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Sustainability, healthcare, AI: Test your business creativity with Edition 159 of our weekly quiz!

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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 159th 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.

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Q1: Sustainability in fashion

The fashion industry is facing increasing pressure to adopt eco-friendly practices. What are some ways of developing environmentally sustainable products while creating market value?

Q2: e-Waste

The rapid pace of innovation in the electronics industry is creating large problems of waste generation due to the rapid obsolescence of products like smartphones. What’s an effective way of introducing sustainable practices here?

Q3: Recruitment practices

Traditional recruitment methods, which rely heavily on manual processes, struggle to keep up with the rapid changes and complexity of the job market. How can technology help here?

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Q4: Healthcare disparities

There are severe healthcare disparities between urban and rural areas, particularly in emerging economies. How can technology improve healthcare access in remote areas, and what kinds of impact can be achieved?

Q5: Women at work

Many women professionals face challenges in growing their careers after maternity breaks. Flexible work options are few and far between. How can this gap be filled, and where is the entrepreneurial opportunity here?

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Answers!

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: Sustainability in fashion

Faborg, founded by Gowri Shankar, promotes natural farming practices and the utilisation of traditional fiber-yielding plants such as Calotropis. Also known as milkweed, its fibre is used to produce vegan wool as well as natural pest repellents.

“The textile industry is the third biggest polluter in the world right now,” Shankar says. Read more here about how this inspiring social enterprise has opened up domestic and international markets for its natural products.

A2: e-Waste

“As the push for sustainability becomes more prominent, refurbished phones are emerging as a pivotal solution to address manufacturing waste and e-waste and close the loop in tech consumption,” explains Yug Bhatia, Founder of ControlZ, a smartphone renewing startup.

Opting for refurbished devices also helps reduce the demand for raw materials like gold, copper, and cobalt. Read more here about how tech giants like Apple, Samsung and Google have introduced refurbishment, and why manufacturers need to prioritise modularity and repairability in their designs.

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A3: Recruitment practices

AI-driven talent-matching platforms are transforming how companies hire and are setting new standards for efficiency, accuracy, and fairness in tech talent acquisition, according to Khushal Bakshi, Director – Talent Acquisition, Ascendion.

AI algorithms can gather and analyse data from multiple sources such as LinkedIn and GitHub, and create integrated profiles. Read more here about how AI-driven platforms can also combine video interviewing with predictive analytics to assess candidates at scale.

A4: Healthcare disparities

“Teleconsultations allow people in rural locations to communicate with doctors and specialists in urban areas without traveling, saving their time and money and ensuring timely medical advice and continuous care,” explains Gaurav Dubey, Founder of Livlong 365.

“Mobile health (mHealth) services play a significant role in narrowing the gap,” he adds. Read more here about the positive impacts of digitising health records and roping in AI-powered chatbots to provide real-time medical advice.

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A5: Women at work

FlexiBees, started by Shreya Prakash, Rashmi Rammohan, and Deepa Swami, matches qualified women professionals to flexible work requirements. This helps them balance their professional and personal priorities.

It has provided talent to 800+ companies across the globe, giving jobs to 2,000+ women from India. Read more here about how it has benefited women across industries and functions, including sales, digital marketing, content, virtual assistance, and HR roles

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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BrowserStack launches AI-driven Low Code Automation tool

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Software testing platform BrowserStack has rolled out Low Code Automation, a solution to simplify test automation for quality assurance teams, developers, and non-technical users. 

The newly launched solution will address challenges faced by software teams, including manual testing delays and complex automation frameworks, BrowserStack said in a statement. 

While traditional test automation requires coding expertise by often limiting non-technical testers to contribute, this tool allows user—irrespective of their technical background—to create and manage AI-driven automated tests without writing code. Users can also use BrowserStack’s cloud infrastructure for reliable test execution.

“(The AI-powered Low-Code Automation (LCA) simplifies the process of building and maintaining test automation suites compared to traditional tools like Selenium. It reduces the steep learning curve and complexity often associated with automation projects, leading to a quicker return on investment (ROI),” Chintan Doshi, Director of Product Management at BrowserStack, told YourStory

To support development teams worldwide, Low Code Automation speeds up testing cycles, boosts product quality, and enhances user experience by reducing technical barriers. 

