‘What is successful today might not be relevant tomorrow’ – 45 quotes from Indian startup journeys

Launched in 2014, 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 45 gems and insights from the week of February 11-17 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights. See also our compilation of Top 50 Quotes from 2018 here.

We'll always be functional, efficient and beautiful. All three are non-negotiable. You should be too. - Harish Sivaramakrishnan, CRED

The best doors are the ones you walk through without realising you have. - Tanmay Modi, Private Unlimited

If you want to stay relevant and have people who are productive for a long term, you have to have redundant skills. - Sandipan Chattopadhyay, Xelpmoc

Learn to be emotionally attached to the business but not beyond a point where it is running only on emotions. - Rahul Leekha of Coffee, Di Bella

In some ways, the problems of the rich are boring. The action is going to move where you can make a substantial difference in the lives of people. - Gururaj ‘Desh’ Deshpande, Deshpande Foundation

There is a great deal of uncertainty around AI. However, if we embrace it, it will give a great deal of confidence to the citizens and enable them to demystify the technology. - Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister, Maharashtra

The growing number of online shoppers in cities beyond Tier I makes it crucial for all retailers to expand and reach the next set of shoppers. - Niraj Raka, GabbarDeals

Given India’s huge population, there is demand in every category. - Yash Kapoor, TukTuk Ride

Every year, India spends a $100 billion on healthcare, sixty percent of which is out-of-pocket expenses. - Piyush Jain, ImpactGuru

Currently, the social and CSR sectors are spending on problems without actually measuring its impact. There is a need to measure and analyse the inputs against the outcomes they deliver. - Sudeep Gupta, Impactify

As retail participation in equity investments grows in India, investors are increasingly looking for easy to understand, transparent, low cost investment products. - Harshjit Sethi, Sequoia Capital India Advisors

Access to quality education is an aspiration for most lower and lower middle income households in India. - Pankaj Raina, Zephyr Peacock

Despite spending so much time on messaging apps, we Indians are crippled by the outdated keyboard system we use. - Janu Verma, Hike

The new generation of homemakers seek to ensure their personal interests do not take a back seat. - Ali Harris Shere, Britannia Industries

It is possible to restore our rivers to a pristine condition if we all come together. - Dinesh Kumar Gautam, Drishti Trust Foundation

Speaking out what you want, is significantly faster than navigating buttons and menus and filters. - Kumar Rangarajan, Slang Labs

Legislative changes are one thing, but social acceptance is another. - Ishaan Sethi, Delta

Glorified stories in the media are just a tail remark. If you read just that, you don't understand the struggles of an entrepreneur. - Ronnie Screwvala, UpGrad

Fiction has the power to move people through the magic one can weave using words. - Stuti Changle, 'On The Open Road'

Schools can potentially look at entrepreneurship as a programme, but that needs to be backed up by practicals, which may be tough. - Naganand Doraswamy, Ideaspring Capital

People tend to think that if they date a physically challenged person, they cannot dance, travel, or have a good time with him or her. - Prateek Khandelwal, RampMyCity

Entrepreneurs who set ethical and anti-fraud benchmarks in their organisations are able to build an ethical enterprise with a strong foundation, which augurs well for future growth and expansion. - Nikhil Bedi, Deloitte Forensic

You can be 10 or 20 if you find your purpose. It might be something that you’re really passionate about or you can create it. And then start living by it. - Gayathri Vasudevan, LabourNet

It really doesn't matter how successful your business is if you have inaccurate or obsolete location data on the internet. - Ashwin Ramesh, Synup

Validation of the product is key for everyone, if you are not focused on that then the product won't succeed. - Srikrishnan Ganesan, Konotor

There is a constant requirement to resolve interoperability issues and risks related to diagnosis and treatment through health tech. - Ashutosh Tiwari, VBRI

Today, you can’t just survive in an organisation without adding value, and there are metrics to identify that. - Rishabh Kaul, Belong

Stories about the struggles and challenges you have had to overcome can become powerful ways to connect people to you and your brand. - Gabrielle Dolan, 'Stories for Work'

Today, with the help of machine learning models and artificial intelligence, it is possible to automatically customise user interfaces to mirror a user’s usage patterns. - Sudhir Babu, i-exceed

AI and ML will give you intelligent inferences that would take a lot more time if a human was trying to do it. - Tina Thomas, ThoughtWorks

Tech is enabling the financial inclusion of small businesses everywhere in the world. - Stefan Klestil, Speedinvest

Technology evolves. At one point it becomes the key to the solution, after a while it is possible that the very same technology loses relevance. - Naushad Vali, Techl33t

Don't be fooled by the hype around ‘digital.’ Digital is only the medium. It is knowledge and its identification that creates the most value. - Rudolph D’Souza, AFCONS

Startups are by definition Extremistan organisations: building the software is Extremeistan, the market you are doing it for is Extremistan. - Sidu Ponappa, Go Jek

Investors are still looking to finance early-stage startups in the innovative insurance and financial product space. - Abishek Surendran, pi Ventures

Building a company is impossible without academic research. - Ravi Garikapati, Flipkart

The world is exploring newer things and wants new experiences. - Keshav Prakash, The Vault

To sell tickets, you need a good video, and for a good video, you need to sell tickets. - Sandesh Johnny, Travelling Comedians

Gone are the days when producers had to plead with theatre owners for good slots. Today, if three films release in the theatre, four or five films release on Netflix and Amazon Prime. - Sanjay Mishra

Pathology as a sector has a lot of potential to bring about revolutionary changes to the medical fraternity and in the lives of patients. - Avinash Phadke, Avinash Phadke Labs

It’s time to be creative, yet strike a balance between modern and ancient times. Appreciate and explore the different and wonderful art forms of India. - Mitali Upadhye, Raah Foundation

Achieving your creative potential isn’t for the faint of heart. It requires countless hours, days and even years of work. But it’s no longer a mystery. - Allen Gannett, TrackMaven

You cannot do your business based on other people’s model of success. You have to evolve your own model. - Faizal Ahamed CM, Suxus

What is successful today might not be relevant tomorrow, so innovation is the key. - Prerna Gupta, Floft Sudio

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).