Monday, December 27, 2021

OBQ 1667: In your hood.

If you live in some parts of India you might have seen specific outlets bearing this logo in last six months, name the company that is increasing its presence at a crazy pace in an industry dominated by government.

Identify the logo.

Answer: Nayara Energy

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

OBQ 1666: The mouthpiece.

Media and Journalists find it hard to be influenced by those in power, however in some cases there reason to exist itself is to be the mouthpiece for their masters. Here is one such case.

This person is associated with such media entity, name the entity and the person.

Answer: He is Hu Xijin the editor of Chinese government mouthpiece "Global Times"


Saturday, December 18, 2021

OBQ 1665: The IN Thing

Here are two images that connect to a term that is gaining more and more popularity in the management world.

What is the term and how are they connected to these images?

Answer: Blink the term first popularized by Malcolm Gladwell and being recently adapted by Grofers to rebrand itself



Wednesday, December 15, 2021

OBQ1664: Gobbled up.

 These days the motto of big tech is "either you acquire companies or you get acquired yourself", identify the firm that recently got acquired.

                                                                    Answer:Nuance


Sunday, December 12, 2021

OBQ 1663: Thinking about thinking.

Here is a guy who has dedicated his life to decipher how we think what we think, and in the process has given rise to a new school of thought.

Who is he?

Answer: Daniel Kahnemann the father of behavioural science


Wednesday, December 8, 2021

OBQ 1662: Living the realty

Real-estate are called real for a reason, here is a company that has capitalized on this age old industry in a very systematic way. They might not build real-estate but they are capitalizing on it.

Identify them from their logo.


Answer: JLL the real estate consulting giant.


Sunday, December 5, 2021

OBQ 1661: Well oiled machine.

Here is a business that started in pre-independence era in very low-tech industry and is now a full blown conglomerate that spans from agriculture to aerospace and is professionally run.

Connect these images to the Business group.

Answer: Mahindra group


Friday, December 3, 2021

OBQ 1660: The Quiet one

He is one of those person who started the start-up culture in 20th century unlike his fellow entrepreneurs he is not a cannonball, he is quiet and persistent and has started and funded dozen of successful firms in last 25 years.

Who is he?

Answer:Pierre Omidyar

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

OBQ 1659: Too big to ignore.

Even I hadn't heard about them till recently, but then I learned they are the most valuable company in Europe, so one can't ignore it. 

With that as clue identify this firm from its logo.

Answer: ASML, one of the largest manufacturer of machines that are used for making semi-conductor chips.



Saturday, November 27, 2021

OBQ 1658: Times...they are changing.

 ...and so is this brand that has survived for over 100 years though under different set of owners.

Connect these images to an iconic brand that defines an entire industry.

Answer: Rado


Wednesday, November 24, 2021

OBQ 1657: Back in business.

 As COVID recedes in India, here is one of the brands gaining traction among its loyal customers.

Identify the hospitality brand.

Answer: Trident hotels


Monday, November 22, 2021

OBQ 1656: Master of (very big) Ceremonies

Indians are hogging limelight everywhere, in this case at one of the biggest and broadly covered mega event that took place recently covering pretty much all countries in the world.

He was the MOC, who is he?

Answer: Alok Sharma who presided over COP 26 gathering in Glasgow


Friday, November 19, 2021

OBQ 1655: A friend indeed.

A good friend is defined by how someone deals with you when you are at your worst and weakest. Here is few images from one such friend of India that has helped India when it needed it most.

Connect these to a country. If you can explain what all these images represent then you are a genius!


Answer:Russia/USSR

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

OBQ 1654: All eggs in one basket.

They say don't put all your eggs in one basket, this company/business group defied the popular wisdom and diversified deep in the financial sector.

Identify the company from its logo.

Answer:IIFL


Sunday, November 14, 2021

OBQ 1653: Not on my reading list.

 The author of this cook book is fairly famous but not for this kind of books, who is he?

You can easily google this answer and I won't know it....but you would😉

Answer: Abhijit Banerjee, the winner of Nobel in Economics


Thursday, November 11, 2021

OBQ 1652: Man on the strip.

He started as being biggest real estate developer on Las Vegas strip, now he dominates the skyline of many world cities. This is a man that Mr. Trump is still jealous of.

Who is he? Even last name would do.

Answer:Steve Wynn


Tuesday, November 9, 2021

OBQ 1651: Sliding in the history

Continuing with the popular culture theme this week...Connect these images to an iconic brand (some would say institution) that completed 100 years and turned an entire industry on its head.

Answer: White-Castle




Sunday, November 7, 2021

OBQ 1650: Black Swan

They were never supposed to be this big, neither as creative artist nor as a business empire. They truly black swans! Name the band of this ridiculously successfully boys.