“Citizen testers—such as business analysts, product managers, and customer support teams—can easily add validations and create automated tests with the test recorder, without requiring coding skills. This reduces their dependency on developers and QAs and empowers them to actively contribute to testing efforts,” Doshi explained.

Founded in 2011 by Ritesh Arora and Nakul Aggarwal, BrowserStack provides a cloud-based platform for developers to test websites and mobile apps across devices, operating systems, and browsers on demand.

With headquarters in San Francisco and Mumbai, the company has expanded its product line to include over 15 products, of which 10 were launched in the past 18 months.

In August, the Accel-backed firm acquired Berlin-based Bird Eats Bug, an advanced bug-reporting tool. The acquisition aims to address the existing gaps in bug reporting and streamline fragmented testing workflows.





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Flipkart’s delivery arm Instakart reports widening losses, lower revenue in FY24

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Flipkart’s delivery service arm Instakart’s FY24 losses increased multifold to Rs 1718.4 crore, from Rs 324.6 crore in the previous year, hurt by higher expenses and marginally lower revenues. 

The company, which is in the logistics, warehouse, courier and allied services business, clocked an operating revenue of Rs 12,115.3 crore in FY24, 5% lower than Rs 12,787.4 crore it posted a year ago, according to filings made with Toefler. 

During the period, the company’s total expenses increased 6% to Rs 14,149.4 crore, mainly driven by employee benefit and other expenses. 

Logistics services accounted for the majority (about 78%) of Instakart’s total operating revenues, with Rs 9,429.8 crore, marginally lower than what it collected in the previous year.

Warehousing services, which accounted for about 10% of total operating revenues, witnessed a 28.4% drop in revenue, while collection services, which accounted for 12%, remained stable. 

Just a week ago, Flipkart Internet reported a 21% rise in FY24 revenue at Rs 17,907.3 crore helped by rising income from its advertising services.

Flipkart India Ltd, which is Flipkart’s business-to-business (B2B) arm, reported a 26.4% rise in revenue from operations at Rs 70,541.9 crore in FY24. 





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Google Cloud to boost support for early-stage AI startups with new programmes, partnerships

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Google has rolled out a range of programmes and partnerships to accelerate the growth of AI startups In India. The initiatives, announced at an AI Startups Summit in Bengaluru, will support early-stage AI founders in building, scaling, and expanding their customer base through the utilisation of Google Cloud services.

 

The tech giant recently introduced Emerging ISV Partner Springboard—a 12-week programme designed to fuel growth for AI startups. Participants will benefit from hands-on support in creating go-to-market assets, consultations with Google AI experts for product refinement, guidance on technical architecture best practices, and streamlined onboarding to Google Cloud Marketplace. 

“Google is committed to empowering AI startups to drive innovation and growth. These initiatives demonstrate our dedication to providing critical support and resources to early-stage founders, helping them build and scale successful AI-powered businesses,” said Manish Gupta, Senior Director, Research, Google DeepMind. 

During a fireside chat at the Global Google Cloud Summit, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian applauded startups leveraging AI and cloud technology

“At Google Cloud, our mission is to support these pioneers by providing the essential tools, resources, and mentorship they need to thrive. Through strategic partnerships, tailored programs, and advanced infrastructure, we are committed to enabling businesses to scale their impact and drive the next wave of digital transformation,” said Kurian. 

Early-stage founders will receive enhanced support through the Google for Startups Cloud Program, which will offer $200,000 in Google Cloud credits over two years. AI-based startups will receive even greater support, receiving $350,000 in credits to address the demanding computational needs of advanced AI development, the company said in a statement. 

In addition, Google has collaborated with Y Combinator to provide exclusive access to NVIDIA H100 GPUs and Google Cloud TPUs, along with cloud credits, support, and mentorship for its Summer 2024 group of AI-focused startups.

Furthermore, the tech giant is also joining forces with early-stage accelerators and incubators such as 500, StartX, and Berkeley Skydeck to provide early-stage founders with a special package, including Google Cloud credits, expert advice, and technical workshops

Earlier, the California-headquartered firm also announced the launch of Startup School: GenAI, a four-week training programme designed to help startups leverage AI.





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