‘Tenacity is everything’ — 40 quotes from Indian startup journeys

From traction to tenacity, 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 August 14-20 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights. 

For India to play its cards right, it must first recognise that it has the cards and can learn to play its own game! — Sanjay Anandaram, TiE Bangalore

For the growth of India, you just ask one question — how are you contributing for the betterment of someone other than you. — Tukaram Mundhe, PMPML

Indian startups — like much of Indian business — are less focused on innovation than one might expect. — Alan Rosling, ‘Boom Country’

Essentially, if one has succeeded in Delhi’s market, there is no stopping. In the auto parlance, we call it the beacon market. — Amit Bhasin, Go Mechanic

Famines in pre-independent India were less natural and more man-made. — Sanghita Sanyal, Loreto College

Partition also gave rise to incredible moments of sacrifice, friendship and courage. — Aanchal Malhotra

We’ll give you many villages but not Issur. — Mysore Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodeyer

I will bet my last rupee on the power of compassion as the ultimate weapon to change the equation – and sometimes, the course of history. — Kamran Rehmat

The chalk-and-talk format is refusing to scale up to the unique opportunities and severe challenges presented by a very large and diverse population of learners. — Santanu Paul, TalentSprint

Sadly, education in India is only focused on academics and marks. — Syed Sultan Ahmed, LXL Ideas

We are at the cusp of a massive change. Data-based and technology-based healthcare is coming of age. — Prashant Tandon, 1mg

India, with 39 percent of its children stunted, features on the list of the top 10 countries with the most number of stunted children. — WaterAid report

As more and more hospitals, retailers, and businesses deploy IoT solutions, security is at the top of the mind. — Raman Khanna, Dell Technologies Capital

Leaders have to engage with experiential training to sensitise teams about AI and automation. — Manoj Thelakkat, Reflex

You look at a vehicle of the future. It is about algorithms. — Rolf Bulander, Robert Bosch

Will this new super-intelligent species ultimately retain any form of empathy towards the weaker species it originated from, we humans? — Anand Ramachandran, BuzzOpinion

Most religious traditions have begun in a love and respect for all forms of nature and this has been lost over the years. — Manisha Sheth Gutman, eCoexist

Authorities have a narrow vision that looks at the lake as the only location to be rejuvenated. — Sunesh Sharma, watershed management expert

India is a tough place to do business but if you can survive here, then you can start getting rewards. As a startup you have to survive and be persistent. — Niclas Thelander, Outsized

Software is eating the world and it must eat the services business. It has to be our own (Infosys) software and not somebody else’s software. — Vishal Sikka, ex-Infosys CEO

Businesses must protect themselves by including a mediation clause in their contracts. — Tara Ollapally, AMP

Should a happy event like buying or owning a property in India really become a nail-biting, teeth-grinding occasion? — Vinod Poddar, Propadis

The SME segment is credit-starved and hence, to get adequate funds, they turn to informal sources of credit. — Deepak Jain, Flexiloans.com

Accidents will continue to happen as long as trains run, but what we need to do is focus on how they can be reduced and how casualties can be reduced when accidents occur. — Rajendra B Aklekar

Give up something that you love, voluntarily for a few days and then when you get it back, see how much you relish it. — Abhijit Bhaduri, ‘The Digital Tsunami’

Biographies and autobiographies have always been the number one source of insights and learning for entrepreneurs and executives. — Benedict Paramanand, Bangalore BizLitFest

With most men migrating to urban cities for better jobs, women know more about farming given the amount of time they spend working in fields. — Aravind Jerry, SFAC

As and when you scale, it gets difficult to keep a check on each product. — Sandeep Burad, Mangalmayee

The most important goal is to make a better society to live in through education, awareness, and empathy. — Harshit Gupta, Womenite

We have to always put a broader outcome or broader impact above our own personal impact. — Vani Kola, Kalaari Capital

Criticism is inevitable, but I just focus on achieving the best. — Ruchir Modi, Alwar Cricket Association

The biggest fear that you have as an entrepreneur is that if you fail, then you shouldn’t have this in your heart that you didn’t give your best. — Akash Gupta, GreyOrange

In a startup one has to wear multiple hats, sometime as a salesman, business analyst, accountant, operations manager, product architect and trouble shooter. — Shailesh Agrawal, GSTSTAR

Tenacity is everything! — Sahil Kini, Aspada Investments

Several rounds of investments don’t increase the probability of success for a startup. They could be symptoms of a badly run company. — K Vaitheeswaran, ‘Failing to Succeed’

From time to time you need to look inside, remember who you are; always stay grounded. — Hari Menon, BigBasket

Every candidate is either a BJP, Congress or Communist. What about a people’s leader? — HS Doreswamy, freedom fighter

We serve the nation in the sense that we serve the government, whether it is the BJP or Congress. We are not supposed to be politically inclined. — Lt. Col. Sanjiv Malik (Retd)

We aspire to remove the darkness of secrecy and corruption, and move towards the light of honesty. — Piyush Goyal, Minister of State for Energy

India lacks the kind of infrastructure required for hazardous waste management. — Akshay Jain, Namo E-waste

If I can change the world one note at a time, touch even one person in that moment, and influence one thought to be positive, it would be wonderful. — Sonam Kalra, The Partition Project

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).