‘Culture grows by osmosis’ – 35 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 25 gems and insights from the week of October 5-11 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.

It is failure, plus, reflecting upon that failure that will hopefully get you to succeed. - Ankur Warikoo, Nearbuy.com

As soon as a user is willing to put themselves on the line for your product or service, you've got a winner. - Amit Somani, Prime Venture Partners

Try getting to the root of the real problem that your product has to solve. - Gautam Chopra, BeatO

Subscription businesses today have to be ready at all times to identify and leverage market opportunities rapidly. - Krish Subramanian, Chargebee

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If you are looking to partner in the field of education, the place to be is India. - PM Narendra Modi

There are over 200 million literate women in urban India out of which 148 million are not employed or studying. - Nishtha Yogesh, Hunar Online

While child marriage is a practice that affects both girls and boys, its impact on girls, especially from marginalised communities, is higher. - Puja Marwaha, CRY

Insects like mites, spindle bugs, and tender nut drop generally destroy the plants and lead to diseases like Koleroga. Hence, there is a growing need for better technological interventions to assist the farmers. - Fahim Hussain, Gramophone

Farmers’ land, which would otherwise become barren due to excessive use of pesticides, remains healthy for generations if organic farming is done. - Siddharth Sancheti, Agronic Foods

There is an opportunity to expand the market from 58 million credit cards in India today to 200 million credit cards over the next five years. - Nitin Gupta, Uni

Having headquarters in a smaller city gives you the advantage of staying connected with your customers as compared to metro cities where people hardly know each other. - Prahllad Mittal, Homvery

Thirty years ago, the per capita consumption of chicken was 150 grams, today, it is about 4.5 kgs, but much lesser than the global average of 18 kgs. - B Soundararajan, Suguna Group

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With the new culture of buy now and pay later, lots of millennials get stuck in this debt problem without understanding the long term repercussions of the same. - Sachin Gupta, Finoramic

With a growing millennial and younger population, the cultural gap or lack of awareness seems to affect the choice of tourism towards places. - Shaurya Sehgal, Bistar Hostels

Transport systems have become an indispensable facet of our lives, so much so that efficiency and reliability are a must-have combination in such systems. - Rajarshi Nag, Drivers4Me

Electric cars are now more expensive than traditional combustive vehicles and the major reason for this is the cost of the battery. - Satyanarayanan Chakravarthy, TEC

Writing non-fiction is challenging; and if it isn’t, you’re probably doing it wrong. - Puja Changoiwala, ‘Gangster on The Run’

The perception that art is an abstract, aloof world needs to be dismantled and this can be done most effectively through education and awareness. - Nupur Dalmia, Gallery Ark

When you are cooking something, make extra and use it the next day in a creative way with a slight variation. - Natasha Celmi, 'Fast Fresh Flavourful'

A lot of late-night eating is mindless and 'mindless eating' is consistently linked to overeating and weight gain. - Gurmeet Arora, Flax healthy living

When you force your body to eat highly restrictive diets during the week, it leads to cravings and the desire to binge on all kinds of food over the weekends. - Deepa Kannan, PFNR

The impact of sleep on our mental health can’t be exaggerated. Sleep is essential to us, just like air, water and food. - Vasudha Agarwal, United We Care

Mental health is one aspect of human well-being, about which people have very little understanding, in not only identifying the symptoms but also in helping another person suffering from it. - Suhail Vadgaokar, Urban Company

Alternative protein is a key lever in our fight against climate change, malnutrition, food insecurity, and public health risks. - Varun Deshpande, Good Food Institute India

0-3 is a very important age where most development takes place. It is a time when the child will be able to communicate very little and it is up to the adults to see to their needs. - Nisha Ramasamy, Ariro Wooden

Educating girls isn't just good for the girls, it's good for all of us. The future of our world is only as bright as the future of our girls. - Michelle Obama

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Your vibe attracts your tribe. Stay insanely awesome. - Bhanu Chopra, RateGain

Marketing strategies are transforming from promotional to social purpose. - Jaideep Shergill, Pitchfork Partners

Your culture is how your company makes decisions when you’re not there. It’s the set of assumptions your employees use to resolve the problems they face every day. - Ben Horowitz, ‘What you do is Who you are’

The reality is culture grows by osmosis, it grows by people engaging, at the ward, the coffee machine, or the water cooler, gossiping about the organisation, exchanging notes. Also, it is important for innovation. - Rishad Premji, Wipro

Cultural values need to be integrated into all the existing processes of the company ranging from recruitment to business deals. - Pritesh Mittal, Growisto

Effective strategy is about making a move and being prepared to launch another series of moves based on how the market or your competition reacts. - Patrick Bet-David, ‘Your Next Five Moves’

Impact can only be created if you are able to scale up your innovation. - Harsh Mariwala, Marico

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Mental toughness is one of the most underrated qualities for startup teams. The best founders are able to rightly balance between perseverance and adaptability. - Karan Mohla, Chiratae Ventures

Being passionate and emotionally attached to the business makes one a good entrepreneur. But, it is imperative to at look at experiences and situations objectively for an investor. - Mohan Lakhamraju, Great Learning

Social investing is a great merger of the “Head and the Heart” - it thinks with the head and takes decisions with the heart. - Ratna Mehta, Wadhwani Foundation

A radical embrace of inclusion helps because the best ideas often come from unexpected places. - Brad Feld and Ian Hathaway, ‘The Startup Community Way’

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).