‘Today’s outliers become tomorrow’s mean’ – 40 quotes of the week from Indian startup journeys
From observation to opportunity, witness the memorable journey of Indian entrepreneurship in these quotes, excerpts and stories!
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 40 gems and insights from the week of February 1-7 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.
India requires more job creators and for that we need to celebrate entrepreneurs. - Kunal Shah, CRED
A lot more needs to be done in the areas of funding startups, R&D centres for budding entrepreneurs in Tier II and Tier III cities too. - Ravi Narayan, T-Hub
A lot of venture funding is still concentrated in the metro cities such as Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, and Mumbai, however, we have witnessed some very successful startups coming out of Tier-II cities and beyond. - Akshay Chhugani, Kisho Capital
India’s startup ecosystem looks promising, and is currently ripe with opportunities. - Hero Choudhary, BEENEXT
Indian startups have a great opportunity to innovate and help to sustain the economy. - Padmaja Ruparel, IAN Fund
A single point compliance ecosystem for startups is the need of the hour to simplify compliances. - Pankil Sanghvi, BDO India
[The] budget, while well received in general and by public markets, was silent on one of the startup ecosystem’s key expectations – i.e. securing access to permanent global capital via direct overseas listing (without need for a dual listing in India). - Rajinder Balaraman, Matrix Partners India
When going in for an IPO, the actual day when you ring the bell is the most glamourous part of the event. But the actual preparation, the journey, irrespective of whether you ring the bell or not, is actually deeply value-adding. - Anuj Khanna Sohum, Affle India
If you want to be innovative, you have to be willing to be misunderstood and criticised. - Jeff Bezos, Amazon
Tourism constitutes 10 percent ($275 billion) to India’s GDP. The tourism industry employs 75 million people directly or indirectly. - Tarun Gulati, Himalayan Hotels
The international market is technologically advanced whereas India dominates the world market in the hand-made carpets. - Radhe Rathi, Kaleen India
Attaining self-reliance in the manufacturing of defence equipment is a crucial factor for maintaining India’s strategic autonomy. - Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
Cannabis is not completely illegal in our country as it is often mistakenly interpreted. - Rohit Kamath, India Hemp Organics
Indian coffees can have a global impact. The idea is to be farmer-friendly and also not cause too much environmental damage. - Soomanna Mandepanda, Humblebean
It is not enough to just dissuade customers from buy imported hardware, it is equally important to build production capacity at home and promote Indian inverters and lanterns organically. - Manjesh Nayak, Oorjan Cleantech
The Budget did not have any mention of addressing water quality problems. With a large number of habitations affected by water quality, one cannot realise the mission of clean and safe drinking water for all. - Romit Sen, Institute for Sustainable Communities
The Budget has given many relaxations to the startup ecosystem; one such major relief is the extension of tax holidays for one more year till March 31, 2022. - Amit Kumar, OLX Autos India
In the chemical industry, there is no room for mistakes. Because of the volume and nature of chemicals involved, any leakage or imbalance can lead to bigger accidents. - Babubhai Rudani, Noble Polymers
The current battery landscape has technologies such as lithium ion, which is quite efficient but expensive, and lead acid, which is available at low cost but highly inefficient. Both options are ecologically unsustainable. - Tejas Kusurkar, ZinGel
Policymakers at the local level should implement policies for the treatment of wastewater and faecal sludge. - Paul Abraham, Hinduja Foundation
Back and joint pain is a large and growing problem around the world. - Ashutosh Mundhada, YourPhysio
Interest among consumers in eco-friendly products has increased after seeing the impact of climate change on glaciers, land, and sea. - Ruchi Jain, Paivi
Social security will solve one of the fundamental hindrances that makes many people not choose freelancing as a full-time career option. - Naman Sarawagi, Refrens.com
To grasp why people bury themselves in debt, you don’t need to study interest rates; you need to study the history of greed, insecurity, and optimism. - Morgan Housel, ‘The Psychology of Money’
The opportunity for providing financial and institutional support to women-led businesses, be it home-based, collectives, enterprises, startups was not looked into. - Deepthi Ravula, WE HUB
The more women enter the mainstream cinema, the more plurality we will see in terms of narratives, scripts, and storylines. - Deepshikha Deshmukh, 'Bellbottom'
It is crucial for a culture to admire its women and have many women role models of different kinds - especially women who go through difficulties and emerge stronger. - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, 'The Last Queen'
Gender is not just binary. It is multiple and real. - Kalki Subramaniam, Sahodari Foundation
It is our duty to stand up for humanity. Step in and correct things that are wrong. - Leymah Gbowee
Dream and work meticulously towards achieving it because the view is best from the top of the north pole. - Captain Zoya Agarwal
Knowledge is available. Individuals just need to set a goal and have the hunger to achieve their goals. - Muhi S Majzoub, OpenText
It is the time to upskill; knowledge today is available today at practically no cost. - Kunal Shah, CRED
It’s very important that you continue to upgrade yourself to learn and be sincere in your approach and behaviour. - Ram Sewak Sharma, former TRAI Chairman
Every day is a challenge. Try to solve it and you will be a winner one day. - Aditya Vikram Gupta, BD Wire
It’s really hard to build a business that sustains for a long period of time and a successful one at that. To do it, you have to reinvent yourself and do it multiple times over. - Andy Jassy, Amazon
You are responsible for your team’s success first. Once they are successful, your own success follows. - Padmaja Kota, Salesforce
The satisfaction of having completed a piece of art successfully is a reward in itself. - Ashwini R, Chitra Santhe
Per aspera ad astra, which means Through the hardships to the stars. - Anna Krzemińska, Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw
Time-saving has to be viewed from a greater perspective, where little hacks introduced can be made a big part of your life. - Deepa Kannan, PFNR
Don't follow or copy anyone, everyone has their own value. - Tarun Nanda, Nio United
Today’s outliers become tomorrow’s mean. - Pavan Soni, 'Design Your Thinking'
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).
Edited by Anju Narayanan