‘You don’t have to be latest or best, you just have to be relevant’– 30 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 20 gems and insights from the week of November 9-15 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.

Apart from looking at prior experience, track record, and background, the investors also want to see if core leaders have enough skin in the game. - Kashyap Chanchani, The RainMaker Group

Above all else, in early-stage investing, it’s the founding team that really matters. People are mostly investing in the grit, vision, and execution capability of the founders. - Vishal Chaddha, Xelp

The wisdom of seeing companies grow and fall is amazing. Ideally, a VC should be able to cleverly, tactfully, and contextually channel it back to young founders. - Priya Mohan, Venture Highway

Accelerator programmes have emerged as one of the most powerful vehicles for helping entrepreneurs to learn rapidly, create powerful networks, raise money, build their startups, and do this at speed and scale. - Richard Busulwa, Naomi Birdthistle, and Steve Dunn, ‘Startup Accelerators’

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Serving the needy is an essential component of praying to God. - Aaditya Anand, Pooja Sansar

The preferred cause of India’s top philanthropists has been education, although poverty alleviation has grown dramatically to become the second most popular cause this year. - Anas Rahman Junaid, Hurun

The crisis induced by COVID-19 should motivate society to raise, not reduce, its commitment to those less fortunate. - Ramji Raghavan, Agastya International Foundation

There are great products with great infomercials but nobody tested them on Indian skin. - Chytra Anand, SkinQ

It is great to see some brands like Amul, Parle-G, Bajaj, and Dollar refusing to advertise on TV channels that spread toxicity. Association with toxic content, abuse, and fake news is detrimental to brands. - Sudhakar Rao, ICFAI Group

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[The Turning Point] How three IITians took lessons from their earlier startup to launch Vedantu

Firecrackers pose a huge risk to the health and well being of people at large. - Dr Jeenam Shah, Bhatia Hospital

Pulses are a great substitute for meat because they are cholesterol-free and contain almost no saturated fat. - Sheela Krishnaswamy, NICHE

It is crucial to remember to tune out and rejuvenate, as entrepreneurship can be mentally and physically exhausting. - Tanvi Singla and Disha Singla, Supreme Incubator

The real concept of balance is in our becoming mindful. Being aware as a planetary society. Of who we are and how we live. - Shashwat Das, WOW Design

Worry is the product of a future that we cannot guarantee and guilt is the product of a past we cannot change. - Shailene Woodly

Art is a way to peel back the outer layer of the world and see the turning gears within. - Prasanthi Alluri, 'Incredible Talents'

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Dairy is a multibillion-dollar industry crippled with a lot of inefficiencies. - Abhijeet Mittal, MoooFarm

Indian homegrown brands can accomplish massive outcomes in the next five to 10 years if their vision is aligned with the Indian consumer’s needs. - Shuchir Suri, Jade Forest

Amalgamation should not just remain an exercise to bring two or three banks together; it should now become an organic mechanism to grow. - Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

As an asset, gold's stability has stood the test of time over the years! - Priti Rathi Gupta, LXME

All of us have taken from Bihar but we have not given it back. It deserves much more. - Manoj Bajpayee

The cities of Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubbali-Dharwad, and Shivamogga are foreseeing great investment opportunities and employment potential. - Ashwath Narayan, DCM, Govt of Karnataka

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[TechSparks 2020] From product to profit: 40 insightful quotes on the business of startups

Indians are quite passionate about the celebrities that they follow. - Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, 9Unicorns

The litmus test for any CFO is to handle shareholder expectations and conflicts and minimise distraction for the operating team due to these conflicts. - Raghava Rao, Amazon India

It’s the 'dish' at the restaurant that matters the most to the guest and not necessarily the ingredients used by the chef. - Atul Pratap Singh, Jobsgaar

Bringing change in consumer behaviour takes a lot of time as people are wary initially. - Archisman Acharya, Mo BBSR

Long breaks can present a major disconnect between ongoing developments within the sector and your knowledge about the industry and your workplace. - Vanshika Goenka, Kool Kanya

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When you’re an entrepreneur or leader, you are used to highs and lows and don’t take any of them very personally. - Devita Saraf, The Vu Group

Product-market fit is a lifelong journey for a startup - you are constantly innovating and you need to bring PMF at every stage. It isn’t a one-time thing. - Harsha Kumar, Lightspeed Venture Partners

While gut feel plays an extremely vital role, try to back that gut feel with data. Never ignore the instinct, but don’t blindly follow it too. - Mohit Aron, Cohesity

You don’t have to be latest or best, you just have to be relevant. - Pavan Soni, Inflexion Point

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).