‘If you love what you do, it makes everything much easier’ – 50 quotes from Indian startup journeys
From passion to purpose, witness the memorable journey of Indian entrepreneurship in these quotes, excerpts and stories!
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 23-29 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 cannot solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis. - Greta Thunberg
Right now, we can do small things to resist. Soon, it will come to a point where we can’t just do small things. - Liza Christopher, Vidyashilp Academy
The world needs to be prepared for this new generation of activists. Their activism, dedication and bravery are already moving leaders to make changes. - Kailash Satyarthi
Everything comes at a cost. Just what are you willing to pay for it? - Serena Williams
Travelling green may take a little extra effort initially, but it will soon become second nature for you. - Kavinder Singh, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts
When you fly a plane, you fly it many times as it is reusable; the same thing is required for space travel. - Elon Musk
Technology can play an instrumental role in consolidating the remote and mobile rural women workforce in a new and growing gig economy. - Neha Barjatya, FREND
Around 45 percent of startups come from Tier II and Tier III cities. About 9 to 10 percent startups have women as founders. - Anil Agrawal, DPIIT
Online retailers in India are expected to generate about $4.8 billion in sales during this year’s festive month. - Satish Meena, Forrester
India's largest asset is its intelligent and educated human capital and it is important to use these resources by allowing them to innovate in a problem area and then giving access to capital. - Sindhu Bhaskar, EST Group
India can really leap frog and become the world's leader in artificial intelligence, in AI skill and AI talent. - Vishal Sikka, Vianai Systems
Entrepreneurship doesn't always mean startups and IT. Core engineering businesses and brick and mortar businesses can also help make a mark in society. - Aayush Madhogaria, Jagannath Iron Foundry
The need of the hour is an effective and a proactive credit monitoring solution for preventing frauds that plague our financial system, and adversely affect our economy. - Vishal Sharma, AdvaRisk
There is an increase in startups that go beyond payments and credit and into areas like savings, investments and insurance. - Roopa Kudva and Amol Warange, Omidyar Network
The only way to monetise, engage, and create network effects in lending is by adding services that are inherently valuable to the customer while being profitable. - Asish Mohapatra, OfBusiness
India is a vast and diverse country, and the customer landscape is different. No two consumers think alike. - Adarsh Menon, Flipkart
There is virtually no cold chain for fruits and vegetables except apples, and India annually produces 266 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables. - Nitin Goel, InfiCold
Cancer is a global challenge. India alone adds more than a million patients every year. - Ranjith Menon, Chiratae Ventures
We are seeing a significant trend in the way people are looking at their own health now. The emphasis has gone back to healthy living as opposed to a healthcare or disease-management mindset. - Larry Braitman
Up to 30 percent of women do not return to their job after having their first child. - Fabrizio Gavelli, Danone
In data analytics, the why becomes more important than the what. - Sejal Vora, The Power of Data Storytelling
Data-driven insights are essential for building successful organisations, but the rapid growth of cloud-derived data makes it hard to provide a centralised view. - George Fraser, Fivetran
It is important to choose vendors with in-depth solution capability and help prepare the business become future ready in an agile manner. - Kumar Vembu, Gofrugal
Sweden spends over three percent of its GDP on supporting research and development. It also has a robust system of integrated innovation ecosystem. - Robin Sukhia, SIBC
Asia HR technology market is estimated to be at $9 billion. - Rohit Chennamaneni, Darwinbox
The current global wine market is a little over $300 billion and is expected to cross $400 billion by 2020. - Prateek Srivastava, Terraview
Learning will happen without actual learning; it will be done through gamification. - Venguswamy Ramaswamy, TCS iON
As academic pursuits today require more flexibility and mobility, the demand for fully furnished, fully maintained, internet-ready accommodations and innovative services have increased manifold. - Rohit Kapoor, OYO
The current workforce needs to be geographically dispersed as well as to be on-the-move as per the demands of the job. - Sumit Lakhani, Awfis
You have got to stay attuned to what the customer demand is and be different from your competitors. - Tom Keiser, Zendesk
It’s not just about numbers, but creating an environment that’s inclusive. It’s also becoming more and more okay to lead from the middle or the back than from the front. - Rasha Hasaneen, Ingersoll Rand
Developing a culture of continuous learning is key to creating a company of the future. - Aadesh Goyal, Tata Communications
There’s so much that a culture that’s built on strong foundations can do. - Ho Jia Jian, Viddsee
Entrepreneurship is all about dreaming. Entrepreneurs are born dreamers. You are trying to create something that is non-existent. - Ashish Shah, Pepperfry
Investors like exit, period. Sometimes, the founders get carried away with their unicornisation status that they miss the end game until it is too late. - Amit Jain, Z Nation Lab
Don’t think about it, just start creating content and once you get into the groove, you will only get better. - Shivani Kapila
The more people read happy-making books, the less time we have to squabble and hold grudges! - Milan Vohra, 'Our Song'
Art should not be elitist in nature, and should have a place in everyone’s life. - Gourmoni Das, Dot Line Space
India has a huge audience for art house cinema, foreign language cinema. - Anurag Kashyap
There is just one key to success in any field, and that is passion. You must have junoon for whatever you do. - Suchita Oswal Jain, Vardhman Textiles
Count your blessings, stop complaining, and turn your weakest points to your strengths. Change starts with you. Believe you can and you will. - Tanisha Roy
You have to celebrate successes, right? You also have to support failures. - Ananth Narayanan, Medlife
Pick your strength and work towards the goal. Fear of failure will never take you anywhere. - Esha Gupta
Don’t avoid mistakes, but extract the maximum learning from your mistakes. - Sidu Ponnappa, Gojek India Engineering Centre
The best way to learn is by experimentation. You have to be okay with making mistakes. - Aditi Rakhe, TIFA Working Studios
Entrepreneurship is not just a career option. It is a way of life. - Nusrat Sanghamitra, CyCa OncoSolutions
When you live your life all the way alone, and manage your sickness and mental breakdowns, you become strong. - Naaz Joshi, Miss World Diversity
Great things never come from staying in your comfort zone. - Nidhi Kumra, YourSpace
Perseverance always pays off. - Narmada Deb, Mostly Handmade
Once you start believing in something, the motivation and other factors come automatically. - Sudhir Singh, Marg ERP
If you love what you do, it makes everything much easier. - Ash Lilani, Saama Capital
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).
