‘Financial success is an outcome, never a goal’ – 40 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 40 gems and insights from the week of December 30–January 5 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights. See also our compilation of Top Entrepreneurship Quotes of 2019 here.

Every single mistake that entrepreneurs do, 99 percent of that is already documented somewhere. - Gaurav Munjal, Unacademy

This thing that we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down. - Mary Pickford

The future will never be predictable; risk will always be with us. - David Moschella, ‘Seeing Digital’

It’s good to look at businesses that have grown by 5 or 10x. But if you look deep into their journeys from day one to day 100, they would have gone through lots of mistakes and learning. - Prashanth Susarla, Unilodgers

Essential to creativity is a ferocious dissatisfaction with the status quo. - Roger Mavity, ‘How to Steal Fire’

We forget that it is our flawed human self, and not our avatar, who creates things and reconsiders and forgives and shows mercy. – Tara Westover, author

A founder always needs to be on top of payables and cash available, not just at the end of the month, but in real time. - Devendra Khandegar, Kredily

There are not as many women in STEM as we would like to see. Availability of talent and hiring is difficult. - Inken Braunschmidt, Halma

If we cannot see, we cannot be. - ElsaMarie D’Silva, Safecity

Pay attention to your needs because only when you take care of yourself will you be able to take care of others. - Sameera Reddy

There is a growing interest for people to do impactful work even when it comes to volunteering. - Mandeep Kaur, Tribes For Good

Our resolutions are made every day and keeps evolving, more like a daily resolution rather than a yearly one! – Saket Modi, Lucideus Technologies

Companies across every major industry are using technology to transform their businesses. - Karen Chupka, CES

Technology has been in the classroom for quite a long time but it’s been on the periphery. Now, it’s moving to the centre, thanks to easy access to the internet. - Arpit Jain, StudyPad

Essential services like healthcare and education will be evergreen, as long as people offer a strong value proposition. - Naganand Doraswamy, Ideaspring Capital

While smartphones will continue to be the primary go-to device, smartphone users have realised that periodically switching off would help benefit their personal health. - Prabhu Ram, CMR

The traditional education system needs to be supported by online academies and courses that are skill-based. - Aravind S, QED Corporate Advisors

Fashion is the first category that most consumers buy online and is soon going to emerge as the largest ecom category. - Vikram Kankaria, Fashor

When we look at electric two-wheeler mobility around the world, it is all low speed. - Naveen Munjal, Hero Electric

Health habits of consumers have changed over the past few years and the need for a new tech-driven approach is the need for a much better consumer experience. - Mukesh Bansal

Project owners around the world are increasingly demanding timely delivery of their projects from engineers and contractors. - Madhvi Walia, TraceCost

The mom-and-pop store is here to stay. Look at India’s consumption patterns and the way its network is built around the locality. - Kumar Vembu, GoFrugal

Many first-generation entrepreneurs in India lack quality service providers within their immediate network. - Shrijay Sheth, LegalWiz.in

India will struggle to make a GDP growth rate of 5 percent in 2020. - Steve Hanke, Johns Hopkins University

India has only 100 million English language speakers. Imagine the services that could be built for the rest of the population with tech. - Michael Siebel, Y Combinator

In India, traders are generally confused about their tax calculations. Taxes on trading can get tricky sometimes as the rules vary. - Nithin Kamath, Zerodha

The current crop of Indian SaaS startups has the potential to take on their global counterparts head-on. - Niraj Ranjan Rout, Hiver

While social commerce is taking off among mass market and Tier II and III consumers, it’s yet to penetrate as strongly among more affluent, urban consumers. - Shraeyansh Thakur, Sequoia Capital India

Sixty-five percent of India is young and, sadly, this population is not voting. - Chaitanya Prabhu, Mark Your Presence

The spice market in India is worth Rs 40,000 crore and branded spices have 15 percent market share. The segment is extremely competitive. - Subodh Bhartiya, Urban Spices

India is home to about 10,00-12,000 cinemas, and the average lifespan of the screen is 10 years. Approximately 1,000-1,200 screens are replaced in a year. - Yusuf S Galabhaiwala, Galalite

There is a dearth of professional art institutions that can take art to the masses. - Shole Madhusudhanan, Ignite School of Passion

The world is the largest canvas available. - Sunitha Krishna, Brushes and Palette

There are various benefits of rooftop solar for MSMEs. The most important among them is reduction of carbon footprint. - Shilpa Pophale, Electronica Finance

The presence of children and families is often a measure of a city’s vibrancy and dynamism. - Rushda Majeed, Bernard van Leer Foundation

The theory of planned behaviour is a powerful tool that backs up the concept of bystander intervention and builds routes for social change. - Kirthi Jayakumar, Saahas

With global suicide rates on the rise, it is crucial that reaching out for help becomes an act of power as opposed to a sign of weakness. - Ananya Birla, MPower

For an entrepreneur, it is very important to be passionate about the problem they are solving. - Lalit Keshre, Groww

Read your audience first before crafting your story and hit where their need is. - Akhila Deshpande, Prime Venture Partners

Most people end up with investments that barely beat inflation or meet their life goals. - Prashant Gupta, Wealthy

Today, every millennial is considering a better proposition of investment to real estate and gold. Mutual funds come on the top of the list. - Pulkit Jain, WealthBucket

The hardest problem for any entrepreneur is going from an idea to million dollars in revenue. - Jyoti Bansal, Unusual Ventures

Financial success is an outcome, never a goal. - Sanjay Swamy, Prime Ventures

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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