‘Courage and fear are not mutually exclusive’ – 55 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 55 gems and insights from the week of June 29 – July 5 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.

2020 will be all about collaboration and hyper-bundling of experiences. - Sagar Daryani, Wow! Momo

The world is creating knowledge at such an accelerated pace that no single process can capture it. - Gopichand Katragadda, Myelin Foundry

People have purpose-led organisations but are not able to share their stories in a meaningful way. - Debleena Majumdar, Kahaniyah

It is going to be crucial to have a multi-generational team involved in leading knowledge management for the future. - Balaji Iyer, Grant Thornton

The best talent is not looking out for a job, they need to be recruited into one. - Shripati Acharya, Prime Venture Partners

Boycott China movement is now, well and truly a national reality. - Praveen Khandelwal, CAIT

The Indian digital sector, in the last 48 hours, has moved from being a child to being an adult. - Naveen Tewari, InMobi

No better time than now for Indian startups to raise their innovation game! - Debjani Ghosh, NASSCOM

The government should look at strengthening India’s data privacy and protection laws. - Vivek Chandy, J Sagar Associates

Digital India provides tremendous opportunities for small businesses and MSMEs. - Anil Philip, Vodafone-Idea

Machine learning is evolving fast, and with increasing computational power, it is able to deliver phenomenal efficiency in empowering computer vision use-cases with every passing day. - Sravanth Aluru, Avataar.me

Concerns regarding the security in dealing with cryptocurrencies can be suitably dealt with. - Vatsal Gaur, HSA Advocates

At a time where the world is prodding for a contactless environment, there is an increased demand and market for automation technologies. - Vaibhav Domkundwar

One of the strongest levers for improving efficiency is automation. - Hariharan Mathrubutham, Cognizant

We are seeing a greater focus on the microservices way of building across the board. - Abhishek Mahanty, Amazon

UX is not just about aesthetics and good looks, it has got a lot to do with customer-centricity. - Misaal Turakhia, StepSetGo

One of the side effects for antidepressants is you can get suicidal. - Nuthan Manohar, Me Met Me

Walnuts are synonymous with brain health! Walnuts look like a mini brain. - Deepa Kannan, PFNR

We have a billion people in the world living with brain muscle dysfunction. - Subhasis Banerji, SynPhNe

In marketing and advertising, women of all colour should be equal. - Shobia Ooruthirapathy

If Bangladesh could turn the tables by closing gender gaps, why not India? - Aks Khurana, Alpha Urbane Project

Around 12 billion pads are used annually by women. Around 98 percent of the waste ends up in water bodies and landfills. - Ajinkya Dhariya, PadCare Labs

Every social influencer faces online abuse in the form of trolls. - Niyati Mavinkurve, Abhi&Niyu

A message from a celeb like 'Get well soon', 'Happy Birthday', or even conveying a message on video can make their fans really happy. - UNLU

Startups didn’t just want money, they wanted pedigree investors. - Rainmaker Ventures, Atul Hegde

The bar is higher now, so your pitch has to sing. And make sure you have some proof points/traction to make the case. - Deepak Gupta, WEH Ventures

The state government focuses majorly on the development of IT sector, but startups need government backing to scale up. - Joy Pansari, Ad My Bin

It’s tough for startups to attract the right sales talent, groom them and get the desired result. - Praveen Kumar, AOB India

The VC method is not a smooth, seamless step-by-step production line for funding new ventures successfully. - Dermot Berkery, ‘Raising Venture Capital for the Serious Entrepreneur’

The rule of thumb is that investors buy more units when the market is down. Exiting takes away the opportunity to accumulate more. There is an opportunity in adversity. - Basavaraj Puttappa, Zeva Astras

You have to actually think when a VCs is putting in money, is there going to be enough of a viable slice where I can prove my business? - Avnish Bajaj, Matrix Partners India

The next ten years will see a major shift in innovation as entrepreneurs examine industries and practices from new angles. - Raj Ganguly, B Capital

Silicon Valley is exceptional in looking at the future, but negligent looking at the past. There are lessons to be learned from 2002 and 2008. - Somesh Dash, IVP

While making the business plan, companies need to save for a rainy day. - Sujata Ahlawat, TransUnion CIBIL

Accelerated product evolution based on local customer feedback is key to be successful in this new scenario. - Mayank Bhangadia, Roposo

For skill development to succeed, you need products that have a market. - Madhumita Puri, Trash for Cash

Indian users are huge consumers of content, in both voice and music. - Uday Dodla, Qualcomm India

Selling in India is a different animal. People still want to see the person who sells the software to them. - Tejas Goenka, Tally Solutions

As travel restrictions are lifted and financial stimulus is offered to medical tourism players by the government, there will be a positive push to the exponential growth of medical tourism. - Rajalaxmi Walavalkar, Cocoon Fertility

Financial institutions need to be at the top of their game in providing after-sales support. - Ritesh Varma, NewGen Software

The restaurant service industry is a very closely-knitted community. - Arpita Aditi, Nutnbolt

The resources for early learning are sparse, and a curriculum with a child-centred pedagogy is rare. - Prashant Mehta, Lightbox

Road trips are the best form of exploring destinations as it gives us a sense of unmatched freedom and opportunity. - Zahoor Hassan, Shutterdrives

The more you familiarise yourself with art, the more it starts speaking to you and a connection can be made. - Kiran Nadar, KNMA

There is nothing like practice. Every art requires a decent investment of time and discipline to perfect. - Meenakshi Vijay, Blue Ocean IMC

There were and still are, two worlds created because of one’s financial status. - Malini Saba, Anannke Foundation

Businesses that are doing well should do whatever they can to put liquidity back into the economy. - Nithin Kamath, Zerodha

Pastoralism in particular has been a great way of living. They contribute to the national economy, enrich the soil - all at zero cost and input. - Anshul Ojha, Desert Resource Centre

In our pursuit to achieve success, we must always focus on serving those who are neglected and do not share the same privileges as us. - Shabnum Khan, 750AD Healthcare

The people whom you touch and help is your only legacy that will remain. - Sridhar G, Deeksha

If the fire in your heart is strong enough, it will burn away any obstacles that come your way. ― Suzy Kassem

If a player prepares well during practice, then she will definitely play well during matches. - Vandana Katariya

Courage and fear are not mutually exclusive. - Brene Brown, ‘Dare to Lead’

Celebrate failure stories and broad-base the learning within the organisation. Eliminate fear of failure. - Richard Lobo, Tata Chemicals

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).