OBQ 1549: Betting on future.

Here is to a hopeful 2021!

 Year 2020 was the one where hoping for and betting on a good future became essential, identify this firm that is investing in future by backing some of the most innovative firms.

Answer: ARK Investments.

OBQ 1548: You must be kidding...

 In times of Corona I feel amazed when people decide to open new ventures especially in hospitality domain, so I am really amazed by people who are opening new hotels or restaurants, but this guy is taking this to a whole new level by the kind of venture he just started.

Identify the guy who had made a BIG bet recently.

Answer: Sanjay Mandavia of Fly Big airlines, the latest airlines to take skies in India!

OBQ 1547: The bestseller.

 All tech companies are in race to grab your attention share especially during the lockdown phase, here is a company which comes from a rather scenic country closer to Santa's home that is doing this since 2013 and is on top of chart of the bestselling apps ever since.

Connect to the company.

Answer: Supercell

OBQ 1546: First mover disadvantage

First mover advantage is highly overrated specially if you cant sustain it, and this company knows it too well, now after struggling for years to dominate this category now this tech giant has launched another product to try it luck...we hope it doesn't turn into late mover's curse!

Identify the new kid in the town.

Answer: Microsoft Edge Browser

OBQ 1545: Reconstruction man.

 World War-2 was the most destructive event for mankind, this man's name is attached to a reconstruction effort that was responsible to put back world back on the track (or so it is believed!).

Who is he?

Answer: General George Marshall/ Marshall Plan.

OBQ 1544: The French Connection.

Given the product category it is part of when I first heard about this brand I never expected it to be a brand with French or USA connection, I thought it would be from Easter Europe.

But anyways the west has habit of taking product from East and making them premium to sell it at higher price, this case is no different.

Connect these images to a brand,  let me know if you need hints ;).

Answer: Grey Goose Vodka.

OBQ 1543: Paint the world!

This company which is largest in its market has ambition to Cover the earth, but right now it only exists on two of the continents.

Identify the company from its logo, logo itself has a lot of hints!

Answer: Sherwin Williams

OBQ 1542: Non resident Entrepreneur

 We know a lot of techies of Indian origin climbing up at the very top of the companies they work for in USA, however here is a person of Indian origin who is not just the CEO of a top US firm but an entrepreneur who built the firm from scratch and became a billionaire himself (rather than just working for billionaire!).

Identify him and the company he started.

Answer: Niraj Shah of Wayfair.

OBQ 1541: West coast to West coast.

 This company has some of its most important assets on west coasts of different countries, be it Seattle in USA to the quiet place on Western most point of India. After existing for many decades the company is finally getting its act together and everyone from stock market to consumer market is celebrating.

Connect these images to a company.

Answer: Tata Consumer Pvt Ltd.

OBQ 1540: Carpet bombing.

 First of all sorry for being lazy these past three months, have been caught up with a lot of other things but atleast will ensure now that I post two questions a week :)

Here is the one for today.

As Mr.Drucker said there are only two core functions of any business, innovation and marketing! Here is an institution/confederation of multiple companies that has gone on marketing offensive in this last two years to promote its product with help of movie stars, to cricketers and other sport persons in hope of making everyone in India more savvy with their money.

Identify it from the logo.

Answer:AMFI

OBQ 1539: The word of subcontinent.

 India for its sheer size and variety truly justifies itself being described as a sub-continent. Here is a word that provides some proof. Though loosely based on same theme it takes-up different meaning in different parts of India,

Connect these images to the word.

Answer: Tiffin!

OBQ 1538: Price is right.

 Identify the legendary business leader whose idea transformed small mom and pop shops to transform them into one of the biggest industry in the world.

Even his name has enough hints to tell you which industry he was born to work for.

Answer: Sol Price 

OBQ 1537: Electrifying the race.

The race to develop the most practical electric car has all sorts of players from well entrenched like Toyota and VW to the new comers like Tesla and Rimac.

Identify yet another new comer to join the race from its logo.

Answer: Rivian 

OBQ 1536: Tiny island tycoons.

This company that started as a sidekick of all the biggies in the Computer industry went on to become a giant itself one component at a time.

Connect and identify the company.

Answer: Asus

OBQ 1535: Home is where the heart is.

Migration and Immigration is story of life for millions of people over thousands of years, however one wont leave the comfort of their homes if they have options available in their backyards.

