‘The bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity’ – 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 January 27 – February 2 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.

A free and continuous flow of ideas is the cornerstone of any innovative society. - Taslimarif Saiyed, C-CAMP

Don’t just follow the market. Follow your calling and do what you excel at. - Ajay Rajgarhia, WonderWall

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. - Oscar Wilde

Your actions should arise from your strength. Everyone who decides to follow their dreams encounters resistance in some form or the other. But we need to fight because it’s worth it. - Namrata Rupani, Capture Life

If you are really adding value to your customer, they will come back without discounts. - Avnish Bajaj, Matrix India

ESOPs always has been a very strong mechanism for startups to incentivise, attract, and retain high performing talent. - Pawan Gupta, Connect2India

Startups have emerged as engines of growth for our economy. - Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

We have just touched the tip of immense entrepreneurship potential in India and support from the Government in terms of financial capital will be a major boost. - Mihir Mehta, Ashika Capital Limited

Entrepreneurship has always been the strength of India. We respect the risk-taking appetite of India's youth. - Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Globally, on average, for every 10,000 workers, there are 75 to 80 robots available. However, when it comes to India, we are far behind. - Satyanarayana P, Epson India

By 2030, India is set to have the largest working age population in the world. - Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Even though India is a nation largely driven by agriculture, there are still large knowledge gaps that keep farm yields low. - Mallikarjun Kukunuri, NCES

With the EV ecosystem in India being in its nascent stages, it’s challenging yet exciting to develop innovative India-specific solutions. - Ishaan Khosla, Huddle

The menswear market is dominated by brands churning out age-old designs and charging the customers a high price for the same. - Ehtasham Hussain, Un-Cuffed

Food tech startups have revolutionised the way Indians eat. There is now a greater demand for healthy, home-cooked meals. - Abheek Singhi, BCG

Irrespective of the buying power, every individual should get access to good snacks. - Amar Choudhary, Chakhna Shot

People in rural areas tend to migrate to cities in search of a better job and lifestyle, leaving behind ancient culture and art forms. - Kalyani Gongi, Ancient Living

India has added internet users at 8x speed in the last 10 years, driven not by large cities but by small towns and villages. - Anil Kumar, Redseer

The face of the real estate sector in India is evolving dramatically with technology transforming its every facet. - Atim Kabra, Frontline Strategy Funds

Supplemental education beyond curriculum is the greatest need in the Indian education system today. - Amit Bansal, WizKlub

Most small entrepreneurs have various entry barriers in adopting digital and growing their businesses. - Vidit Aatrey, Meesho

India accounted for nearly three million metric tonnes of e-waste in 2018, and the nation has a recycling capacity of only five percent of this amount. - Raj Kumar, Deshwal Waste Management

Preventive health and wellness is the need of the hour for each, given the high instances of disease and lifestyle-induced illnesses in our country. - Sarvesh Shashi, SARVA

Bengaluru has the best talent pool, entrepreneurial spirit, and the ecosystem of investors and senior technology leaders needed to guide founders. - Hemant Mohapatra, Lightspeed Partners

Koramangala was always the startup suburb, but in the last three years, VCs have been saying that most of their portfolio companies are in HSR - Ram Chandnani, CBRE

Developed countries like the US and a few in Europe have implemented telemedicine for several years to address this concern. However, this is at a very nascent stage in India. - Deepak Patel, I Online Doctor

Initially, things started in places like the Silicon Valley, over time, you see the depth and quality of talent across Bengaluru, Beijing, and Jakarta. - Kabir Narang, B-Capital

Along with ecommerce, other Chinese industries have also followed suit where they are really merging the things that really work in the online world into the offline realm. - Anshumani Ruddra, Hotstar

Technological tools like Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, 3D printing, drones, data storage, Quantum Computing are helping change the way the country functions. - Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Lending startups are largely the ones that cater to people who are not served by the formal financial institutions. The access to liquidity has to be eased for such fintechs. - Manish Khera, HAPPY

Fintech industry is playing an important role in the penetration of financial services. - Ankush Aggarwal, Avail Finance

The price of battery packs of EVs is expected to fall to $76 per kilowatt hour (or unit) in three years, down from the present-day $156 per unit. - Amitabh Kant, Niti Aayog

In five to 10 years, quantum computing will break encryption as we know it today. But we can work around it. We need to do quantum encryption. - Sundar Pichai, Google

Packaging industry is going through an interesting phase led by digital transformation and sustainability. - Ranjith Menon, Chiratae Ventures

Besides entertainment, the smartphone can be used for finding a meaningful job too. - Jatin Jakharia, WorkIndia

P2P hiring model will be vastly superior to HR candidate model in terms of improving transparency. - Rohit Tewari, ReferHire

When different views come together there is richer employee experience and better technology. - Sejal Chokshi Pietrzak, DealerSocket

Dearth of skill training, refinement centres, and employment programmes affect the growth of women entrepreneurs. - Kiran Dham, Globus Infocom

Democratisation of analytics and data as a service will lead to the creation of new marketplaces to buy and sell advanced analytics algorithms. - Sameer Dhanrajani, AIQRATE

Suddenly, technology has become a boardroom conversation because it is a differentiating experience. We have moved beyond efficiency. - Anand Birje, HCL

Ignorance amongst pet owners about preventive pet healthcare often leads to high vet costs and finally abandonment. - Anushka Iyer, Wiggles

Communication at every step is the cornerstone of managing kids with special needs. - Puja Kapur and Himani Khanna, Continua Kids

Fitness is a massive performance hack. - Mukesh Bansal, Curefit

Fitness is something that empowers you to stand on your own feet and feel the weight of your own thoughts and aspirations. - Rujuta Diwekar

When you run your own business, you micromanage every single aspect and it can get taxing at times, but it makes you a perfectionist. - Jashoda Madhavji, Dream N Hustle Media

Art is a platform for discussion. Art is a tool for communication. - Jagdip Jagpal, India Art Fair

The simplest thing in cricket is also the hardest thing to do. - KL Rahul, Kings XI Punjab

It is always better to aim high and miss, than aim low and hit. - Qasim Zaidi, ex-Rivigo

Starting up is not a straight path, and while there is excitement, there are constant challenges too. - Avantika Meattle

Part of the journey will entail failure. How you deal with it is vital, because the journey will be riddled with mistakes. - Antoinette Prophy, 88 Business Collective

Any problem is an opportunity. The bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity. - Vinod Khosla, Khosla 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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