‘A good product manager is also good at marketing’ – 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 2-8 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.

"There will be times when you will feel like giving up. The hurdles may break you, but you have to get up and give it a go again." - Amritpal Kaur, karate champion

"Find work that doesn’t feel like a sacrifice and then you won’t be thinking about retirement." - Naval Ravikant, AngelList

"Having multiple players is always good for any ecosystem. The competition ensures that users - both the restaurant partners and end consumers — get better services." - Rohan Agarwal, RedSeer Consultancy

"The most important factor to encourage gender diversity is “Thought Diversity”; we need people to change their mind-set." - Ratna Mehta, Wadhwani Foundation

"From your neighbour to your mother, teacher to even your friend, every woman has a story. On a side note, men also have stories, but the challenges a woman faces, compared to that of a man, are relatively vast." - Nitya Rathi, Rebel Girls

"The participation of women in urban areas wherein more than 55 per cent are salaried is far poorer than rural women who are self-employed." - Rituparna Chakraborty, TeamLease Services

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"Nothing makes a pet lover happier than to see their pet enjoy and be joyful." - Dia Sheth, Slurrp-y

"Your body does not know the difference between refined sugar and healthy sugars in terms of metabolism. But your body does know that difference in terms of inflammation." - Deepa Kannan, PFNR

"Millets are super healthy, and are farmer and environment-friendly. This makes them a smart food." - Prashant Parameswaran, Kottaram Agro Foods

"It’s unfortunate how most people accept hair loss and balding as an inevitability." - Saloni Anand, Traya.health

"There are a lot of people launching Ayurveda-based supplement startups. People feel that they need to launch something in this space because it is the flavour of the season." - Ankush Passi, Add Veda

"India has been known as an exporter of tech talent globally since the 1980s, and we are now seeing it not only export talent, but also export its startups to Southeast Asia." - Shauraya Bhutani, North Ridge Partners

"If you want returns with reliability, India is the place to be." - PM Narendra Modi

"There are amazing children’s book publishers in India, but if you talk to anyone in the industry, they will say it’s still underdeveloped." - Chiki Sarkar, Juggernaut

"India is one of the most under-insured countries in the world. A big reason for this is that many people may want to take insurance but they don’t know which product works for them or covers ailments." - Anil Joshi, Unicorn India Ventures

"India produces more than 100 billion eggs every year. However, the category has seen minimum innovation and product development, and lacks a consumer-focused brand." - Abhishek Negi, Eggoz

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"EVs are on course to fulfil their promise as a game-changer for the automobile industry. Two-wheeler and three-wheeler auto segments are likely to lead the adoption curve, followed by e-buses and passenger taxis." - Rohan Rao, KPMG India

"Fashion giants and upcoming brands must pivot and deploy a triple bottom line approach in their operations - catering not just to profits, but to their people and to the planet as well." - Tanvi Bikhchandani, Tamarind Chutney

"In the business value chain, reverse logistics is an untapped space that accounts for $13 billion market size, which is largely unaddressed." - HS Srinivasan, Bizlog

"Flip flops is the most penetrated and highest selling sub-category within footwear." - Solethreads Founder, Sumant Kakaria

"Hospitals must have a comprehensive strategy in place to integrate palliative care in their services." - Rumana Hamied, Cipla Foundation

"The coming years will see home diagnostics become an integral part of the medical ecosystem." - Aayush Rai, Inito

"Most MSME owners agree that for business to be consistently successful and grow, the ability to attract high performing talent is vital." - Rajesh Mohan Rai

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"A good product manager is also good at marketing which is required at every step of product development." - Hitesh Khatpalani, Flipkart

"If you don’t shape your brand narrative, then somebody else will do it." - Meeta Malhotra, The Hard Copy

"If story is magic, vulnerability is the magic wand that unleashes genuine connection with our audiences." - Miri Rodriguez, ‘Brand Storytelling’

"Thorough research is key to building the conviction required to hold on to your positions to profit from the markets in the longer run." - Ajay Menon, MOFSL

"The next step after establishing trust is to build an emotional connection with the users." - Ajay Sethi, Accel

"Apologies, once postponed, became harder and harder to make, and finally impossible." - Margaret Mitchell

"You have to write a good book, and even if you have written a good one, you will not be able to sell it or hope for people to read it unless you market it well." - Chetan Bhagat, ‘One Arranged Murder’

"Art, in its broadest, most inclusive sense, has never existed in a silo. Art responds to the realities of the world." - Nupur Dalmia, Gallery Ark

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).