‘Scale is always a barrier to entry’ – 35 quotes from Indian startup journeys

From scale to success, 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 October 16-22 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.

Reputation is an ongoing process. - Tamanna Mishra

As a company, you have to look at growth both vertically and horizontally. - Rajesh Prasad, Innoviti

We need bias free organisations with diverse and inclusive cultures to create happier workplaces. - Viji Hari, KelpHR

The way to construct online learning content is to sequence learning much the same way as a TV soap. - Abhijit Bhaduri, ‘The Digital Tsunami’

Art is both universal and personal at the same time. - Giridhar Khasnis, Gallery Manora

SMEs are vital for the economic growth and competitiveness of the country. But absence of digitised data has forced them to face a lot of challenges. - Atul Banga

We have till date created less than $35 billion market cap for all tech startups combined in India. In the next decade, this number can become $500 billion. - Rahul Chowdhri, Stellaris Venture Partners

There is a rich heritage behind khadi, and it also contributes to the livelihoods of many. - Siddharth Mohan Nair, DesiTude

India’s service-centric and fragmented healthcare industry is plagued with a reactive care, curative mindset. - Hari Thalapalli, CallHealth

A composting revolution – no food waste to landfill – should become the mantra. - Pinky Chandran, Solid Waste Management Roundtable

The government should support startups that create solutions right from soil analysis to produce marketing. Such startups must look at farming in a holistic way. - Sathya Raghu V. Mokkapati, Kheyti

Use of wetland for agriculture and fisheries would change the face of rural Bihar. - Mangala Rai, ICAR

The biggest real estate available in the city was on rooftops. - Sriram Aravamudan, My Sunny Balcony

Every third Indian still lacks access to amenities such as nutrition, education, healthcare, electricity, and safe drinking water. - Raj Janagam, Surge Impact

The story of fintech in India will not be the story of David vs Goliath. It will be the story of Goliath vs Goliath. And the smarter Goliath will win. - Pranay Bhardwaj, SlicePay

We will be left behind if a carte blanche ban on driverless vehicles reduces investment into the technology. - Harsha Vardhan, ustwo

In the connected car space, India is emerging as a huge market. - Ben Volkow, Otonomo

Karnataka has grown because of its strong political leadership, the presence of good educational institutions, and the IT Services industry. - Mohandas Pai, Aarin Capital

Networking with international NGOs can help develop new models of sustainable community radio stations. - Sisir Das, IIEC

People should plant trees while buying vehicles. Ones buying two-wheelers should be asked to plant two trees and ones who buy four-wheelers should plant four trees. - Mullaivanam

You need to have a good education. It serves as a fallback if things don’t work out. It opens up many doors and people take you more seriously. - Ujval Nanavati

If we have come to this world, then we should do something to make our mark. - Rajeev Kumar

You constantly think about what next and build things that work. You must learn constantly - Amar Chokhawala, Reflektion

Collecting customer satisfaction score is an easy and cost-effective method to gauge consumer sentiments. - JD Pawar, Wheelstreet

A lot of companies focus only on the new customers coming in and forget about their existing customer base. - Prabhakar Reddy, Accel Partners

Companies with paperless technology platforms are well-positioned to leverage the latest trends in consumer technology. – Ben Elliott, Experian

Most people fall in the trap of solving problems all the time and not thinking enough about how to not have them at first place. - Vasan Subramanian, Accel Partners

Consumers are juggling today with less time available for cooking, lack of healthy options, tasteless frozen foods — the joy of cooking is dying. - Prayank Swaroop, Accel Partners

AI is a true game-changer for sports. - Arjun Dutt, NVIDIA

It is not services that will make you money, it is software with Machine Learning and AI that makes money. - Vishal Sikka, ex-Infosys

Co-working spaces are better than business centres. - Shiv Prasad Singh, RICSSBE

Consumers are increasingly looking for such quirky merchandise. - Arvind Singhal, Technopak

If you don’t bring different marketing channels together, competitors will take advantage of your silo approach. - Deepak Kanakaraju, Razorpay

Do not confuse certificates with expertise. - Guhesh Ramanathan, Excubator

It is ultimately the market that proves everyone right or wrong. - Sartaj Anand, egomonk

The barrier to enter consumer internet businesses doesn’t exist anymore. - Rahul Chari, PhonePe

Scale is always a barrier to entry. Who can compete with an Ola or an Uber? - Raja Lahiri, Grant Thornton

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).