‘Love for scars and struggles is what ensures success’ – 50 quotes from Indian startup journeys

From struggles 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 50 gems and insights from the week of February 19-25 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.

Competition makes you stronger and increases the size of the cake. - Jatin Ahuja, Big Boy Toyz

Collaboration is the way to go. - Ambica Selvam, Lingering Aftertaste

Almost every successful enterprise recognises that it is in the customer-experience business. - Smitha Hemmigae, ThoughtWorks India

Don’t spend so much time trying to choose the perfect opportunity, that you miss the right opportunity. – Michael Dell

So much has changed in the last 5, 10 or even 75 years in other industries, but the core of education just can’t pivot that fast. - Aarti Chhabria, Clap Global

The school system in Asian countries kills initiative and creativity. A good education system shouldn’t be killing initiative in kids. - Peter Vesterbacka, Lightneer

We need to step on the pedal of our education system that fosters a thinking of entrepreneurship beyond our “I” institutes. - Pankit Desai, Sequretek

It's a great milestone for the software and services industry to cross $150 billion - tripling in size in less than a decade. - Raman Roy, Nasscom

Our academia sets us up for competency with skills which has served well for the IT services and consulting firms, but does not fit well in a product nation. - Sharad Sharma, iSpirt

Indian investors are not betting on the Indian product ecosystem because it requires a vision. - Mahesh Lingareddy, Smartron

We need to institutionalise a mechanism, where high school students can work with university incubators to pursue their entrepreneurial ideas. - Ayesha Chaudhary, Atal Innovation Mission

Getting the right incubator early on can speed up the journey and make it less lonesome. - Srinivas Ramanujam, Villgro

A poem has to strike a universal chord; otherwise, it is not a real poem. - Tanya Mendonsa, ‘The Fisher of Perch’

Expose yourself to more and more art and familiarise yourself with the language of creativity. – Balan Nambiar

Make every moment a work of art. Make every moment move you one step forward towards your dream and purpose. - Sara Blakely, Spanx

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me. – Steve Jobs

The shift from 4G to 5G is going to dramatically improve our consumption of mobile technology. It will be more inclusive of various devices which are wearable. - Arumugam Seetharaman, SP Jain School of Global Management

Sometimes convenience means being able to plan ahead. - Anuj Rathi, Swiggy

A lot of funding has happened in ecommerce in the last three years, but the ecommerce companies have earned only a small chunk of customers. - Satish Meena, Forrester Research

Time teaches you to speak up and fight when it is absolutely necessary, or it would seem like pointless ranting. - Poornima Sukumar, Aravani Art Project

If we stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by what we are, we can all be freer. – Emma Watson

Everyone is born to achieve something in their lives. - Sneha Mehta, Kukoon The Label

We say truth is rising on this planet, but there are lots of paradoxes on the earth. - Sophie Trudeau

If everyone aims to build and live like first-world countries, it will need many more earths. - Siddharth Menon

Big problems are always interconnected. - Prukalpa Sankar, SocialCops

Good ideas are enemies of great ideas. - Anil Goel, Oyo

Public transport in India is overburdened and the on-demand cab market is not affordable to majority of the Indian population. - Namit Jain, ONN Bikes

Data shows that 40 percent of the startup incubators are located in emerging towns. But, there is a disconnect between startups and investors. - Apoorv Sharma, Venture Catalysts

India is central to Manchester’s highly successful internationalisation strategy, intended to strengthen relations and create further bilateral trade opportunities. - Tim Newns, Manchester-India Partnership

India never stands still even in a traffic jam. - Angela De Giacomo, GINSEP

In China, Tencent and Aliba are working with startups. Unfortunately Indian corporate entitites are not supporting local companies completely. - Hindol Basu, Actify Data Labs

The residential rental market in India is pegged at $20 billion, of which urban spaces account for $13.5 billion. – PwC report

We believe that India is a core market … Unlike other technology companies…we actually are affecting real people on the ground. - Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber

There is $600 billion to $800 billion worth of trade between small businesses in India at present. This, despite inefficiencies in logistics, sales, marketing and other areas. - Sujeet Kumar, Udaan

The best doctors really are food, rest, exercise, sunshine and water. - Trusha Dethe, Thrive

People are now more inclined to visit a restaurant with better interactions than just a space that serves them good food. - Smit Nebhwani, Voolsy

Across the world we all talk about ‘the good old days’ when things were healthier and better. - Priya Deepak, Village Fair Natural Cookware

With wellness being the keyword, tea drinking is appreciated for its simple ingredients and innumerable health benefits. - Ami Bhansali, Chai Diaries

Finding a reliable market is the single largest challenge faced by small organic farmers. - Ekta Jaju, ONganic Foods

When you push your body to change the scene, the brain follows suit and changes context easily. It also gives you the feeling of forward movement. - Saswata Shankar De, SquadVoice

The digital world has transformed almost every aspect of our lives, including risk and crime, so that crime is more efficient. - Steve Grobman, McAfee

The hospitality industry suffered as the biggest target of fraudulent credential attacks, with 82 percent of their login attempts being from malicious botnets. - Akamai Technologies report

Digital empowerment can only happen if there is digital inclusion. - Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Electronics and IT

Even as AI continues to make significant advances, it is never going to replace human recruiters. Rather it will enhance and improve our work. - Raj Mukherjee, Indeed

As organisations embrace AI, it is critical to find better ways to train and sustain these systems - securely and with quality. - Bhaskar Ghosh, Accenture

NPCI should be more transparent, put all the guidelines clearly on their website. And they should not give special treatment to anyone. - Mohandas Pai, Aarin Capital

The more genuinely you interact with your audience, the better will be the trust and the credibility. - Sonal Sai, Digital Ready

The savvy millennial coaches help in enabling seasoned professionals to stay relevant in conversations happening on social media – a must today. - Usha Addepalli, IBM

Hire by attitude, not degree. - Garima Juneja, Viralcurry

Young people are looking at other successful entrepreneurs and saying, ‘I too can do it’. - Suhas Patil, TiE

One gets bruised but if there is a strong faith in one’s abilities and the cause, then one starts loving these scars and struggles. That love for scars and struggles is what ensures success. - Shipra Dawar, ePsyClinic

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).