‘Being an entrepreneur is nothing like being an employee’ – 50 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 50 gems and insights from the week of May 27–June 2 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.

Being an entrepreneur is nothing like being an employee. Speed of action is more critical in a startup; otherwise, your competition will wipe you off. - Keerti Singh, Hitwicket

Work hard while you are alive so that people know you matter. - Adnan Nalwala, 'Spill It'

You can’t show up for others with a full heart if you don’t show up for yourself first. - Rachel Hollis, 'Girl, Wash Your Face'

Creating, establishing, and promoting a high-performance culture, actively, is the only way to accelerate the performance of the team and the business. - Rajiv Talreja, ‘Lead or Bleed’

Experience can make you more afraid. If you don’t know what you can do wrong, you are more fearless in your decisions. - Bastian Nominacher, Celonis

The traditional auto industry is up for a redefinition. - Sachin Bansal, BAC Acquisitions

There is a strong social need in travellers to talk to other travellers before taking purchase decisions. - Videt Jaiswal, Airblack

OTT platforms have changed the way content is consumed, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are making great content. - Priya Kumar, ‘The Perfect World’

Humorous content gets the most engagement! - Natasha Puri, Juggernaut Books

Also read: Travel startup Flynote looks to raise over Rs 14 Cr from Surge, India Quotient, Sequoia

Angel investing does not make you rich. About 80 percent of startups fail. - Aniruddha Malpani, Malpani Ventures

In the last two years, several Super Angels have started Micro-VC funds to fill in the gap created by the disintegration of the angel investment networks. - Anirudh Damani, Artha Ventures

Capital is what greases the engine of innovation. - Vibha Tripathi, Swajal

The Indian fintech ecosystem is the third largest in the globe. $6 billion investments have already happened in fintech market in the country in the last three to four years. - Amitabh Kant, Niti Aayog

There is a huge opportunity in Japan to move people from cash quickly to mobile. Japan too has a volume of transactions happening in cash. - Kumar Abhishek, ToneTag

It is very easy to think about making your product reach a global level but it takes a lot of hard work. - Kabir Jeet Singh, Burger Singh

Financial inclusion will become a reality when people from all demographies and geographies get affordable EMI solutions. - Lizzie Chapman, ZestMoney

Electric vehicles are going to become a mainstream mode of transport, not just in India, but worldwide, in the next five to seven years. - V. Ramgopal Rao, IIT Delhi

For a population of over 1.3 billion, it is essential to look for alternative means of energy. - Dhianu Das, Alfa Ventures

Also read: Here are the four things ‘Startup Bharat’ wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi to focus on

There are many startups in Tier II and III cities that are building and solving for real India problems in healthcare, agritech and even sanitation. The government can easily tie up and work with these startups. - CM Patil, Sandbox Startups Hubli

Whether it is the Blockchain and AI push in Kanpur or the Fintech Valley push in Vizag, governments have ensured that startups become mainstream in India, even in the smaller towns. - Padmaja Ruparel, IAN

The meat and seafood segment in India is pegged to be a $30 billion market. - Tushar Singhvi, CE Ventures

The shipping and delivery solutions space in India has seen tremendous growth with the boom in ecommerce. - Amit Sharma, Narvar

Availability of high-quality and reliable data has been the biggest bugbear for Indian infrastructure development. - Thillai Rajan A, IIT Madras

India is the fourth largest healthcare provider market in Asia. However, it is also highly fragmented and unorganised to a large extent. - Vivek Tiwari, Medikabazaar

In the near future, global ecommerce players will use their international experience and local omnichannel presence to make inroads into the e-pharma segment. - Ankur Pahwa, EY India

Challenges that are faced by restaurateurs in India are the same as challenges that are faced outside – not recognising their customers, not understanding what their customers’ likes and dislikes are. - Ankit Mehrotra, Dineout

Supplying fresh fruits and vegetables from farm to fork has been a challenge for years. - Rajesh Sehgal, Equanimity Ventures

Also read: These 5 startups are monitoring India’s health with AI, machine learning, and smart apps

Holistic social development can be achieved only through collective efforts and effective planning, with economic viability and education as base criteria. - Tara McCartney, United for Hope

Rocket science is hard, but it is still achievable by people. - Srinath Ravichandran, Agnikul Cosmos

IoT-enabled applications are the need of the hour and will focus on contributing to customers’ efforts to maximise the potential with digitalisation through data insights. - Sunil Mathur, Siemens

AI diagnostic tools are helping doctors scour through data to better diagnose a variety of abnormal conditions and are the only way to bridge the huge demand-and-supply gap when it comes to quality healthcare. - Manish Singhal, pi Ventures

Today, every company is a software company, and increasingly, every interaction is digital. - Rohini Srivathsa, Microsoft India

Automate whatever you can by using efficient and scalable technology and put the time and energy of humans on big picture things that matter the most to your business. - Dhiraj Khare, Liferay

To meet mass production (demands), Indians use European cows and hybrids to increase the quantity of milk. But we have sacrificed quality for quantity. - Brinda Shah, Varenyam Farms

People will always go for cheaper products, which is not good for the environment at all. - Punit Batra, Beco

The magnitude of the pollution problem in a majority of Indian cities and the total inaction in dealing with it has been bothersome. - Prakhar Agarwal, AngelList India

Change will happen, only when disability is not looked at in isolation; and synergised as part of everything that involves the masses. - Arman Ali, NCPEDP

The next generation of people will grow up being more aware and understanding. People who are confused about their identities won’t feel like they are wrong. - Sunn

With greater education, economic freedom, and evolution, women today are demanding better products, more comfort, and greater choices. - Monica Bindra, Laiqa

Older people need to be technologically empowered to live in the new world that will be ruled by technology. - Aparna Thakker, Empowerji

Since we live in a connected world that never sleeps, learning how and when to unplug is extremely essential to live a stress-free life. - Sneha Choudhry, Zolo

Much as hospitals and doctors will lead the transformation of this industry from a healthcare providers viewpoint, it is also the patient’s behaviour and expectations that can accelerate this change. - Ajit Narayanan, mfine

In a democracy, an informed citizen is the ruler. - Carl Malamud, Public.Resource.Org

Also read: These 5 startups have solutions to tackle the increasing air pollution

Very few people are aware that in the olden days, aeroplane tyres were used to increase the durability of footwear. - Pooja Apte-Badamikar, BlinkGreen

There is big demand for high quality flowers in offices and homes. - Girish Sannappanavar, The Flora

In the jewellery business, you cannot escape duplication. In a jiffy, competitors can copy your design and you are pulled back. - Megha Malik, RESA Fine Jewellery

It would really help if the government creates checks for authentic handmade items by awarding GI tags to art forms like Madhubani, Kalamkari, and Worli. - Ihitashri Shandilya, MITHILAsmita

Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. - Sunitha Krishna

There is no failure in art. Everything which didn’t turn out the way you want teaches something and there is always the chance of a beautiful accident. - Suvidha Bolar

Perfection happens only after many iterations. - Subhashini Chandramani, 'The Garden Art Journal'

Creativity is an important 21st-century skill for children to possess. - Ajay Das, Skipy

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).

Also read: The Top 10 Books of 2018 for Entrepreneurs