Here is a foundation started by a business visionary from Bollywood that helps people achieve their dreams at home.

Name it.

Answer: Swades foundation by Ronnie Screvwala

OBQ 1534: Made of ashes.

Some company rise from ashes like Phoenix, but this company has remains of so many companies in its foundation that it can be said that it is made completely from ashes of those failed ventures. Amazingly though today this is one of the most innovative company in the world and though part of a very boring industry on innovation front it rivals any of the new tech giants.

Connect these images to a company.

Answer: Nucor Steel

OBQ 1533: Very Swiss

 Switzerland is knows for its natural beauty, yummy chocolates and stoic neutrality but it is also known for its history of helping shelter black money from dubious characters from around the world.

Identify the man whose eponymous firm that he founded in 19th century is now gaining infamy in this regard.

Answer: Julius Baer

OBQ 1532: New kid in the shire.

 Simply identify the fintech firm that is gaining popularity with its way of doing business.

Answer: Robinhood

OBQ 1531: Old man and the tree.

If there is a metaphor for the business world where an old man plants a (metaphorical) tree and lot of birds and animals grow under it shade and it yields some sweet fruit then this guy is the one who should be the Old man in that story.

Who is he and which company did he start?

Answer: Don Valentine of Sequoia capital

OBQ 1530: The office.

 Identify the American retailer that quintessentially defines any Office scene from its new logo.

Answer: Staple

 

OBQ 1529: Life outside the box.

 In entertainment content is always king, and this company has proven it beyond any doubts by surviving the onslaught of internet and OTT in world of entertainment by making itself a namesake for great entertainment and programming.

Identify and connect to the company.

Answer: ESPN

OBQ 1528: Drop of wisdom.

 Identify the alliance of bunch of corporations and non-profits that might literally end up saving the world.

Answer:GAVI

OBQ 1527: The side hero in last dance.

 His last-name is a ubiquitous sight if you love watching the ballgames (as Americans define it), identify the man and the company he started.

Answer:Spalding

OBQ 1526: Early starters

 Education is changing rapidly and not just due to the ongoing pandemic but also because of changing the under current of skills needed to thrive in 21st century job market.

Identify the company that was in news and is making most out of this trend.

Answer:Whitehat Junior

 

OBQ 1525: Challenger from the East.

Connect to the company started by two friends that has gradually grown into a house of power brands.

Answer:Emami

OBQ 1524: In the hot seat.

Can't ask a more relevant question at this minute. Who is he? and which hot seat is he about to be seated on?

Answer: Shashidhar Jagdishan

OBQ 1523: Made in USA.

The lure for outsourcing is hard to resist specially when your competitors are getting huge cost advantage out of it, here is a company that has resisted it and turned it into their USP and transformed itself from a niche player to an everyday warrior brand.

Connect the images to a company that is doing "Atmanirbhar USA" campaign for over 50 years ;).

Answer: New Balance

OBQ 1522: Room for growth?

Some industries become some crowded that even if you are the smartest there is barely any room for growth.

This could be the case with this gentleman, who is he and which organization does he lead?

Answer: Vishwavir Ahuja of RBL Bank.

OBQ 1521: Choppy waters ahead.

Its great to see when Indian firms develop new products and services that were previously unavailable in the country, here is a company that has just done that and given all the travel lovers one more reason to step out of home. However the founders of this company would have wished for a better timing.

Identify the company from its logo.

Answer: Jalesh Cruises

OBQ 1520: Adults only.

This is a business which is typically adults only but its marketing tactics makes it visible through all living rooms of cricket playing world.

Connect to a brand that is gaining visibility these days.

Answer: Sandals resorts, one of the main sponsor of West Indies cricket team and the England vs WI test series.

OBQ 1519: Vision or illusion.

You can call someone a visionary only in hindsight, because when the vision is actually shared it may initially sounds like a moon shot. This is true for this gentleman who works under the giant shadow of his boss to fulfill their vision of tech dominated world.

Who is he?

Answer: Rajeev Misra of Softbank who is handling Masayosi Son's pet project the Vision fund.

OBQ 1518: Farmer's market.

Identify the food industry giant from its logo.

Answer: Con Agra Foods.

OBQ 1517: Big Fat Italian Family.

Big families are rare in western world these days, but this family has over 200 members and probably good reason to keep them together is their big family business.

