on how this startup generated Rs 1.1 crore in revenue last year and helped farmers across 13 states in India.
A5: Payments for food delivery
Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal has taken inspiration from BigBasket to launch a new credit initiative for Zomanto Money. If exact change is not available during food delivery, customers can receive the balance of their orders against cash on delivery in Zomato Money.
This account balance can be used for future delivery orders or restaurant meals, ensuring that consumers are more compelled to spend through the app. Read more here on how e-commerce and food delivery startups must continue to come up with new innovations to make the customer experience seamless, convenient and repeatable.
YourStory has also published the pocket book “Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups” as a creative and motivating guide for innovators (downloadable as an app here: Apple, Android).
