‘Challenges always make us stronger’ – 30 quotes from Indian startup journeys

From character to conviction, 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 April 9-15 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.  

No amount of training can replace experiential learning. - Silva Storai, Embassy International Riding School

Writing is hands-on, entrepreneurship is directionally hands-on. Both require immense discipline. - Suman Chhabria Addepalli, Urban Firefly

Logistics business isn’t about just building a great tech backend and system; it is operationally-intensive, and you therefore need the right number of experienced people doing it. – Ajay Rao, Emiza

As women, we are never alone. We each stand in solidarity with our sisters next door, down the street, and across the globe. - Geetanjali Dhillon, Kulture Shop

We are protecting cows but not women. We need to aggressively take steps to protect women. - Jaya Bachchan, MP

Banning the sale of beef or targeting one community for doing so is exactly the wrong thing to do if we have the cow’s welfare as our guiding principle. - Rajesh Kasturirangan, ClimateX

You have to stop buying into the idea that a particular shade is better than others. – Abhay Deol

Merely increased production is not enough; it should be coupled with distributive justice. - Dr Anumakonda Jagadeesh, Nayudamma Centre for Development Alternatives

They tried to bury me. They didn’t know I was a seed. - Dr BR Ambedkar

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save the one-half the wars of the world. - Thomas Jefferson

Photos can change the world. Use the power of photographs for the cause of justice and progress. - Daryanto Wibowo, Antara Gallery

Read, read, and read: Reading provides you with a window into all these fascinating worlds, so it is very likely to enhance your levels of curiosity. - Harish Bhat, Tata Group

Language learning requires years of intensive exposure to well-selected literature. - Nidhi Agrawal, Stories and Beyond

Very often, technology and innovation outpace regulation and rule-making. – Shweta Rajpal Kohli, Uber

Rs 40,000 may not sound like a lot, but it can do wonders for many early-stage and young startups. - Rahul Bhagchandani, GUSEC

India is nowhere close to the size of China. This means you will not be able to scale such a company to Chinese levels anyways. Let’s be real India is as big as the UK/ Germany in terms of GDP. - Tushar Ahluwalia, StalkBuyLove

Surfing is not just a sport that you learn; it starts to change your lifestyle. - Jonathan Young, SurfWala

Mobility needs in India change almost every 100 km. - Ankit Jain, Ola

Compared to brick and mortar parlours, where we barely had a day off, now we can pick and choose appointments based on our convenience which brings good work–life balance. - Shilpa Bharani, Housejoy

Commercialisation of healthcare is making it hugely difficult for the common man to get immediate attention in case of healthcare requirement. - Gunjan Poddar, HealthyBillions

Even though depression causes you to feel hopeless and helpless, it is treatable. - Gayathri Rao, YourDOST.com

How do you fend off Day 2? How do you keep the vitality of Day 1, even inside a large organization? – Jeff Bezos, Amazon

There are three reasons why companies are holding hackathons. First is to get their brand name out there, second to evangelise their products (open APKs, cloud platforms), and third is to outsource the activity of thinking and building innovative solutions. - Sachin Gupta, HackerEarth

Innovation isn’t about setting up a different goal, but to help you in reaching your current goal by providing an alternate (and more efficient) route. - Srix Sriramkumar, Zifilink

Family businesses grow when they align their goals to the growth of the business and the management and not personal growth. - Mohandas Pai, Aarin Capital

The matchmaking of finance and technology will go through a honeymoon period. Beyond that lies the real test. - Krishna V Iyer, angel investor

Startups that partner and increase the value of the client's business, and not just sell technology, will succeed. - Kishore Biyani, Future Group

Business models that have an ecosystem around them and tend to be asset-light are always good bets. - Vinod Murali, InnoVen Capital

The [Flipkart investment] round demonstrates the confidence restoration of foreign investors in the Indian startup story. - Varun Khurana, Crofarm

When you distribute in India, what is missing is information and adoption of technology. Now, if one solves this, then there is a business for all parties concerned. - Ankit Sethia, Hip Ship

The only thing that matters is your attitude. - Udaysinh Ramanlal Jadav, ‘Ahmedabad no Autorickshawalo’

Challenges always make us stronger. All the tough issues taught us to work harder and not to give up. – Arun Yellamaty, Youngistaan 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).