‘Passion is important; every other skill set is learnable’– 50 quotes from Indian startup journeys

Launched in 2014, StoryBites is a weekly feature from YourStory Media, 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 July 13-19 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights. See also our special compilation of quotes related to India’s coronavirus responses here.

Working together we can ensure that our best days are still ahead. - Sundar Pichai,Google

Passion is important; every other skill set is learnable. - Nischal Shetty, WazirX

Happiness doesn’t depend on the value of variables but on the number of variables. - Nishith Rastogi, Locus

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Never depend on your past, work on cash flows, and continuously innovate to remain relevant. - Sanjay Jain, Director, Elanpro

No matter the project, never lose sight of the budget, user experience, implementation timeline or risk monitoring! - Thiag Loganathan, Cardinality.ai

When you are introducing products as complicated as insurance or super funds, you need to educate customers and introduce them at the right time in the journey. - Rahul Chari, PhonePe

Online/hyperlocal formats do not provide for touch and feel, and also have unviable last-mile delivery costs. - Rajiv Rao, FreshWorld

If you are buying a one-year used two-wheeler compared to a new one there is a massive 40 percent to 50 percent difference. - Sasidhar Nandigam, CredR

Financing of agricultural commodities and warehousing business has traditionally been the forte of banks. The sector needs more pools of capital from other investor segments. - Sunoor Kaul, Origo Commodities India Pvt. Ltd

Running an operational business in the restaurant industry is not for the faint-hearted. - Gautam Balijepalli, WarmOven

Companies have realised that celebrities don’t do the trick anymore. Customers refer to the experiences of their peers. - Sourjyendu Medda, DealShare

For decades, TV content has been largely broadcast-dependent without any interactivity. - Akash Ambani, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited

Insurance (both life and general) is highly under-penetrated in India as compared to other countries. - Amit Nayyar, Paytm

A significant change in the Indian mindset will be required for India to evolve from a Tier II middle power to a Tier I global power. - Vamsi T Mohun, IFITRF

With the Indian economy growing, the need for SMEs to raise capital is becoming increasingly critical. - Ajay Thakur, BSE

Though Ayurveda is an ancient Indian medical science, it started seizing the market shelves only in the recent past. - Vishal Kaushik, Upakarma Ayurveda

Vegan is a relatively new concept in India but it is catching up. - Disha Singh, Zouk

Group health insurance is a very complicated product in nature and the entire customer process, from buying to claiming, is still very manual in India. - Nao Murakami, Incubate Fund India

With 35 million cases still pending in the Indian court of law and 15 million fresh ones getting piled on every year, the Indian judiciary is mired with backlogs and procedural delays. - Shubham Sharma, Nyaykarta

Most of the rural folk in India are still struggling to earn their livelihood, and many are known to be living with the funds borrowed from moneylenders. - Naman Tekriwal, Rural Invest

In the next five to 10 years, we will see multiple $5 billion and $10 billion revenue educational companies coming out of India. - Pratik Poddar, Nexus Venture Partners

Edtech players in Tier II and Tier III cities are primarily acquiring clients through referrals, while edtech players in metros are doing it through blitzkrieg marketing using movie stars and celebrities. - Mahesh Pratapneni, Emerge Ventures

We need to prepare our kids for work right after their Class 12, which means more project work in the real world with SMEs and large corporates. It’s the only way we can solve the unemployability issue and build a journey towards entrepreneurship. - Kaushik Raju, Atria University

Technology cannot replace the classroom when it came to reaching out to homeless and destitute people. - Geetanjali Chopra

An antiquated education system is failing our children in an ever-evolving world. - Saurabh Saxena, Uable

The biggest strength the youth of today have is their skills, and their ability to acquire new skills. - PM Narendra Modi

In a tough economic climate, it is important to develop and re-skill the workforce to overcome the challenges being presented. - Dhruv Shringi, Yatra

If we train well, then we will be able to execute our skills in a better way, which will help us deal with the pressure. - Monika, Arjuna Award winner

The thing about women leadership is that it still has a potential to grow. This growth will be both quantitative and qualitative. - Suchita Oswal Jain, Vardhman Textiles

Around us, we are seeing more and more women take charge of their lives, and at least realise that they have a right to their own lives, to their own bodies. - Vidya Balan

A lot of people are of the view that fashion is all about outward appearances. But it encompasses freedom of expression. - Aishwarya Sharma

Many fashion designers are now moving from a traditional brick and mortar shop to a pop-up store or a shared rented space. The consumers find such spaces innovative. - Vidushi Jain, Attrangi

There are over 700,000 homegrown designer brands in India who seek to retail in over 75,000 single brand and multi-brand store networks. - Vikrant Varshney, SucSEED

Art touches our hearts, reminds us of our vulnerabilities, awakens us to our strengths, and above all, heals us and mends us in unknown ways. - Roobina Karode, KNMA

Live and work but do not forget to play, to have fun in life and really enjoy it. - Eileen Caddy

With COVID-19, people are educating themselves now as they have become conscious of their bodies and families. They know what is healthy. Thus, we are seeing more people join the health revolution. - Harshvardhan Agarwal, O'Greens

Personalised beauty care provides a unique way of engaging with customers. - Abhishek Goenka, RPSG Ventures

When it comes to water, consumers prefer a transparent bottle rather than a much better, sustainable water can. - Ankur Chawla, Responsible Whatr

The heavy petrol and diesel trucks alone cause over 30 percent of vehicular particulate pollution. - Rupesh Kumar, EVI Technologies

Organic and natural are being used loosely, and everyone is coming up with DIY products at home. - Amritha Gaddam, Tribe Concepts

We all have professional roles, but at the end of the day, we are humans first, and we are dealing with real people. - Sarbvir Singh, PolicyBazaar

It is not a sign of weakness to ask someone what they think. Rather, it is a way of verifying that they did understand. - Sanjay Swamy, Prime Venture Partners

When life gives you lemons, make grape juice then sit back and let people wonder how you did it. - Priyanka Chopra Jonas

The ability to identify a need in the marketplace and quickly adapt to consumer needs positions the startup beautifully in this constantly changing marketplace. - Raj Mishra, AIT Global Inc

While the deck won’t guarantee funding, it does guarantee the first good impression. - Ravish Naresh, KhataBook

Growth in a role must be measured only through the lens of increasing scope and impact. - Rahul Chari, PhonePe

Be careful whether you have scalable effects or asymptotic network effects. - Avnish Bajaj, Matrix Partners India

It is important for startup founders to appreciate that branding is a full-time job. - Shreesh Shankar, Sukkrish Aadds

Dream big, stay positive, work hard, and enjoy the journey. - Krishna Kumar Karwa, Emkay Global Financial Services

The advantage of being the first is that you get recognised as a pioneer. The disadvantage of being first is that you have to build the market. - Sonal Holland, Master of Wine

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).