Space, sustainability, AI: test your business creativity with Edition 258 of our weekly quiz!
Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 258th 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.
Year in Review: The great Indian consumer reset powered by protein, pickleball and micro-dramasQ1: Space debris
The challenges of satellite servicing and removal of space debris are hampering the space ambitions of many nations. How can these problems be addressed?
Q2: Wastewater
Many factories have wastewater treatment, but need to reduce the energy and chemicals needed to clean water for reuse. Where is the entrepreneurial opportunity here?
Q3: Industrial chemicals
Many industries use fossil-derived raw materials, which are not sustainable in the long run from an environmental point of view. Where is the business opportunity here?
Year in Review: Top 10 celebrity-backed ventures of 2025Q4: Cleaning solutions
Many factories and commercial spaces entail jobs such as cleaning that are repetitive and physically demanding. How can technology help here?
Q5: Digital impact
Enterprise software becomes more valuable when it understands not just the task it has been asked to perform, but the context behind it. How can this business benefit be realised in areas like marketing?
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: Space debris
Founded by Chiranjeevi Phanindra, Cosmoserve Space has built a facility to design, build, test, and operate systems for satellite servicing and space debris recovery. Of the approximately 28,000 satellites in orbit, nearly 10,000 are estimated to be dead or non-operational.
Eyeing this space, Cosmoserve also supports satellite servicing, including in-orbit repairs and refuelling. Read more here about its recent fundraise from Rebright Partners, Aranya Holdings, and Naandi Ventures.
A2: Wastewater
Founded by Mrityunjay Sahu, Bariflo Cybernetics combines sensors, AI software and automation to improve wastewater treatment processes. It has IoT sensors to monitor parameters such as pH, total dissolved solids, and flow.
Its AI models use the readings to determine chemical dosage and treatment processes at different stages. Read more here about this technology which can reduce energy consumption by approximately 25% and improve the efficiency of chemical use.
Breaking barriers in 2025: Women’s progress at work and what the road ahead demandsA3: Industrial chemicals
Founded by Apoorv Garg and Yugal Raj Jain, altM uses biomass, including sugarcane bagasse and rice straw, to produce industrial chemicals. This helps the manufacturing sector move away from fossil-derived inputs in sectors such as textiles, construction and packaging.
“We are building a new source of industrial carbon from agricultural residue,” Garg says. Read more here about its recent fundraise from Rainmatter by Zerodha, Mela Ventures, Omnivore, and Spectrum Impact.
A4: Cleaning solutions
Founded by Runal Dahiwade, Peppermint Robotics makes a range of autonomous cleaning robots. They are deployed in factories, hospitals, airports, malls, warehouses, hotels, and universities.
They are particularly effective in physically-demanding settings such as healthcare and hospitality. Read more here about its recent fundraise from pi Ventures, Crane Venture Partners, and Asiana Fund.
How IIT Madras Incubation Cell is powering India’s next-gen deeptech startupsA5: Digital impact
“Every brand now has access to the same AI. What it does not have is the same understanding of its customers,” explains Karthik Venkateswaran, Co-founder of Zocket. The startup helps businesses turn their own data and results into an AI that keeps getting smarter.
It helps deliver marketing that is agentic and context-rich via tools like Brand Brain. Read more here about how this integrated workflow brings consumer intelligence and performance signals into a shared context layer for specialised AI marketing capabilities.
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.
This content is published by YourStory and has not been created or edited by Hello Headlines. View original
