‘India is a land of vast opportunity’ — 40 quotes from Indian startup journeys

As India completes 70 years of independence, the ‘startup nation’ narrative has become an integral part of aspirational India. From challenges to opportunities, 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 7-13 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights. 

Every time we learn a new lesson, every time we grow. — Sunder Kumar, Olive Wear

In a world that sometimes feels increasingly divided or politically polarised, a sense of belonging is needed more than ever before. — Dhrupad Karwa, HaikuJAM

Sometimes, the Partition generation was actually more open to the ‘other’ than the post-Partition generations. — Anam Zakaria, ‘The Footprints of Partition’

For a true artist, art is life, art is everything. — Sara Arakkal, curator

How come every major seaside city uses the water so efficiently in glorifying itself further — while Mumbai criminally wastes its majestic waters? — Shripriya Dalmia Tharani, Nanu Productions

Balancing a full-time job and a passion to help the underprivileged is a challenge. — Archana Suresh, Bring A Smile

Sometimes, a kind word, and a hug could make you as good an activist as someone who files a PIL in the court. — Harish Iyer

NGOs speak about nuclear hazards but are mum on manual scavenging. — Divya Bharathi

Loyalty can be divided into two segments. They are transactional and emotional loyalty. — Rashmi Reddy

The logistics industry needs transparency, dynamic pricing and real-time availability of services; it is an opportunity waiting to be disrupted by technology. — Jayaram K, LOBB

This is the best part of being an actor. I wake up in the morning and become somebody I can never be in real life. — Rana Daggubati

Our country is so rich in terms of architecture and way of life, but there are so many interesting facts that we hardly know. — Archana Pereira, Ink Trails

India is a land of vast opportunity. — Masayoshi Son, SoftBank

A dream can turn into dust or magic depending on the talent that rubs against it — Bill Bernbach

Being an SMB is hard in India; if banks don’t get you credit cycles and labour forces will. — Anbazhaghan, Balaji Alloys

No child should be compelled to buy more expensive books for want of NCERT books. — Anil Swarup, School Education & Literacy (HRD)

Sadly, positive results related to forest rights have been reported only from areas where civil society organisations are active. — Madhu Sarin

We, as a nation, are slowly opening up to the idea of herbal teas that can impart tremendous health benefits. — Rupali Ambegaonkar, Tea Culture of the World

Nobody is having a dialogue with farmers. The entire farming sector is being threatened in multiple ways. — Aruna Roy Mazdoor, Kisan Shakti Sangathan

With a startup you get a microscopic view of many problems, be it creating new processes, setting new systems, infrastructure or resolving conflicts. — Viraj Kalyani, Kalyani Studio

When you are an entrepreneur, you have more opportunities in life. You look at different aspects of life, of leadership and creating a good working environment. — Yuvraj Singh

Great content is the key to user retention. — Mohammed Azzan Patni, Namma Karavali

Chinese companies scale a lot faster than companies in India. The tremendous pace at which companies grow is a striking feature of the Chinese startup ecosystem. — Dhanasree Molugu, Blume VC

NREGA encouraged demands for rights by the poorest people, and that is quite important. — James Manor, Professor of Commonwealth Studies

Living in urban India you don’t realise how the rest of India lives. It isn’t better or worse, just different. — Adwitya Mal, EM3

There are only 4,000 psychologists for 1.3 billion people. To make an impact, we need tech-based solutions. — Mukesh Bansal, CureFit

As chatbots need to have a human-escalation protocol, any new technology application should be under control with careful planning and disciplined execution. — Xiaofeng Wang, Forrester

Whatever industry you work in, AI will probably transform it, just as 100 years ago the rise of electricity transformed industry after industry. — Andrew NG, Coursera

The fact that VC money drags you in a certain direction is a big learning. — Joydeep Sen Sarma, Facebook

The banking and financial industry is undergoing a massive disruption due to technology. — Sridhar Obilisetty, mFino

The higher you crawl up the ladder, the thinner the air. — Neeta Lulla

As an early mover in any domain you face both advantages and disadvantages. — Harindra Singh, Percept

How we choose to age determines our quality of life. — Riddhi Shah, Parikrama

The Old Boys networks are thriving across the world—in Silicon Valley as much as in India. — Shrishti Sahu, Aqaya

Opportunity is bigger than adversity, always! Things never come served on a platter — if they do, be worried! Shed every bit of entitlement and earn your way up! — Daisy Tanwani, Pinklay

Disempowerment occurs in pockets even in wealthy homes. — Gayatri Jayaraman, ‘Who Me, Poor?’

A blueprint is not certainty. Only certainty is certainty. — Lavanya Shanbhogue, ‘Blueprint’

Yoga is more than just an activity limited to mould your body; it has profound impact on the human mind. — Grand Master Akshar

This effort is not for the income but the outcome. — Yogesh Shinde, Bamboo India

Indians perform all rituals; unfortunately god has left the temple. Today, we have moved from being spiritual to being ritual. — Sridhar Vembu, Zoho

I give this title to people, peace, it’s all about friendship, Hindi-Chini bhai bhai. — Vijender Singh, boxing champion

Can India grow richer without getting sicker? How do we make a billion people fit and healthy? — Vani Kola, Kalaari Capital

The only way to realise your brain’s full power is to literally ‘awaken’ the parts you don’t use regularly by doing something completely unfamiliar. — Meeta Malhotra, Varana

Creativity is the key to success in the future, and primary education is where teachers can bring creativity in children at that level. — APJ Abdul Kalam

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).