‘The floodgates are opening for billion dollar startups out of India’ – 40 quotes from Indian startup journeys
From startup valuations to Net neutrality, 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 40 gems and insights from the week of April 5 – April 11 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights!
About sacrifices, we love what we do, so there are none.
If you can’t hook an audience in the first ten minutes then you have lost them.
- Aabid Surti, cartoonist, Bahadur comics
The Dabbawalas of Mumbai are one of the most reliable and trusted brands in the city.
If Germans can count their GDP on automotive industry, why can’t we?
People don’t invest enough time to discover themselves.
Branding is even more important for B2B players because their offerings have become increasingly commoditized.
Nespresso format coffee is currently estimated to be north of $10 billion globally and the Indian market is estimated at around INR 200 crores ($33 million).
Am I a feminist? No. I simply want a balanced society.
- Pallavi Pareek, iPleaders
There is something to be learnt from everyone and everything and learning is what helps us grow.
- Asha de Vos, marine biologist
India has beautiful art and talent; it’s unbelievable that there is so little recognition of it.
- Niha Novacaine, cosplay artist
We need to not just think and live out of the box but destroy the box.
- Cheelu Chandran, DeBox
India is nearing an inflection point with changes playing out in three areas that are giving birth to exciting startup financial services models: MSME finance, digital payments, and consumer services.
- Rishabh Khosla, Venture Lab
Exemplifying success stories is the best way of spreading awareness and gaining social interest.
– Shrikant Gajbhiye, Bee The Change
There are a lot of young companies with fantastic ideas but without the right support, most of them will die.
Only those who get the vision will stick with us because they relate to the dream.
Basketball is one of the fastest growing sports in India.
For a country of 1.2 billion people, there are only 4,500 psychiatrists, most of who are based out of Tier 1 and 2 cities.
- Manoj Chandran, White Swan Foundation
I believe that the floodgates are opening for billion dollar startups out of India.
Keep your ears very close to customers. They are your biggest asset.
- Nipun Katyal, Fizzy Food Labs
Companies in India are paying five to six times more to data centres outside the country, especially to places like Singapore.
A better, more nuanced, more informed Net Neutrality debate can only make the legislation better.
Fundamentally, net neutrality is about equal access to the Internet.
- TRAI
What will happen when most of the Internet in India is inside a walled garden?
Startups that are advised or mentored by another successful founder are three times as likely to have a great exit.
The effective use of technology is a common factor between all leading global companies the world over.
- Vikram Upadhyaya, GHV Accelerator
Success in e-commerce is attributed to companies having control & visibility on their supply chain logistics experience.
A true entrepreneur must stand his ground in the face of adversity and conflict.
Being an entrepreneur is not about being your own boss. It’s about loving what you do.
We don’t want all our Flipkarts, Quickheals and InMobis to donate their billions of dollars of wealth to some other country.
It’s great to have competition in the space, it pushes us all to work even harder and serve better experiences to the customers.
Small wins that demonstrate real progress provides proof to the external world that something meaningful is happening in this startup.
- Rajesh Setty, ‘Writing Zero’
We need believers to walk with us.
Many a times, we see replication of existing ideas from elsewhere but there is no need to reinvent the wheel every time.
Customers usually choose COD for first three deliveries and later embrace online payment mode to avoid hassle for change etc.
Given the political uncertainty, we sometimes have to call off classes for weeks; a mobile device with the appropriate content will be helpful in such situations.
People do not want to dedicate long hours in reading manuals or sit through trainings to understand a business.
SME sector is the backbone of the Indian economy and has the maximum number of players.
I always advise people who come to the startup world from the corporate set-up to give up on the habit of expecting a support system.
- Vivek Bihani, Bedrock Venture
Welcome to the hustle!
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).