Lateral Sparks,the weekly quiz fromYourStory,tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous editionhere). In this 247th 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’sBook Reviewsection as well, with takeaways from over 355 titles on creativity and entrepreneurship, and our weekendPhotoSparkssection on creativity in the arts. Surveying a seabed, watching a stretch of coast, or checking a marine pipeline calls for extensive operations by manual crews. Where is the technology opportunity for an entrepreneur here? People often struggle to find dependable help for their elders and infants. This leads to frustration and stress for working couples. How can this problem be solved? Charging drones between trips requires human intervention to swap batteries and launch them again – but this can be costly for frequent uses of drones. How can this issue be addressed? Access to formal credit remains a barrier to women entrepreneurs, many of whom face rejection from lending institutions or require a male co-applicant. How can this gap be resolved? Milk can take seven to ten days to reach consumers through the traditional supply chain, due to requirements of processing, packaging and retailing. How can this be reduced to deliver truly fresh milk? 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! Founded by Nikunj Parashar and Mridul Babbar, Sagar Defence Engineering provides uncrewed boats that can be smaller than regular boats, stay out longer, and work in harsh conditions. Its unmanned AI-enabled marine surface vessels can be used for survey, patrol and data collection. The autonomous navigation system also operates unmanned aerial vehicles for monitoring the territory. Read morehereabout the company’s applications in defence, oil and gas, inland waterways, and oceanography, and its fundraise from ONGC, IDBI and Skegen. Founded by Priyanka Rastogi and Arun Mahendran, EzyHelpers provides home care for elders and has trained and placed more than 2,000 caregivers. The company’s services now span multiple categories beyond caregiving for elders – baby care, housekeeping and gardening. EzyHelpers runs a hostel called ‘Nest’ for helpers to get trained and oriented before taking up their first placement. Read morehereabout how more than 1,000 families across 400-plus residential societies have used its services. Founded by Ankit Mishra , AlgoFET operates an integrated drone station stack covering autonomous docking, battery management, and high-power charging. Its embedded electr
