‘Innovation and entrepreneurship must serve society beyond profitability’ – 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 30 gems and insights from the week of June 14-20 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.

A magnetic brand makes the customer feel worthy and privileged. - Siddharth Rajsekar, Internet Lifestyle Hub

Be yourself and be confident. If a woman feels confident, our world does better. - Sharen Jester Turney, ex-Victoria’s Secret

We owe it to ourselves to be vocal about what we want and go after it. Be persistent, resilient, and don’t give up until you get your due. - Kavita Shenoy, Voiro

It is all right to fall in love and marry someone from another faith, another background, religion, caste, etc. - Samar Halarnkar, India Love Project

With increasing disposable income and more discerning millennials entering parenthood, the [toys and games] market is ripe for growth. - Saumil Shah

Once you focus on water, sanitation, health, education, and livelihoods together, the impact is sustainable and villages can be fully empowered. - Ronnie Screwvala, Swades Foundation

Non-drinking water accounts for more than 95 percent of our daily water usage. - Sudeep Nadukkandy, WaterScience

Eco-friendly hygienic products are emerging to help create carpets that protect occupants as well as the environment. These flooring carpet collections have environmental reuse, repurpose, recycle, and environmental themes attached to them. - Richard Morris, Carpets Inter Brand

ALSO READ

This startup helps reduce COVID vaccine wastage in last-mile delivery

Those of us who produce content with creativity at the core face a challenge as we are fighting algorithms that don’t care for the quality of our craft. - Anindito Mukherjee, DesignUp 2021

Nothing makes you feel more like an adult than being responsible for another human being — their safety, well-being, physical and intellectual development. - Ritesh Banglani, Stellaris Venture Partners

Mentoring is very crucial and also very difficult. It is like advising a young parent on how to raise their kids. - Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Venture Catalysts

Having a tracker is a simple way to get more disciplined and stay that way. It’s amazing how motivated you can be when you just see what you track. - Deepa Kannan, PFNR

Even if milk is sourced from all the farmers in India, it still will not be enough to meet the demand for ghee. - Kamaljit Kaur, Kimmu's Kitchen

Indian consumers deserve world-class options in the beauty care segment without burning a hole in their pocket. - Anurag Kedia, Pilgrim

As India embarks on the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, it is important to ensure that critical ecological and social principles are engrained in restoration policies, programmes, and campaigns. - Marie Duraisami, WRI India

ALSO READ

Unicorns of 2021: BrowserStack becomes the latest entrant to $1B club; total number rises to 15

Nearly 75 percent of our population is from rural India and they believe in curative healthcare approach instead of preventative. And that's a big problem. - Partha Pratim Das, EzeRx

Hospitals want the same vendor pan-India to service chains across cities and provide an end-to-end solution. - Chandan Singh, Sorterz

In India, vernacular services in the contact centres play a crucial role for businesses with clients across India. - Sachin Bhatia, Ameyo

Indian art defies any easily-tailored silos to carve for itself a confident assertion of its own identity. - Ashish Anand, DAG

Branding and communication is a critical element of culture-building exercise. - Ved Prakash, Trianz

When it comes to knowledge management, the best marketing agents are trust and ownership. - Manoj Hariharan, Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions

Successful partnerships require open-mindedness and a deep appreciation of our interdependency. This is not a zero-sum game. - Theodora Lau and Bradley Leimer, ‘Beyond Good’

When starting a new venture, you might find yourself overwhelmed, not knowing where to start from and which direction to go in. But just remember to put one step in front of the other, and keep at it. - Shamika Haldipurkar, d’you

ALSO READ

These 4 women-founded edtech startups were launched during the pandemic

Find and surround yourself with the best talent possible and trust your team, root for them, and allow them to do their best work - that’s where the magic happens. - Natasha Malpani Oswal, Boundless Media

Never take up any work that fights with your integrity and your sense of right. It might seem like it doesn’t matter initially, but it can erode your faith in the long run. - Bhavani Iyer

'Failing in succeeding' will soon be the new mantra for budding entrepreneurs in the country. Days are not far ahead when we will celebrate failure. - MS Sahoo, IBBI

Entrepreneurship is about seeing opportunities where none seem to exist, and it is about solving problems that seem unsolvable to an experienced eye. - Varun Duggirala, The Glitch

Entrepreneurs today are looking for more than investors – they want value-add partners that understand consumers and brands. - Nicholas Cator, Venturi Partners

The real investors in a startup are YOU, the founders! - Sanjay Swamy, Prime Ventures

Experimentation is integral to entrepreneurship. The mindset to try new things and to be experimentative needs to be supported from an early stage. - Davinder Singh, BML Munjal University

Innovation and entrepreneurship must serve society beyond profitability. - Aastha Mehta, MediBrace

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).