[Year in Review 2020] ‘Passion is important; every other skill set is learnable’ – Top 50 quotes of the year on entrepreneurship

From ideation to implementation, the changemakers in this compilation have memorable words for us all. In addition to inspiration and motivation, they provide hard-earned lessons about dealing with failure, forming teams, and scaling a company.

Share these quotes with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights. See also our quotes compilations for 2019 and 2018. We hope these quotes inspire you as well to do your bit (and more!) to make India and the world a better place.

Check out YourStory’s Book Review section with over 280 titles on entrepreneurship, innovation, startups, leadership, and tech trends. See also our list of Top 10 Books of the Year for Entrepreneurs for 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012.

Following up on our book reviews, YourStory has interviewed dozens of these authors over the years as well. See our pick of Top Author Interviews of 2020, 2019 and  2018.

Make it a habit to check out our Daily Capsule, Weekly Founding Roundup, and quotes compilation StoryBites, featuring notable quotable quotes in our articles of each past week.

YourStory wishes our readers all the very best for the holiday season, and a year of successes and progress ahead in 2021!

The right intent can solve the biggest of problems. It is important to focus on the deeper purpose and reason. Only then can tech be built. - Pulkit Jain, Vedantu

You need to believe in yourself because you are selling your vision. - Manali Jagtap, MJ

Frustration is the genesis of entrepreneurship. - Bhavin Turakhia, Zeta

Any problem is an opportunity. The bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity. - Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures

Not facing challenges will never make you a good entrepreneur. - Sanjana Patel, La Folie

Your lifetime will not be enough to learn only from your mistakes. You have to learn from other people’s mistakes. - Jay Vijayan, Tekion Corp

Every mistake is a chance to reengage the customer. - Vinay Kanchan, 'Sportivity'

Don’t strive to be the best, strive to be legendary. - Ankit Gupta, OYO

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

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If you really want to build something, you really want to create an impact, you have to be on the ground. And it takes time. - Rajendra Lora, Freshokartz

The product has to be the hero. If you don’t get your product right, don’t even think of building a brand. Don’t waste money. - PC Musthafa, ID Fresh Foods

Success is common, but enduring success that can last for decades is rare. - Shailendra Singh, Sequoia Capital

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

Not all inventors are necessarily great entrepreneurs, which is why not all great ideas translate into great companies. - Harsh Mariwala, MIF

The best person to compare yourself to is your own past self. - Naman Lahoty, Stellaris Venture Partners

If you micromanage your people, they won’t have the courage to take risks. Give your team trust, so they can grow. - Roline Spijkervet, Picnic

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

If you build relationships, business will build itself. - Smita Rajgopal, Smitten Worldwide

Everybody is a superhero. All we have to do is step up and help someone in need. - Dushyant Kapoor, DK FILMS

Brand is a combination of expectation and experience. Your communication and packaging creates the expectation. Your product delivers the experience. - Siddhant Raizada

The pitch deck is not main course, it is the side dish. The main course is the founder. - Sanjay Nath, Blume Venture Partners

You never lose; you either win or learn. - Madhusudan Ekambaram, KreditBee

Entrepreneurship is a constant rollercoaster, whether it’s about designing the “perfect” product, finding the right market fit, procuring funds ,or managing teams. - Puroitree Majumdar, YourDOST

A business built around a purpose may not see the same kind of drop that other enterprises might. The community and customers support a business with a purpose. -  William Bissell, FabIndia

Be rigid about your vision and flexible about your plans. - Amit Somani, Prime Venture Partners

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

Entrepreneurship is the willingness to follow your curiosity. - Vani Kola, Kalaari Capital

Success is in the big things; happiness is in the small things. - Girish Mathrubootham, Freshworks

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Lack of resilience and staying power affects the depth and gravity of problems you can solve. Stay with a problem for at least a few years to actually learn. - Gaurav Agarwal, 1mg

Perseverance is the key to success. - Shivjeet Ghatge, StepSetGo

Beauty lies in how we feel about ourselves. - Suraj Vazirani, The Beauty Co

A company with strategy knows how to win. The company without a strategy only knows how to look very busy, because they do not know what they have to do to win. - Savio Kwan, ex-Alibaba

There will be many manic days, panic days, and it-is-going-to-hell days before we get to the other side. - Asheesh Chanda, Kristal.AI

Don't do it for money, because money will follow. Do it because it makes a difference. - Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Biocon

Money is a by-product; if the business is successful and clients have faith in your offerings - success will follow. - Tanya Khanna, Epistle Communications

Financial success is an outcome, never a goal. - Sanjay Swamy, Prime Ventures

As entrepreneurs you have to be fearless, and go after things that nobody has gone after before. - Tim Draper

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

Outcome is greater than output. - Sameer Bhiwani, Scripbox

Leave space for serendipity. It may be your highest RoI investment. - Kirthiga Reddy, SoftBank

Do not just look for role models, be the one too. - Manbir Kaur, ‘Are You The Leader You Want To Be?’

Your brand reflects your culture, purpose, and identity. It’s never too early to start thinking about it. - Ritesh Agarwal, OYO

All of us have an entrepreneur in us. - Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola

Great things never come from staying in your comfort zone. Step out and explore. - Saurabh Rathore, Gobble Me Good

Equity is the most expensive asset for a company. – Kushal, Myadvo Techserve

If there’s no lane already out there for you to follow, create your own lane! - Raja Kumari

At the end of the day, as technologists, the most satisfying part is how many lives we can save. Only then will we be assured that technology has truly delivered. - S. Sadagopan, IIITB

Compassion is the birthplace for courage, which is an essential skill for all leaders. - Bhavna Toor, Shenomics

Empathy for the pains of the world and the challenges people face makes curiosity like a prayer that makes the world a better place. - Sonam Wangchuk, SECMOL

Speed is a differentiator, and the kind of learning you go through in a startup is phenomenal. - Amod Malviya, Udaan

Either build a high-speed boat or abandon ship. Hoping for the winds to change can be a frustrating wait. - Shripati Acharya, Prime Venture Partners

Entrepreneurship is never a sprint. And it can be a difficult, lonely job. - Krishnan Ganesh

Endurance has become the universal goal. - Sanil Sachar, Trusox

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).