‘From your biggest adversity comes the biggest opportunity’ – 50 quotes from Indian startup journeys
From adversity to advantage, 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 12-18 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.
Data is the new natural resource. We are at the beginning of an era where data is the new oil. - Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries
Your capacities can be dramatically enhanced with data. - Abhijit Bhaduri, ‘The Digital Tsunami’
Leadership is an intense journey into yourself. - Jeffery Immelt, GE
Weatherwise and otherwise, Bengaluru is the place to be to ideate, innovate, and invest in Karnataka. - Priyank Kharge, Minister for IT & BT, Karnataka
Karnataka is the first state to come out with an aerospace policy as well as have two exclusive aerospace parks. - Suvarna Raju, HAL
We should have 1,000 world-class incubators in the country to take the startup ecosystem forward. - Shailendra Singh, DIPP
There is a huge opportunity for IT services and bioinformatics and various other aspects of Big Data analytics and algorithms which Bengaluru now needs to focus on. - Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Biocon
There are very high levels of antibiotic drug resistance in hospitals and it is urgent that we find a solution that is potentially affordable to us. - S Shrikumar, Sea6 Energy
India created history by successfully launching 104 satellites in a single space mission. – Xinhua News
India has become very aspirational. Indians want to get rid of poverty and move ahead. - Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister
We want to promote India as a forward-thinking design destination; not just a crafts hub. - Astha Khetan, House of Things
With a clearer rule of law, India might just take off. - Tim Draper, Draper Venture Network
India probably has the highest app uninstall rate in the world. - Ankur Singla, Helpchat
Estimated at $2 billion in India alone, the employee transportation sector is currently highly fragmented, inefficient and opaque. - Anuj Nangpal, JLL
To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail. - Michael Jordan
Private market valuations are not the best form of price discovery. - Kabeer Biswas, dunzo
Business is not just technology, it is man, money, material, machines, mind, marketplace. - Udayant Malhoutra, Dynamatic Technologies
One cannot be spiritual as long as one has shame, hatred, or fear. - Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
With love and care, everything is possible. - Rajib Thomas
From your biggest adversity comes the biggest opportunity. - Tanmay Bhat, AIB
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. – Abraham Lincoln
It’s the biggest crowdsourced project in the world. - Bibop G. Gresta, Hyperloop
So @Flipkart wants level playing field with @amazonIN? Start by cutting top exec salaries by 80 percent. Overpaid, underperforming crybabies. - Mahesh Murthy, Seedfund
Target societal impact and not valuations alone. – Guruprasad S., Bosch
Science cannot be for the sake of science and unless it changes things on the ground for the common person we cannot say that we've been able to make a social and economic impact. - K T Rama Rao, Industry and IT Minister, Telangana
The universal rule to keep employee morale intact is to appreciate talent and understand that talent needs a transition! - Shrijay Sheth, LegalWiz
Employees have way more touch points with the organisation than customers do, but most organisations never bother to understand what the issues on the ground are. - Arun Krishnan, n!Factorial
Don’t fall for all the offers that come your way. Don’t get attracted to short-term candies. - Varuna Bhambhani, SaralHai
There is a close relationship between the ‘ha-ha’ of humour and the ‘aha’ of discovery. - Roger von Oech, ‘A Whack on the Side of the Head’
Education is a great equaliser and the pathway to a better life. - Christel DeHaan, RCI
Man or woman, in comedy you do well only if you’re funny. - Punya Arora
A woman should not be judged by the profession of her spouse. - R Seshasayee, Infosys
I think mothers and women have more compassion and power than we even realise. - Dalai Lama
Tell yourself that there is no option but to keep going come what may, and blaze your trails while you are at it. - Manisha Girotra, IndiaBulls
Women are on the move; they are strong, they are individualistic. - Deepa Reddy, Open Trunk
Online matchmaking in India is a gender, age, proximity, faith and mother tongue-based business. – Able Joseph, Aisle
We are not too far away from the day when strangers will be having cybersex with each other, with privacy. - Salim Rajan, IMbesharam
The future of advertising is “fewer, better, non-standard ads.” - Ankit Rawal, GreedyGame
If you provide people with alternatives then they will no longer have the need to leave their native land. - Srikrishna Hegde Ullane, ConnectFarmer
Even if I take a holiday, I must find something to do or I’ll go crazy. - Madhubala
Throughout my life, I have been called foolish. Now suddenly that foolishness has become a passion. - Nithin Kamath, Zerodha
Every customer counts but not at the cost of losing money. – Anusha Anand, Peacock Colours
The industrial sector is at an inflection point where digitalisation is disrupting fundamental process/product design. - Krishnan Raman, Flutura
Math is getting commoditised. - Shashank Dubey, Tredence
The internet creates more of an appetite for media - it doesn't replace physical books, radio or TV. - Marissa Mayer
eSports has become a cultural phenomenon in the last few years. - Nitish Mittersain, Nazara Technologies
Workshops, events, and interactions with mentors and industry experts are huge enablers in fostering innovation and learning. - Shanti Mohan, LetsVenture
Our education system lacked quality complementary education platforms to assist in the classroom learning. Complementary education platforms are immersive platforms. - Bharath Raman, Space Trek
A role model should be a person that was born in a society and conditions similar to yours, rather than in a country possibly half the world away. - Shreyas Rajeev Bhave, Our First Million
The universe has its way of balancing everything and producing enough for everyone. - Prashant Jogiya
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).