‘Our biggest competitor is lethargy’ – 50 quotes from Indian startup journeys

From enlightenment to enterprise, 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 50 gems and insights from the week of February 5-11 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.

The driven, passionate ones give their best on ordinary days and that is why they are extraordinary. – Twinkle Khanna

Don’t think even for a second about the struggle, focus on the destination while working hard and you will succeed. Be creative. - Raghavendra Singh, Courtyard by Marriott

The single most important thing an entrepreneur needs to learn is whom to take advice from and on what topic. - Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures

You have to reinvent yourself every 10-20 years. - Harsh Mariwala, Marico

The starting point of innovation is not just imagination – but empathy. – Suman Ghose

Our biggest competitor is lethargy. - Tushar Vashisht, HealthifyMe

The future of healthcare is here – empowered patients working in parallel with caregivers to optimise their health and fitness. - Ashissh Raichura, Scanbo

Programmes around vaccination and expanding awareness will go a long way in addressing the problem of liver diseases. - Sonal Asthana, Aster Hospital

Government is a big amplifier. If intervention happens at an early stage, impact is going to be bigger. - Nandan Nilekani, EkStep Foundation

Gig economy encourages an individual-based work culture. - Santosh Kumar, Ministry of Labour and Employment

A company is good because of its best practices, so digitalisation should begin with the digital manifestation of their best practices. - Aditya Vermani, ClairViz

Happiness comes with a healthy environment. - Tina Jain, Abhikalpana

There is a huge time lag between education and purchase, a luxury a start-up can ill-afford. - Prodyut Bora, Bonphul Air Products

An entrepreneur lives in eternal hope and often hangs in there versus cutting the cord and moving on. - Lathika Pai, Sonder Connect

You need to be able to learn lessons without obsessing about what might have been. - Tim Harford, ‘Fifty Things that Made the Modern Economy’

Shorter attention spans among the digital natives make a strong case for meditation. – Vani Kola, Kalaari Capital

Yoga not only contributes to the complete well-being of a person but also heals serious health conditions. - Prabha Krishna, Yogabharti

Shift the mindset from looking fit to feeling fit. Fitness comes in all shapes and sizes. - Taru Chaddha, RedMat Pilates

Mental issues are not the monstrosities that they’re made out to be. Counselling, therapy, and medication can cure or, at least, alleviate mental concerns. - Neerja Birla, mPower

Close to 24 percent of hospitalisation is because patients haven't had timely interventions. - Shashank ND, CoPracto

You've to stick through it and get the job done which takes grit. - Vivek Vaidya, Krux

Be authentic – it’s easy to say, but what this requires is a clear understanding of your personal values. - Candida Brush, Babson College

Content marketing is the only marketing left. - Seth Godin

Now that scripts have become so important, content has become the king, and so many platforms are opening up. - Anupriya Goenka

The most important skill for designers is to listen. - Doug Beaudet, Honeywell

For result-oriented sales and marketing solutions, an intelligent integration of technology and human expertise is vital. - Limesh Parekh, Enjay

The construction industry has averaged only one-percent annual productivity growth over the past two decades. - Jeffrey Housenbold, SoftBank Investment Advisers

Sports is not an organised market and this space is going through a lot of change. - Sandeep Madhavan, Sportobuddy

During the early stages, the most critical of a lifetime of a startup, it is important to undertake a few experiments albeit with focus. - Prashant Pansare, Eagle10 Ventures

A large company can absorb errors and be ‘good enough’ but as a small startup you have to excel in all areas and one big mistake could prove fatal to your business. – Anurag Avula, ShopMatic

There are still 11 months in 2018, so if you missed January, don't let other 11 months go in the same way. – Karan Pujara, CodeCrunch

Nobody is going to help you unless you help yourselves. - Nisha Gupta, Maharashtra Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team

Only data will change the fortunes of the SMBs. - Pawan Gupta, Connect2India

Maps are very essential for the development of a country. - Lalitesh Katragadda

Historically, Indian agriculture sector suffers from low productivity because of low technological adoption. - Abhijeet Katte, Datum

Silicon Valley does not have Global In-house Centres the way Bengaluru does. Bengaluru can truly become a Super Silicon Valley. – Lalit Ahuja, ANSR

Residents from non-metro towns will account for 55 percent of all active online shoppers, with overall 185 million active shoppers in 2020. - RedSeer

Delhi alone, with a population of around 25 million, has at least 10 million commutable trips. - Gunnar Froh, Wunder

Digital sectors account for seven percent of UK’s GDP. - Rona Fairhead, UK Minister

The workforce in these Tier II cities often is, and definitely has the potential to be, more effective than counterparts in major metros. – Devang Mehta, Anthill Ventures

IoT is not a recent phenomenon, but what is new is it’s now working hand in hand with other transformative technologies like artificial intelligence and the cloud. - Jenalea Howell, IHS Markit

We will have to reskill the current workforce since many skills will become irrelevant in the future. There is a great opportunity for India to excel in AI. - U Dinesh Kumar, IIM-B

AI heralds growth for the Indian economy. We need not fear it, rather embrace it in a way that it makes our way of living intelligent. - Amit Dua, ValueAppz

The boom in the OTT space is here to define the future of entertainment services and how they will be accessed and consumed in the time to come. - Uday Reddy, YuppTV

Find a creative platform to express yourself. – Nicole Mody, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival

There’s nothing stopping youngsters from learning something new. They have so many products at their disposal. - Vishawsrao Salunkhe, IBM Champion Developer

Curious students not only ask questions, but also actively seek out the answers. Without curiosity we could never imagine a world that is so advanced. - Prakhar Jain, Being Jigyaasu

There are thousands of children, who are not that privileged for no fault of theirs. It is just because of the circumstances. It becomes our responsibility to take care of them. - Anuja Bansal, SOS Children’s Villages

No organisation/committee can, on its own, provide a safe or positive/inclusive workplace to any employee without the equal reciprocation of such values by the employees. - Ashwini Vittalachar, Samvad Partners

Whatever change will happen is going to be with everyone’s involvement. But it will take time. - Aditi Gupta, Menstrupedia

Every individual has a social responsibility. That can push for change in the society. - Manushi Chhillar

You don’t have to write a cheque to be a philanthropist. There are so many ways to preserve the nature — even picking your own trash matters. - Carrie Morgridge, Morgridge Family Foundation

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).