‘Change is opportunity’ – 35 quotes from Indian startup journeys

From change to collaboration, 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 September 4-10 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights. 

No amount of tech innovation will work unless you are able to solve the basic problem of your user. - Zunaid Ahmed, Knudge

Any business that can scale by identifying the need and finding paying customers will make money. - V Ganapathy, Axilor Ventures

As a startup, I think it is very easy to get distracted and lose focus. - Varun Khurana, Crofarm

Merely being the best version of yourself can help you stand out. - Nikhil Jois, Eventosaur

A few years ago, we would have pooh-poohed the idea of letting some unknown person rent the living room couch or an extra bedroom for the night. And here we are. - Srinivasa Addepalli, GlobalGyan

Billing is an essential growth mechanic. Billing shouldn’t act as an impediment to a business’s growth story. - Krish, ChargeBee

In reality, it is the farmers who have been subsidising the nation all these years. Successive governments have therefore deliberately kept agriculture impoverished. - Devinder Sharma, Ground Reality

India’s healthcare is in a crisis. India ranks a dismal 154 out of 198 countries on the healthcare index. – Vani Kola, Kalaari Capital

India’s strikingly young population is in sharp contrast to that of other large economies such as China, the US, and Europe. - Morgan Stanley report

One way to correct the massive vacuum of quality in education is through privatising. – Col. Gopal Karunakaran, Shiv Nadar School

Indian SMEs are critical to making India a manufacturing hub and we must foster the sector if we are to meet the national imperative of inclusive growth. - R Narayan, Power2SME

There is a need to bridge the urban-rural gap in traditional and tribal art. - Suvarna Kamakshi, Tamaala Art Gallery

The changes over the last two years have been faster than in the previous 25 years. - Anil Shankar, Shoppers Stop

There are going to be plenty of unknowns out there when you reach, so it helps to be prepared. - Savitha Venugopal, Dear Ms Expat

A king is not the owner of the kingdom; he is its custodian. – Devdutt Patnaik

Change is opportunity. Change caused by others provides opportunity to you. Change tinkered by you will offer opportunity to others. - Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister for Commerce

People from all religions must be tolerant and co-exist peacefully. - Shri Vishwesha Tirtha Swami, Paryaya Pejawar Mutt

Journalism is nothing without courage. Democracy is nothing without dissent. – Shekhar Gupta

Focus on finding a niche value that is not being served by other companies and build it. - Kumar Rangarajan, Slang Labs

Who is the best driving teacher? Your first bicycle. - Dinesh Agarwal, IndiaMART.com

A good teacher must know how to arouse the interest of the pupil in the field of study. – Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Content marketing is advertising after all, and advertising is persuasion – an art. - Lakshmipathy Bhat, Robosoft Technologies

There’s a large untapped market of managing data for enterprises. - Ashish Gupta, Rubrik

When we combine data and experience with innovation and a focus on serving your customer, it’s a good place to be in. - Greg Moran, Zoomcar

Data will make it easier to customise the content and give recommendations. - Ashish Hemrajani, BookMyShow

AI will eventually change everything. But humans can do better things than mundane tasks. - Atul Jalan, Manthan

Water-saving technologies and conservation measures are the only ways to acquire resilience against ever-changing climatic and political developments. - Manu Moudgil, GoI Monitor

Every criticism is a message and we have to learn from it. – Nirmala Sitharaman, Defense Minister

Personality rather than competence might be a key factor in determining a smooth and successful succession from promoter to successor. - Prabhakar Mundkur, HGS Interactive

Today every bank and NBFC has created a digital arm of their own — India Stack has made this switch to digital a necessity. - Vikram Vaidyanathan, Matrix Partners

Digital lending is at an inflection point where technology and big data can help innovate. - Pankaj Makkar, Bertelsmann India Investments

Banks have finally started treating fintech companies as partners instead of seeing them as a threat. - Sony Joy, Chillr

Everyone talks about fintech companies in India but we feel there is still a long way before people can leverage it. - Jitesh Agarwal, Treelife Consulting

Role reversal brings about a transformation in the mindset. - SV Krishnan, Dialogue in the Dark

It is all about the work ethic; opportunities fall into your lap all the time once you are professional. - HT Subramanya, LCM Logistics

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).