‘Irritation is the biggest source of energy’ – 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 October 14-20 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights. See also our compilation of 50 Quotes from Techsparks 2019 here.

The only way to tell whether an idea will work is to take it to the market. The market decides. - Varun Mayya, Avalon Labs

It’s easy to manage scale when you don’t have to make money, but when you have to build a real business, things change. - Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola

Never let any important moment in your company’s existence go to waste. - Michael Copeland, AWS

When you expand your ability to see, you understand that there are a lot of false choices being offered. - Kamala Harris, Democratic candidate

If you see the startup world, it works with global talent and the success of the western world is because of that talent exchange. - Naotaka Nishiyama, Tech Japan

The famous keep on getting famous, but there are those who are just as talented and don’t get to see the limelight for some reason or the other. - Aghin Johnson, Socialmob

You need the agility of a startup and the resources of an institution. - Aakrit Vaish, Haptik

The coworking culture is bringing endless benefits to coworkers from increased productivity to enhancing the happiness quotient in workplaces, and plenty in between. - Vineet Taing, Vatika Business Centre

If you think you can say anything on social media and get away with it, you are wrong. Once on the internet, forever on the internet. - Pattathil Dhanya Menon, cybercrime investigator

Instead of poring over your likes and followers go spread some love. Give someone a compliment, appreciate the good stuff. - Malini Agarwal, MissMalini Entertainment

It's time for retail to become inclusive. - B.S. Nagesh, TRRAIN

Indians are entrepreneurs at heart. What we need is an opportunity to flourish. - Ratan Tata

With 39,000+ startups and 33+ unicorns, India is today home to the third largest startup ecosystem, behind only the US and China. - TV Mohandas Pai and Nisha Holla

India and China are now regarded the fastest growing markets for licensing worldwide. - Rishabh Singla, LicenseWorks

With the hospitality, travel and tourism market seeing exponential growth in India, the role of travel agents in the industry has become increasingly important. - Gaurav Ajmera, Oyo

Every day, about 40 people are diagnosed with blood disorders in India. - Raghu Rajagopal, Millets and More

Nobody is taking significant initiative to educate Indian consumers on the EV space in general. - Shantanu Naidu, Office of Ratan Tata

The Indian logistics industry is worth $200 billion. As huge as this potential is, even bigger are the inefficiencies and commensurate opportunities. - Sumit Sharma, GoBOLT

The beer market in India is an incredibly exciting and dynamic space with robust long-term growth drivers, driven by incredibly smart consumers. - Javed Murad, White Owl

Skin and hair care in India is approximately $7 billion industry, and will achieve more than $10 billion in valuation over the next two-three years. - Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Venture Catalysts

There are millions of salaried as well as self-employed borrowers in the country who need financial assistance but most lenders in India remain reluctant to aid them. - Jitin Bhasin, RupeeRedee

The principle of the sharing economy could be one of the solutions to add at least 2-3 percent of GDP growth into the Indian market. - Ashwarya Singh, Drivezy

India is gradually beginning to realise the importance of water and how to use it smartly. - Vijay Krishna, WEGoT

Social sector startups will form the next phase of disruptive startup growth in the country. - Chintan Bakshi, Startup Oasis

Increasingly, art has been making a statement for large businesses, too. It lends an extension to a company’s image. - Jenny Shah, Ivana Art

The organised wedding market is still at a very nascent stage and has surplus opportunities, which are still not fully explored. - Sandeep Lodha, Weddingz

Wedding film-making is about honing the power of anticipation and realising that these films are not made with actors. - Vishal Punjabi, The Wedding Filmer

With tech stacks evolving rapidly, an effective upskilling solution with a focus on the industry is the key to bridge the gap. - Salil Musale, Astarc Ventures

No longer are chatbots sitting on the sidelines waiting to be asked a question. Instead, they are anticipating the needs of customers. - Rahul Sharma, LogMeIn

Everybody is dependent on data in today’s world. Hence, the need to have a fool-proof security system is more than imperative. - Sunil Gupta, QNu Labs

This is a new age in mental health where technology is going to take the lead in helping people with disorders and enable higher performance with better brain optimisation. - Kumaar Bagrodia, NeuroLeap

Managing the complexity of your own software while you scale the product is the most crucial if you want to scale successfully. - Sidu Ponnappa, Gojek

Newer technologies like AI and Deep Learning can actually make things more efficient and faster, and drive improvements in healthcare. - Deepak Visweswariah, NetApp

Any engineer must see the larger picture. There are bigger things to solve. - Saurav Kumar, Euler Motors

Innovation is a tool that can be used for both good and bad. Innovators only see the good and get obsessed with all the beautiful and positive uses of their discovery. - Tyler Crowley

It’s key to have a solid and, if possible, a data-driven approach to committing and successfully achieving goals. - Yuki Kawamura, AET Fund Japan

Only with enthusiasm can you realise big dreams! - Natascha Badmann, triathlete

The buck stops with you. There are a billion decisions each day that only you can answer. - Udai Singh Pawar, 'Upstarts'

Do one thing each day that scares you. - Praveshh Gaur, Srauta Wellness

Work as a community. At the same time, maintain your individuality. - Prasad Natarajan, Artists for Wildlife and Nature

You have to be in the driver's seat of your own career. - Namrata Ganatra, Lambda School

Even if one door is closing that's only because there is another opportunity knocking. - Niti Singhal, Twee In One

We will fall and fail many times, but eventually, we’ll find the ability within ourselves to build, create, and empower. - Mubina Rattonsey, Zero Gravity

If you can dream it, you can definitely achieve it! - Sakshi Gupta, Startupvisors

It needs incredible and incessant energy to build something transformative and founders should transform themselves to get there. - Karthik Reddy, Blume Ventures

Irritation is the biggest source of energy. If you are irritated about something, look into it very carefully for therein lies an opportunity. - CK Kumaravel, Natural Salons

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).

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