Answer: BTS the legendary band that globalized K-pop


Wednesday, November 3, 2021

OBQ 1649: Animal on the prowl.

This animal is owned by government and now seems to have taken hold of all major metros in India. Identify the agency from its logo.


Answer: National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL)


Sunday, October 31, 2021

OBQ 1648: Meta is their beta :)

Meta or what used Facebook is just one of those success stories that they helped develop they are the real big daddies of Technology as we know it.

Who are they?

 Answer: Andressen Horowitz the big investors of silicon valley


Thursday, October 28, 2021

OBQ 1647: Immigrants to the rescue.

The immigrants are a nation of their own, in many cases though the rescued immigrants become the rescuers for the human society.

Connect the images to an immigrant couple that did just that. Name them or the company they started.

Answer:BioNTech and its founders Dr.Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci



Tuesday, October 26, 2021

OBQ 1646: Masterpiece turns 20

Wheels are considered to be amongst the greatest inventions of all time, here is one such "wheel based" design that came in existence some 20 years ago and millions of users will swear by its design.

Identify the product that caused a revolution thanks to the humble wheel.

Answer: iPod and its clickwheel


Saturday, October 23, 2021

OBQ 1645: Bellwether or Outlier?

Here is a company that was in news earlier this month for wrong reason, what we dont know is that is it an outlier or its one of many to come.

Identify the big name from Asia which is no longer that big.

Answer:Evergrande


Thursday, October 21, 2021

OBQ 1644: A view from outer space.

There are lot of memes and misinformation on what is visible on this earth when you are up there in the space, however this one might have never come to your attention. This image is not fake and its a 3D image. It can be seen from space and its in Pacific ocean.

Its a big worry, What is it?

Answer: The Pacific garbage patch


Tuesday, October 19, 2021

OBQ 1643: Chaiwalah

He might not describe himself as a chai wala because he is probably too classy and belongs to a much younger generation, who is he?

Answer: Bala Sarda of Vahdam teas


Saturday, October 16, 2021

OBQ 1642:Up for grabs.

At right price everything is available or at least it seems to be the case with this "Investor", identify the small country which has bought a lot of big names thanks to the huge pile of money it has generated by some dubious means.


Answer:The Saudi Arabian investment authority has part in all these, the latest acquisition being the Newcastle united club, last logo.



Wednesday, October 13, 2021

OBQ 1641: The ethical investor.

 Investing is no longer about just buying low and selling high, its also a lot about Corporate Governance and getting rid of the skeleton in any company's closet.

Here is a company that has done that a lot and is recently in news in India.

Identify the company from its logo.

Answer: Invesco


Sunday, October 10, 2021

OBQ 1640: Mind over matter.

Beauty is a subjective thing, but in 21st century its objectified to hilt, here is a person who is beautiful but her true achievements are the ones where she put mind over matter. Connect these images to an icon who will be remembered for not just being a pretty face but also for a tough will.


Answer: Deepika Padukone


Friday, October 8, 2021

OBQ 1639: On the money.

Identify the mavericks who started a firm that lets the common man make money before they make the money themselves. 

Its a start-up that is truly for "Bharat".

Answer:Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani


Tuesday, October 5, 2021

OBQ 1638: Valuing the invaluable.

 You need to identify which company's logo is this, the second image/logo is just a hint, another hint...both companies are in business of risk assessment and management.

Answer:Milliman


Sunday, October 3, 2021

OBQ 1637: One in a billion.

Even in 21st century there are very few woman technologist who can prove their mettle in laboratory as well as in boardroom.

Here is one who not only took on some of the most devious silicon valley monopolies but did that with smile on the face and won.

Identify the lady who is literally one in a billion.
Answer: AMD CEO Lisa Su




Wednesday, September 29, 2021

OBQ 1636:Past imperfect.

Be it human beings or companies, when you are born in place like Germany, the past haunts the present but if you deal with it like Frau Merkel you can make future almost perfect.

Connect these images to a firm that has entered in its 15th decade regardless of its shenanigans from the past. 

This is fairly easy if you know your movies or history.

Answer: Munich Re (reinsurer)


Sunday, September 26, 2021

OBQ 1635: Johny Johny!

Simply identify the new kid on the block from its logo. Its obvious, no?

Answer: Sugar cosmetics



Friday, September 24, 2021

OBQ 1634: Controversy sells.

Where we see controversy a marketer will see opportunity, the marketers in this organization have done that for last five decades and made itself into a global brand that stands for equality and love.

Identify the brand from one of its super controversial ads.

