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Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 57th 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 340 titles on creativity and entrepreneurship, and our weekend PhotoSparks section on creativity in the arts.
The widespread availability of consumer devices, affordable network access, and behavioural 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?
The digital medium opens up a range of opportunities for sellers through websites, apps, and ecommerce portals. But just being able to sell online is not enough – what are some other challenges e-retailers will face?
Much attention understandably focuses on the generation of youth today who are digital natives and can unlock a new wave of markets and business models. But there’s also another demographic than can benefit, though in different ways – how so?
[Year in Review 2021] Top ten changemakers of the year
Digital media have disrupted traditional models of book publishing, music, movies, and payments. Another wave is gathering momentum – synthetic media. How does this work, and what are its impacts?
Moving from idea to implementation is a big first step for startup founders. Product-market fit, traction, and fundraising are other landmarks in the journey. But what’s a key business model factor than can ensure continual growth?
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!
“Expansion of digital lending apps has also created issues like excessive interest rates, unethical recovery practices and data privacy,” cautions Shaktikanta Das, Governor, RBI. It is important for the ecosystem to have a balance between consumer protection and fostering innovation.
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The fintech journey may not always be smooth either. “It’s inevitable that both fintech and regulators will make mistakes, evolve, and learn along the way,” observes Vishal Kampani. Managing Director at JM Financial Institutional Securities.
“The advantage of selling through ecommerce portals is the sheer visibility that a brand gets but then you also compete with hundreds of brands in all price ranges,” observes Chinu Kala, Founder of Rubans, a jewellery brand that sells on Myntra.
There is also more to online customer interaction than immediate transactions. “D2C is important because you have a continuous consumer connect,” advises Ananth Narayanan, Founder, Mensa Brands. “The post-purchase experience is as important as the pre-purchase experience, and it plays a pivotal role in building a robust and sustainable business,” adds Saahil Goel, Co-founder, Shiprocket.
[Year in Review] Meet these Indian women who used social media to drive change and social impact
“Adopting new technology can help older adults avoid social isolation, increase their brain health, and live 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 elders learn new skills, connect with others, and unlock new life experiences
“Synthetic media is poised to become omnipresent in the near future and voice is at the core 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 TTS (text-to-speech) 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 tool and voice library enable the creation of lifelike voices for content by educators, authors, and coaches.
“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 recognise a problem that can be effectively solved. Read more here about factors like pricing models (eg. paid or freemium), frequency of product purchase, and time taken to become a market leader.
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).
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