Id and Connect to the business family.

Answer: The Agnelli family

OBQ 1516: Gobbled up.

Yet another aggregator that got gobbled up by a biggie.

Identify it from its logo.

Answer: Postmates the food delivery company acquired by Uber.

OBQ 1515: The Sentimeter.

Sentiments and emotions are hard to quantify but they are the very basis of human behaviour, so in this era of Big Data there is an index quantifying human emotions around the world and it is closely monitored by businessmen and policy makers alike the world over.

Identify the index.

Answer: Consumer confidence index,

OBQ 1514: Managing the fine balance.

Managing the balance of fame and success not the easiest to handle, few do it successfully. Identify the young female sensation by connecting the images below.

Answer: Simon Biles.

OBQ 1513: The upside.

As people fret over stepping out of their houses some companies are bound to have a huge upside during the times of pandemic.

Identify one of the company that will see the upside.

Answer: Dunzo

OBQ 1512: Still in fashion.

Identify one of the most iconic fashion designer from the last century whose label is still very fashionable.

Answer: Yves Saint Laurent

OBQ 1511: The Home

Giving any hints hear would be blasphemy, the images below have enough hints.

Identify the place.

Answer: Lord's cricket ground or the Marylebone Cricket Club.

OBQ 1510: Short streams

Identify yet another streaming service backed by some big shots from entertainment and tech industry from its logo.

Answer: Quibi

OBQ 1509: Hisab kitab 2.0

Here is a company that is helping small Indian business to simplify and digitize their hisab kitab. Connect and identify the company.

Answer: Khatabook

OBQ 1508: Industial might.

The industrial tech firms once considered as the most powerful of the firms are now considered lagging behind their rivals from new tech industry like Google and Microsoft. 

However just to prove their point this company has done something unprecedented in computing industry with technology shown in the image below.

Tell me the name of company and technology that it developed to do a quantum leap in computing.

Answer: Honeywell made the world's fastest super computer.

OBQ 1507: Call of Duty.

Simply identify the logo.

Answer: Doctors sans frontier.

OBQ 1506: The new mogul.

Its hard to step into someone's shoes especially if they are too big to fill, he is now leading a company that is known to dominate entertainment industry and his predecessor was the top gun by a long margin. Atleast what might help is that their first names are same!

Who is he and he is the new CEO of which company?

Answer:  Bob Chapek the new CEO of Disney

 

OBQ 1505: Empty orchestra.

Having passion but not enough money could be a problem,and every problem gives opportunity to innovate. Here is one company that solved a problem of music industry to give rise to a quirky little niche category of music.

Identify the company from its logo.

Answer: Persang Karaoke

OBQ 1504: An idea before it became fancy.

Like in surfing in business it is great if you can anticipate and ride the next wave. Here is a guy who saw a huge wave of Private Equity investing emerging and was one of the first start a PE Firm.

Who is he? and name the firm he lends his name to.

Answer: Lionel Pincus of Warburg Pincus

OBQ 1503: United against racism.

Companies that compete in same industry would be at each others throats to get ahead of each other, but sometimes there are bigger forces at play that unite them in their stance. Here are two such companies that are united under the ongoing protests in US for #Blacklivesmatter.

Identify the companies or just tell me which industries do they belong to.

Answer: Trek and Fuji two of the largest performance bicycle manufacturer that have stopped their contracts with various police departments in USA.

OBQ 1502: Content is king.

Substance is always important than style, this 50 years + company is a proof of that in the ever changing landscape of media consumption.

Identify the company.

Answer: Shemaroo

OBQ 1501: Little bear.

There are lots of ways to make money, some legitimate, some illegitimate. The guy in picture is in news for his money making schemes, though he is not as famous as his dead brother he plans to make money by some dubiously legal means. His brother would be surely ashamed in his grave.

Who is he? Just the last name is enough!

Answer: Roberto Escobar brother of Drug Mafia Pablo Escobar

OBQ 1500: A sticky business model.

Finally 1500th  post! 10 years, thanks to all the Loyal OBQ followers !!!

It has to be a tough one for this monumental milestones.

Being a chemical company was a cool thing once upon a time, not any more. However if you are the company in question then it hardly matters as you are more a household name and your products are in pretty much all rooms of the house, especially in certain parts of Europe.

Identify the European behemoth.

Answer: Henkel