Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 46th 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.

Q1: The shopping experience

The online shopping experience can be improved with effective website and app design, special promotional offers, and prompt customer service. Augmented reality can also enhance the interactive experience. But what’s another key tech enabler to drive personalised shopping?

Q2: Software bugs

Product cycles are becoming shorter, and almost every company is facing a new wave of competitors and disruptors. A key challenge here is fixing software bugs effectively and promptly – otherwise, they lead to revenue loss and customer churn. What’s another impact of bugs that needs to be addressed?

Q3: WFH and beyond

The remote work movement was accelerated during the pandemic, particularly for white-collar workers. It offered safety, convenience and continuity for workflows. It also offers many benefits for women – what are some of these advantages?

Q4: Metrics and focus

Product-market fit and traction should be key focus areas for founders, along with a growing base of customers, repeat sales, and further referrals. But in the race for growth and scale, another key metric is often overlooked – what is that?

Q5: MSME opportunities and challenges

The pandemic has severely dented the fortunes of many MSMEs. Government schemes and community support can help them survive and thrive. Another solution has also emerged, though not without its own challenges – what is this new path?

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: The shopping experience

“Today, AI-powered personalisation is important at every touchpoint to create a strong shopping experience,” explains Kalpit Jain, Group CEO, Netcore Cloud.

“D2C and ecommerce brands need strong technological capabilities to offer shoppers more customised experiences and increase conversions,” he adds. Read more here about the company’s one-stop solution for digital-first ecommerce brands, which includes an interactive feedback loop to craft an effective customer retention strategy.

A2: Software bugs

“Any bug has a huge impact on an organisation in terms of revenue loss, customer churn, and much more importantly loss of precious developer time in resolving that bug,” explains Sanjay Nath, Co-founder of Blume Ventures.

“When a product reaches millions of users, there are different workflows and use cases that developers couldn't have thought of,” adds Vishalini Paliwal, Founder and CEO, Zipy. Read more here about this software debugging tool for small and medium-sized businesses, that can bring down the TTR (test, troubleshoot, repair) time and effort of a bug by 10X.

A3: WFH and beyond

“Hybrid working – the post-pandemic model now favoured by millions of people and the firms that employ them – is a key way to combat the so-called ‘she-cession’,” explains Harsh Lambah, VP Sales, South Asia at IWG.

“The pandemic has shown that remote work is viable, and I believe that will help in attracting more women to enter the tech industry where in many roles remote work is doable,” adds Sarita Digumarti, Chief Learning Officer, UNext Learning.

A4: Metrics and focus

“No matter which stages a startup is in, they would do well to keep a close tab on core business and ensure unit economics is strict as per plan,” advises Amit Nawka, Partner, Deals and India Startups Leader, PwC India.

Nithin Kamath, Founder and CEO of brokerage firm Zerodha, also cautions that startups often fail due to misjudging the market size and opportunity, setting wrong expectations, and chasing valuations.

A5: MSME opportunities and challenges

“At the core of real growth are succession plans. The technology used today will decide what Indian MSMEs will learn in the future,” observes Pushkar Mukewar, CEO, Drip Capital. MSMEs must gear up for the future by building resilient business models powered by technology.

But there are challenges on this path as well. “The absence of systematic technical support and timely legal help has led to unnecessary delays and an increase in expenditure for MSMEs,” cautions Rahul Hingmire, Founding Partner at Vis Legis Law Practice, Advocates.

YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World 0of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).