‘The more value we add to our ecosystem, the more valuable we become’ – 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 September 16-22 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.

If you fail, you should analyse why you failed, take the lesson, and move on. - Nandan Nilekani, Fundamentum

Failure is nature’s beautiful tool. - Sameer Guglani, Madhouse

It is okay to make mistakes as long as it does not make a huge impact on the overall company, on the value of the company, and you realise and correct it as soon as possible. - Manu Kumar Jain, Xiaomi

Building a business brings lots of unexpected twists – people quit, products fail, you burn out. It’s not about getting it right the first time but getting it right eventually. - Beth Malatji, ReBeth Wines

Never undermine the importance of work experience, always be open to learning and evolving, and believe in hard work and perseverance. - Vinita Michael

When you are up against your own mind, having that will power to stand against it, and keep it in check is the toughest. - Mohit Kuvadia, VOLOQ

Don't count the days, make the days count. - Akhand Swaroop Pandit, Catalyst Group

Career success not from fancy MBAs but from curiosity and willingness to continually learn. - Hansi Mehrotra, The Money Hans

Space, as a new frontier, is attracting the attention of a large number of entrepreneurs from across the world. - A S Kiran Kumar, former Director, ISRO

Learning to use technology for learning is the new basic that may need to be introduced even in early grades. - Sanjay Gupta, English Helper

Deep learning, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other technologies are changing how pathology and diagnostic are working. - Dheeraj Jain, Redcliffe Capital

You have to focus on innovation, investment, and people to go digital. To be cloud-first and AI is the future. - Annette Rippert, Accenture

Blockchain can change shipping too by making the entire ecosystem create policies that are transparent and efficient. - Lionel Louie, CargoSmart

All user generated content, as the name suggests, is owned by the user or the creator. - Sharda Balaji, NovoJuris Legal

The world has too many data janitors and data brawls. - Brett Hurt, Data.World

Within a short span of time online ‘Marketplaces’ have become an integral part of our lives. - Anup Gopinath, FoodBuddy

Entrepreneurs have good ideas but it also important that they have clear business solutions and propositions. - Sean Ringsted, Chubb

Every job has its value. - Taslima Khatun, MENSA

When it comes to business investigation and risk intelligence for organisations, whistleblowers are a much-needed medicine. - Unnat Sharma, AIM Corporate Services

Quizzing attracts audiences of all demographics and possesses a massive potential to scale. - Seemant Shankar, Sports Unity

One of the crucial ways to sustain new and seasoned talent is to conduct training on a regular basis. - Mihir Shah, Yatharth Marketing Solutions

You need somebody when your motivation goes down; somebody to get you unstuck when you don’t understand something. - Mohan Lakhamraju, Great Learning

Choose your people and let them run with things – every detail may not be to your liking, but things will get done faster. - Rohan Bhargava, CashKaro

The world is moving too fast. You must not only learn but be open to having what you have learned be changed dramatically. - Kris Fitzgerald, NTT Data

Age is just a number. If you have an idea, no matter how old you are, you have the power to change the world. - Samaira Mehta, CoderBunnyz

Gone are the days where the food industry was just about the food and service and maybe the décor of a restaurant. Today it’s about offers, fad dining trends, and dietary restrictions. - Rachel Goenka, Sassy Spoon

Water and money should always be at ones knee level otherwise there are chances of drowning. - Vijay Singh Rathore, Johnny Hot Dog

For most people, the comforts of a high paying job are the natural choice. - Sandip Patil, E-Spin Nanotech

When you are approaching VCs, do some homework. Find out which VC is investing in which sector, what they’ve invested in, and what their thesis is rather than having a scattered approach of visiting every VC and banker. - Devang Mehta, Anthill Ventures

Unfortunately, VCs are more likely to invest in entrepreneurs that look like them, have similar ideas to them, and come from their networks. This continues to sideline women and other underrepresented founders. - Amanda Coopersmith, SoGal

If a vegan meal is planned well, it can help you stay healthy and ensure that you consume adequate nutrients too. - Jeswanth Acharya

Effective conservation happens through enlightenment. - Arun Kumar, nature photographer

The global interior design opportunity is huge, with the US being a large market by itself (home furnishing market size is close to $200 billion). - Subrata Mitra, Accel

The profession of beauty is not just limited to makeup, skin care, and hair styling; nail art is also one of the significant parts of this ever-expanding industry. - Bharti Taneja, Alps Beauty Group

Art is a difficult pursuit which takes years of perseverance to achieve one’s fullest potential. - Chetana Ravi

Find your unique style and statement. Be authentic. - Namu Kini, KYNKYNY

Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away. - Frida Kahlo

A stronger future-ready workforce that is skilled for the job demands of tomorrow requires government policy and private resources to work together to make that future a reality. - Nadia Rasheed, UNDP

The current education system gives a lot of information, occasionally a few skills, but does not give the youth a sense of purpose. - Amrut Bang, programme, NIRMAN

It is important for urban migrants to find a sense of belonging in a new city and a place to call home. - Jitendra Jagadev, Nestaway

The mini-truck transportation market in India is estimated to be at a valuation of Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000 crore, annually. - Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Venture Catalysts

There is so much trust deficit and friction in the finance space in India. Banks lead their processes with mistrust, while every other business has the tab system. - Chaitra Chidanand, Simpl

There is a strong pool of ideas and talent beyond the well-known startup hubs of India. - Lathika Pai, Microsoft

Over 60 percent of the engineering students who pass out every year are either unemployed or are stuck in unrelated jobs. If we go beyond engineers, this problem multiplies 10 times. - Nikhil Rungta, ex-Intuit India

Policies and programmes which support not only the health of women and girls, but also their socio-economic development should be introduced. - Neha Chauhan, IPPF

India has reached a tipping point where more and more people of all income levels have smartphones, allowing governments and nonprofits to use mobile apps to deliver social services and as an interface for important citizen interactions. - Michael Mandel, PPI

After China, Japan, and South Korea, India is the fourth-largest carmaker in the world. When it comes to two-wheelers, India is the second-largest manufacturer across the world. - Mukesh Rajauria, AutoPortal

The government should also focus on allocating funds towards research in the field of psychology and making mental healthcare more affordable and accessible. - Bani Singh, NowandMe

There are a lot of ‘Bharat’ people even in cities like Bengaluru and Delhi. - Vidit Aatrey, Meesho

India is one of the fastest-growing digital entertainment and media markets worldwide, driven by the growth in online video content. - Anant Maheshwari, Microsoft India

Future is not about just tech but about inclusion, empowerment and economic opportunity. Caesar Sengupta, Google

The more value we add to our ecosystem, the more valuable we become. - Shayak Mazumder, Eunimart

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).

(Edited by Megha Reddy)

ALSO READ

The Top 10 Books of 2018 for Entrepreneurs