Lateral Sparks, a weekly quiz from YourStory, tests knowledge across various fields, business acumen, and the ability for unconventional thinking. This 251st edition of the quiz examines the challenges faced by real entrepreneurs during the launch phase of their startups.
Participants are asked to consider hypothetical situations to understand the decisions made by innovators and entrepreneurs themselves. Readers are also encouraged to check out the YourStory book reviews section, which compiles insights from over 355 publications on creativity and entrepreneurship, as well as the weekend PhotoSparks section dedicated to artistic creativity.
The quiz presents the following problems: how to solve the issue of high fragmentation and labor-intensive debt collection for banks, which affects income assurance and scaling? How can pharmaceutical companies minimize risks related to patient safety, considering prescriptions, quality, and expiration dates, using technology? How to reduce waste from banana stalks after harvest while simultaneously creating income sources and livelihoods for farmers? Where lies the business opportunity for autonomous vehicles, drones, robots, and unmanned transport that require precise location and destination information? And finally, where is the entrepreneurial potential, given the growing demand from new generations of audiences for sports experiences in participation, competition, entertainment, content, and culture formats?
The quiz concludes with answers to these five questions, along with links to articles providing detailed descriptions of the solutions proposed by the entrepreneurs.
Rezolv, founded by Karan Mehta and Sonali Jindal, utilizes artificial intelligence capabilities for risk assessment, underwriting, and debt collection. Its platform covers functions ranging from customer interaction and loan servicing to collections, reimbursements, and field operations. Rezolv collaborates with over 20 banks and NBFCs, including ICICI Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, Bajaj Auto Credit, and Muthoot Capital. The company recently secured funding from Vertex Ventures and Norwest India.
Graph AI, founded by Raghav Parvataraaju, integrates AI with deterministic controls, validation levels, and end-to-end audit trails for regulated pharmacovigilance environments. This helps manage operational complexity and ensures traceability, accountability, and human oversight. Parvataraaju notes: 'Traditionally, pharmacovigilance scaled by increasing the number of people and processes around outdated systems. We believe that intelligence can change this.'
Taruwar Agro Industries, founded by Jagat Kalyan, Satyam Kumar, and Nitish Kumar Verma, focuses on extracting fiber from discarded banana stalks. From this fiber, they produce various items such as folders, yoga mats, baskets, and prayer rugs. Banana plant residues are used to produce vermicompost and liquid plant feed, which also creates local employment. The company achieved a revenue of approximately 2.5 crore rupees in FY26 through B2B and B2C models.
The startup Yaanendriya, founded by Vamshi Bharadwaj MV, Vishkaim Y, Vijay HP, and Arvind Tambur, designs and manufactures sensors, navigation, and control systems. These accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers are used by drones to determine their location and route. The system serves commercial and defense needs using satellite signals, radio positioning, enhanced characteristics, and filtering algorithms to correct drift. In its first year, the company's revenue exceeded 68 lakh rupees, and it also attracted funding from Piper Serica.
NODWIN Gaming, founded by Akshat Rati, offers platforms for esports as well as traditional sports. The company plans to expand sports competitions, develop mass lifestyle projects, and collaborate with governing bodies, rights holders, and brands. Rati states: 'We see an opportunity to create projects that reflect how young audiences participate, compete, follow, and interact with sports today.'
