‘To be great you need to start small’ – 35 quotes from Indian startup journeys

From startup to scale, 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 35 gems and insights from the week of June 5-11 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights. 

Collaboration with startup ecosystems from across the world is the way to go. - Michael Linhart, Austrian Foreign Ministry

We know that 80 to 90 percent of innovation projects, they fail and you never read about them, you don’t see them, people don’t talk about them. – Samuel West, Museum of Failure, Sweden

There will be two billion networked devices in 2021 in India, up from 1.4 billion in 2016. – Cisco report

Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the Information Revolution. – Masayoshi Son, SoftBank

There is a lot of opportunity to build brands in India in every category. The fascinating aspect is the number of brands that are cropping up every year. - Vikas Lachhwani, MCaffeine

Co-working is going to disrupt the traditional office space business. - Meera Reddy, SKCL

India’s entertainment and media sector is expected to surpass Rs 291,000 crore by 2021. – PwC report

For modern enterprises, security management and protection of data is an integral business function and no longer an IT task. - Parag Arora, Citrix

Reforms made in the name of India’s smart cities agenda have facilitated the private takeover of public spaces. - Ayona Datta, King’s College

Low input cost and healthier food help deal with poverty and malnutrition, which are also two major reasons for disability. - Shishir Chaudhary, Naman Seva Samiti

No wonder people don’t make political films in India. You’re always punished for it, and it sets a very bad precedent. - Khushboo Ranka, filmmaker

India suffers from protein deficiency and most locally produced protein drinks are not making an impact. – Sridhar Varadaraj, Zago Life

Nearly two out of every five children—a total of 689 million children—are classed as multi-dimensionally poor. – OPHI report

Women have a lot going for them that men don’t, and we must use those skills to the fullest. - Priyanka Khimani, Khimani & Associates

Fostering access to finance opportunities for women entrepreneurs and MSMEs is important for increasing higher economic output. - Dev Jagadesan, OPIC

I’ve never let my hijab or being Muslim or standing out get in the way of my journey. - Halima Aden

Indians are too lazy for DIY. So, there is no billion-dollar market for IKEA here. - Ajith Chandran

CEO compensation is largely an outcome of trust and value alignment between the CEO and the VCs. Both need to take balanced positions. - TN Hari, BigBasket

Being fabulous is being happy with yourself. - Vamini Sethi, banker and biker

Whichever country we come from, we all have our planet in common. – Abhay K, Earth Anthem

Industry should put a label declaring the phosphorus content and biodegradability percentage on all products. - TV Ramachandra, IISc

Zero waste practices were default in our culture a generation back. - Durgesh Nandhini

The world is moving towards an environmental emergency due to climate change. - Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala Chief Minister

One-third of Earth’s largest groundwater basins are being rapidly depleted by human consumption. - NASA

For any system to function, you need to have awareness, infrastructure and enforcement. - Lata Ghanshamnani

Nothing is permanent, especially not success. There are no shortcuts to success. - Poonam Lal, Marketing Solutions

When you don’t have something it is a chance to leapfrog and innovate better. - Terri Bresenham, GE Healthcare

When the characters create a space for themselves in the readers’ hearts—that’s when a story is great. – Tanuja Chandra, ‘Bijnis Woman’

Vision, mission and business plans are great things, but nothing works like execution. - Hitesh Dharmdasani, Informant Networks

Being nice to people is something that I like and something I believe in. You can be successful in business without being a jerk. - Girish Mathrubootham, Fresh Works

The question we’ve to ask is not what machines can do but what humans can do. - Vijaya Kumar Ivaturi, Crayon Data

To be great you need to start small. - Bharath Hegde, InertiaCart

You get a peek into somebody else’s life through a language. - Madhuri Hegde, Mayflower Language Service

To me the way to connect the consumer is upfront—solve the problem. - Bhupinder Singh, InCred

The response we get from customers who understand the way we work and the values we cherish makes this all worth it. - Marie Ghyselinck, Marangburu

The changes over the last two years have been faster than in the previous 25 years. To win the consumer today, you need digital experiences integrated into all channels. - Anil Shankar, Shoppers Stop

When you get too comfortable with what you’re doing you aren’t learning much. - Shalmali Kholgade

There is no formula for success, the world moves too fast for any formula to last. – Mikkel Svane, Zendesk

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).