‘Leading is about learning to be a facilitator’ – 35 quotes from Indian startup journeys

From launch to leadership, 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 30 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.

When designing a startup there are generally two approaches: to be interesting or to be interested. - Sathya Raghu V. Mokkapati, Kheyti

The problem with VCs is that they are finance guys, not entrepreneurs. - Saurabh Srivastava, IAN

E-commerce is at an interesting confluence of Digital India, Make in India and Start Up India. – Kunal Bahl, Snapdeal

The time for a digital India with a truly digital financial ecosystem has come. - S. Kumar Srivatsan, OptaCredit

Retail works on very thin margins, but apparel is a category that is always priced more than five times the production cost. - Prem Kumar, SnapBizz

A better product always wins no matter what. Freebies create small-term advantages, but they do not create your moat. - Kabeer Biswas, dunzo

In 2015, Indian consumer internet companies spent around Rs 500 crore or more on marketing and advertising activity. - Sandeep Aggarwal, Droom

Leading is about learning to be a facilitator. - Ashif Shaikh

Success is more a function of consistent common sense than it is of genius. – An Wang

Projections do matter. But it is mandatory to have a Plan B. - Manoj Krishnan, Compass Team

There is this misconception that cancer will kill you. Many equate it with death. - Arun Kumar

I’m amazed at how many times people are willing to accept mediocrity. - Bob Iger, Disney

Advertising via television, newspapers and hoardings is, at times, not in everybody’s reach. - Tilkesh Bhatia, Money4Drive

Games and play is how you can best teach. Not with lectures. – James Altucher

We could completely transform the education system if we helped connect alumni with their institutions. - Paresh Masade, Vaave

Universities provide accommodation to only 25 percent of the total students enrolled. - Saurabh Arora, University Living

Whether it is winter, spring, or summer, enough stuff is happening in the AI space in India. There is enough critical mass now. - Manish Singhal, Pi Ventures

Data is paramount in alleviating farmer woes. Any data that can improve lives of farmers also adds value to the consumer in terms of great produce. - Kishore Biyani, Future Group

More than 90 percent of the rivers in India are polluted and in a sorry state. - Gautam Bandhopadhaya

The manufacturing industry is fast moving towards automation, and different skill sets are required now. - R.V. Deshpande, Karnataka Industries Minister

The next decade will be defined by the automation of the automobile. - Mark Fields, Ford

The role of ridesharing in helping tackling congestion and pollution makes it too important not to. - Amit Jain, Uber

With the emergence of the sharing economy business models, there may be a need to re-examine the regulations around them. – NASSCOM-EY report

50 percent of our food is wasted even before it reaches us. We need ways to produce healthy local food. - Deepak Srinivasan, Crofters

No waste is ever a waste. There’s always a way to find some use for waste. - Rajagopalan Vasudevan, Thiagarajar College of Engineering

People tend to suggest the best places from their memories, which in turn leads to planning and creation of high-quality user trips. - Satyajeet Jadhav, HopBucket

It is imperative to accelerate the pace of adoption of innovation and disruptive technologies in the industry. - Nirupa Shankar, Brigade Hospitality

Networking is a must learn skill. - Mathew J Maniyamkott, FitVersity

At its core, progressive work ultimately means open systems. - Steven Deobald, Nilenso

We believe that the government should make it easier, rather than more difficult, for the world's brightest and best to start and grow their companies here. – Tech companies’ open letter to Donald Trump

Giving is much, much more than just charity or signing a cheque. - Roshni Nadar, HCL

Whatever you earn, try to give back a little to your native place. - Girindra Nath Jha, ‘Isha Main Mati Sona’

As a woman, it becomes a bit more difficult to convince some people of the worth of your ideas. - Tanvi Kataruka, Tickled Pink

Collectively, we can fight and build a better tomorrow so that our children will be proud of us. - Savita Hiremath, Endlessly Green

All human beings are entrepreneurs. From problem solvers, we have become order takers. That needs to change. – Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus

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).