‘It’s only a strong sense of purpose that can stop you from giving up’ – 40 quotes from Indian startup journeys

From purpose to perseverance, 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 27 – September 2 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.

Predicting rain doesn't count. Building arks does. - Warren Buffet

Transformation in business is inescapably essential for any organisation to reach the highest peak of success. - Amod Phadke, GCR

A disruption in one link in the value chain creates opportunity in other links. - Sudhakar Reddy, Nirvedha Executive Coaching Solutions

The most important thing is to be unquestionably good at what you do. This will bring respect automatically. - Vima Philips, CBRE

Success comes from the joy of inspiring, energising and motivating others, and not just from commercial sales. - Lalit Gopal Parashar, BBK DAV College

Ultimately, the workplace should always promote enjoyment and rigour simultaneously. Either of these, in the absence of the other, can be harmful. - Pooja Bajaj, Extra Mile

If you choose to communicate in more than three ideas, you run the risk of creating clutter and skepticism in your audience’s minds. - Mitu Samar, Eminence

We are moving towards a global workforce which points to the significance of understanding cultural differences, accepting varying thought-systems, sharing knowledge, and emerging as warriors countering age-old stereotypes. - Shiivani Aggarwal, Formula Group

The rules for the future workforce are changing, and job seekers must learn fast – and unlearn even faster. - Zairus Master, Shine.com

Pay maniacal attention to user education through relatively inexpensive media. - Devang Mehta, Anthill Ventures

Email automation is still the most popular scalable method of lead generation. - Ankit Dudhwewala, SoftwareSuggest

Research shows that companies with platform- and network-based business models create higher value. - Shalini Prakash, 500Startups

The lines between content creators and consumers are blurring each day. - Deepak Jayaram, MinersINC

Rising M&A activities will lead to business convergence and vertical consolidation. - Mahesh Singhi, Singhi Advisors

It also depends on what a startup’s deal is – if it is in dollar terms, the startups might get some extra cash due to the rupee’s depreciation. - Amit Somani, Prime Venture Partners

The entire ecosystem has changed and deep skills are now required, but all organisations are not able to afford big consulting houses. - Sanjay Lakhotia, Noble House

We see much potential in flying cars, and we anticipate they can be used not only to help solve traffic congestion in urban areas, but also help with increased mobility between city centres. - Daisaku Hiraki, MEITI, Japan

AI is the future and it replaces manual data gathering and understanding of the context. - Amar Chokhawala, Reflektion

The biggest challenge in sales is not just to find the right customers to sell to, but to sell to them at the right time, i.e., when they need you the most. - Nitin Bajaj, EasyLeadz

Design thinking is the way forward. It is essential to understand the DNA of every aspect of the product. - Krishna Byre Gowda, Minister of Rural Development, Karnataka

We have learnt that when we build for India, we build for the world. - Caesar Sengupta, Google

The amount of online content in Indian languages is only 1 percent of what's available in English. - Rajan Anandan, Google

The release of a very pragmatic regulation is a relief for the entire Indian drone industry. - Vipul Singh, Aarav Unmanned Systems

Regional brands play a major role in India’s consumption story. - Kris Iyer, Walmart India

India’s IoT adoption is still very nascent. - Venk Krishnan, NuVentures

The demand for shared working spaces in India is likely to jump as high as 40 percent in 2018. It also estimates that by 2020, roughly 13.5 million Indians will operate out of such facilities spread across the country. - Pranay Gupta, 91springboard

Everyone wants to fund agritech startups but no one wants to invest in agriculture or rural India. - Rajgopal Irappa Patil

Encouraging organic farming and enhanced animal care is part of societal care, an important pillar of sustainability. - Titus Sequeira, Seva Trust

When you wear a hand-crafted fabric, you will discover that each thread of the garment you are wearing was monitored by the weaver. It is a very humbling experience. - Pratima Pandey, Leela

Responsible use of plastic begins with you, the consumer. - VG Narendra, IIC

Women comprise only 3 percent of aviation CEOs and 6 percent pilots are female. Even though the front line and lower-level female staff account for 50 percent of the total strength, the pipeline starts tapering towards the top. - ElsaMarie D’Silva, Red Dot Foundation

The term ‘mompreneurs’ has gained massive traction and brought enterprises run by mothers to the forefront of the Indian economy. - Vishal Gupta, Momspresso

To survive in this competitive world, we have to do something that is praised by others and also something that can be monetized. - Piyuesh Modi, PagePotato

Humility is a strength in itself and it has, over the period of time, been one of the major reasons for many world-class leaders to emerge. - Varun Saxena, Career Anna

Once you decide to take a leap, you shouldn’t think too much. - Shailaja Jain, kabaddi coach

Solitude is valuable for creativity. - Melissa Schilling, 'Quirky'

The purpose of art is to entertain, provoke, ask hard questions, soothen. - Shabana Azmi

The humanities aren’t a luxury; they are your competitive advantage. - Christian Madsbjerg, 'Sensemaking'

Travelling opens the mind and it is a way of discovering your soul, and finding new inspiration. - Pallavi Foley

Writing is like breathing. - Mita Kapur, Siyahi

You have to go out there, explore and find that something that gives you that spark. - Zuni Chopra

It’s only a strong sense of purpose that can stop you from giving up. - Marcus Ranney, Thrive Global

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).