Answer: United colours of Benetton


Tuesday, September 21, 2021

OBQ 1633: The Newsmakers

There are those who are on page3 and then their are those who are on the front page, this power couple has come under tremendous pressure in last one year or so for the kind of venture they run has lots of expectations set-up on it.

They have come out on top of it and made India proud.

ID them and the powerhouse of a company they run.

Answer: Krishna and Suchitra Ella of Bharat Biotech.


Sunday, September 19, 2021

OBQ 1632: Power_Shift.

In these crazy inflationary times its not enough to be just a billionaire and a daredevil pilot, you also need to grab good PR opportunities to grab everyone's attention and give cold feet to competition.

He is a billionaire who just did that and his fame literally shot through the roof.

Connect these images to a man who is king of all trades.
Answer: Jared Isaacman! Now go google it :)


Thursday, September 16, 2021

OBQ 1631: Go big or go home!

Work life balance in the time of SARS COV-2 and "the move to cloud" may seem like a recent thing but not for this company, they have been doing cloud computing for over a decade and taking on big names like Salesforce, Amazon and Microsoft on their own turf.

Identify the homegrown company that caters to the world and is about to hit the Capital markets.

Answer: Freshworks



Monday, September 13, 2021

OBQ 1630: Its a liquidity problem.

When you have lots of money you can do anything with it, this has been true from the time of the king of Lanka (Raavan) , here we have a 21st century tycoon doing something similar.

Connect these two images to one of the red hot start-ups that is just a month older than the Taliban Government in Afghanistan.


Answer: Altos a start-up that plans to make humans immortal!


Friday, September 10, 2021

OBQ 1629: First to go!

Its always not a first mover advantage, but this country has decided to do something the most developed countries have also not dared to.

Identify the country and its #1 downloaded app from its logo.

Answer: Strike app that is now used in Ecuador to trade using Bitcoin.


Wednesday, September 8, 2021

OBQ 1628: Partner in crime.

Some corporate sagas deserve a movie or two of their own! Here is one. This guy (who I will not call gentleman) and his far more famous Ex-girlfriend created company that was perhaps the most sophisticated corporate fraud of recent times. 

Now they are suing each other!

Identify him/his-Ex/and their love child (the company they founded).

Answer: Sunny Balwani, boyfriend of Elizabeth Holmes the Theranos fame!




Sunday, September 5, 2021

OBQ 1627: Game of thrones.

Simply connect these companies to a business personality who might have something to do with Game of Thrones....both literally and metaphorically :).

Answer: Marc Beinoff


Thursday, September 2, 2021

OBQ 1626: Not so right.

You can't fix the history but you can fix the future, identify the team that is in controversy because of the choices made some 40 years back.

Answer: The football team of New Zealand which is also known as "All Whites"


Monday, August 30, 2021

OBQ 1625: All things awesome!

Its digital, environment conscious and started by bunch of Desis who returned from "foreign land", this is what I call a true power couple.

Identify them and the brand that just planted a tree for me today!

Answer: The "Alagh couple" of Mamaearth.


Friday, August 27, 2021

OBQ 1624: Not apple.

OK this is a little tongue in cheek, this is an Indian firm in digital space, identify the company by part of its logo.

Answer: Affle 


Wednesday, August 25, 2021

OBQ 1623: What is in the name?

There have been lots of questions about how this country and its name should be used globally, however its habitant couldn't care less, as they are the one who are making more money than the big brother!

Connect these images to a country.

Answer: Taiwan.


Saturday, August 21, 2021

OBQ 1622: The other half.

 Identify the big shot who is almost as famous as his wife!

Answer: Sanjay Nayyar the Ex-KKR banker.


Wednesday, August 18, 2021

OBQ 1621: You are covered!

Covid or no Covid some business are bound to bloom! Identify the humble organization that started more than 70 years ago and is now spread across all of India.


Answer: Dr. Lal Pathlabs


Sunday, August 15, 2021

OBQ 1620: Master network.

Identify the little network that started under a huge tree and then all of a sudden became so big that now the big tree is scared!

So tip your hat and connect these images to a company.

Answer: Arista Networks



Thursday, August 12, 2021

OBQ 1619: Diverse literature.

 Simply identify the logo of one of the oldest publication that has decided to come out of closet!


Answer: Mills and Boons publications



Friday, August 6, 2021

OBQ 1618: Podium finish.

There are a lot of contributions and sacrifices for every person who stands on Olympic podium or any other stage but its amazing if that contribution comes from past generations.

Identified this icon who among other things laid foundation for great sporting culture in some of our Northern states.

Hint: His birth anniversary is on 7th of August!

Answer: Mr. Omprakash Jindal. The man behind JSW group.