‘I don’t have ‘na’ or ‘no’ in my vocabulary’ – 35 quotes from Indian startup journeys

From personalisation to persistence, witness the memorable journey of Indian entrepreneurship in these excerpts and stories! StoryBites is a weekly feature from YourStory, featuring notable quotable quotes in our articles of this past week (see the previous post here). Share these 35 gems and insights from the week of May 1-7 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights!

Just throwing headcount at a problem doesn’t solve it. – Varun Khona, HeadOut

Personalisation is a key piece which helps consumers discover and transact in a fast, frictionless and intuitive manner. - Rohit Bansal, Snapdeal

A lot of individuals are clueless today on what to do with their finances. - Ajay Singh, 5nance.com

Although many want to rent out their private vehicles, they cannot do so due to a private number plate. - Anupam Agarwal, Revv

The concept of a driver on demand is underserved. – Sovin Hegde, Zuver

From being a manual labourer a couple of months ago, to driving an electric vehicle is a great feeling. - Ravi Kumar, Smart-E driver

A new market for eco-friendly “green” products has opened up for e-tailers and the new generation of entrepreneurs who truly do care about the environment. - Nidhi Mehta, NeedyBee.com

On-demand models work in an environment where there is enough liquidity on the demand side and the supply side and there is localised match between the two. - Abhimanyu Dhamija, Amber Wellness

When Indian companies increase R&D spends it would be fantastic for them to work with startups. - Sanjay Anandaram, Seed Fund

Most businesses are already data rich, but insight poor. – Benard Marr, ‘Big Data’

Visual experience is an important element in assessing a car or bike. - Amit Jain, GirnarSoft

Many cities still don’t even have [transportation] timetables or schedules in a digital format. - Martynas Gudonavičius, Trafi

Textbooks do mention experiments, but most schools lack infrastructure to provide a platform to every student for performing the experiments. – Monica Yadav, Respire Experiential Learning

Technology which allows us to personalize learning at scale using bots will be one of the biggest drivers of innovation in the educational space. - Allwin Agnel, Prepathon

FDI allowance in India has been a gamechanger for domestic brands. – Anusha Jain, Bonjour

Unfortunately, India is still developing guidelines for indigenously developed medical devices. - Suman Kapur, RightBiotic

The most important lesson I have learnt as a surgeon is decision making. – Dr Arvind Bhateja

Sleep is a small miracle that lets you see the world anew with fresh eyes and reinvigorated spirit. – Arianna Huffington

While innovations have drastically improved for the visually impaired, there hasn’t been much progress for the deaf. - Dhruv Lakra, Mirakle Couriers

Conveying the strength and depth of a woman’s persona is challenging and at the same time, creatively satisfying. - Bahaar Dhawan Rohatgi, artist

Mompreneurs are waiting in the wings for the startup ecosystem to finally acknowledge them. - Shriyanka Hore, TGFC

There are two kinds of people, people pleaser or self-pleaser. - Kangana Ranaut

Do not fret over pre-defined societal milestones. - Pooja Sukhija, Recode

My mantra has always been to challenge the conventional hierarchy. – Natasha Mudhar, Sterling Communications

Entrepreneurship teaches you to have faith when everything else fails. It teaches you to persist right when you are about to give up. - Sachin Gupta, HackerEarth

The ‘let’s do it tomorrow’ just doesn’t work, it is now or never. – Deepti Kshirsagar, Wow Designs

If you keep doing what you do with honesty, if you stay on-field how you are off of it, then people will eventually accept you and like you. – Virat Kohli

Be prepared to push yourself to the core. The journey is tough but it is also fun. - Shruti Shibulal, Tamara Coorg

If I could live in extreme poverty at 28years of age, I was capable of a lot. - Harsha Kumar, Ola

An entrepreneur needs to understand that valuation is more of an art rather than a science. - Agam Gupta, Hubco.in

How much money do you want to have once everything is done? - K. Srikrishna, Zebu Games

I see at least 100 exits by 2020. About 20 companies are likely to give an exit to investors and each company will be acquiring at least five startups. - Ashish Kashyap, Ibibo Group

While celebrating success of startups is important, chronicling their struggles is invaluable as they hold a treasure trove of business lessons. - Vani Kola, Kalaari Capital

It is my mission to convince Chinese investors that there are tech companies in India that can benefit from Chinese Capital. - Jessica Wong, YeahMobi

The youth in India are always enthusiastic about their ideas and innovation. – Bhaskar Choudhuri, Lenovo India

Becoming an entrepreneur now seems achievable. I know I have a long way to go, but it’s possible. - Shubham Upadhyay, student, Ewing Christian College, Allahabad

I don’t have ‘na’ or ‘no’ in my vocabulary. - Satya Vyas, Orobind

Underprivileged children from rural areas end up missing on opportunities, not because of capability but money. – Vivek Pawar, Sankalp Semiconductors

No one owns this world. Everyone does. Everyone shares equally in this world. Just try to offer respect, a ear, and a chance. - Marlee Matlin, deaf actress

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).