By Madanmohan Rao

Copyright yourstory

Our weekly quiz on business creativity. Read, learn, share!

Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 206th 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 355 titles on creativity and entrepreneurship, and our weekend PhotoSparks section on creativity in the arts.
Q1: Household cleaning
Household cleaning products have adverse impacts on the environment when they include toxic components. Their packaging and delivery sometimes involve excessive waste as well. Where is the entrepreneurial opportunity here?
Q2: Agricultural productivity
Farmers face challenges in detecting and preventing crop diseases. This leads to lower agricultural yield and economic hardships. How can technology help here?
Q3: EV fleets
Keeping EV fleets operational calls for overcoming challenges of unreliable charging points and battery degradation, which leads to vehicles losing uptime. What’s a solution to this challenge?
Q4: Surplus food
Millions of tonnes of surplus food are wasted every year, ending up in landfills or compost pits. At the same time, many industries face rising costs in getting raw materials. How would you connect the two problems and find a solution?
Q5: Plastic waste
Plastic waste continues to pose challenges in terms of environmental damage and health hazards. What is a way to address this problem at scale, and not just at the individual level of ‘avoid plastic’?

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!
A1: Household cleaning
Founded by Mayank Jain and Karan Shah, Cleevo (‘Cleaning Evolution’) is making household cleaning more eco-friendly via compact, non-toxic concentrates that are far gentler on the planet. The powder-based DIY cleaners reduce plastic packaging, storage needs, and shipping costs.

Its range covers kitchens, floors, dishes, glass, and all-purpose cleaning, all packaged in reusable, refillable containers. Read more here about how 35–40% of its customers reorder refill packs, cutting down on repeat bottle purchases and packaging waste.
A2: Agricultural productivity
AgriPilot.ai has developed a platform for crop health monitoring and disease detection by combining satellite imagery, on-field sensors, and weather forecasts. DroneQube’s drones combine AI-driven analytics with multispectral and thermal imaging to detect crop anomalies and support early identification of diseases.

Fyllo has use multiple on-premise sensors to gather real-time data from soil and crops to generate insights for disease control. Read more here about other startups like CarbonMint (access to carbon credit opportunities) and Salam Kisan (customised fertiliser recommendations and marketplace inputs).
A3: EV fleets
Founded by engineers Sheetanshu Tyagi and Rahul Patel, EMO Energy has developed intelligent energy systems such as AIS-certified battery packs and a tech stack to manage battery optimisation. The deep energy-tech platform enables ultra-fast, 20-minute charging and sustains the battery for more than 2,000 charging cycles.

Its batteries use a patented thermal management system with liquid cooling that maintains thermal stability even in up to 45 degrees Celsius environments. Read more here about its solutions well-suited to Indian conditions of high heat, daily operations, and frequent fast charging.
A4: Surplus food
Founded by Saket Dave and Krishnan Kasturirangan, WasteLink turns surplus food into feed ingredients for cattle, poultry and aquaculture. It works with around 30 food suppliers, collecting surplus from companies in India such as Slurrp Farm, Mille, and The Baker’s Dozen.

It uses AI to improve collection from thousands of locations via intelligent routing. Read more here about how it charges Rs 25,000-Rs 35,000 per tonne and has around 15-20 paying customers, leading to over Rs 27 crore in revenue last year.
A5: Plastic waste
Co-founded by Vaibhav Anant, Bambrew began by manufacturing bamboo-based straws and small-scale paper alternatives. Over time, it shifted its focus in response to market needs such as paper-based solutions for e-commerce instead of plastic mailer bags, courier sleeves, and packaging tape.

Based in Bengaluru, its B2B products are available today in more than 10 countries. Read more here about its R&D setup and its target of Rs 100 crore in revenue over the next year.

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).
(Edited by Kanishk Singh)