‘Anything you treasure cannot be rushed’ – 45 quotes from Indian startup journeys
From product to perfection, 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 30 gems and insights from the week of September 13-19 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.
Being an entrepreneur requires you to surf through different turfs in one go. This needs passion and love for what you are doing. - Aman Gupta, boAt Lifestyle
It is rare to find an entrepreneur who succeeded with their first venture and the first product. The first product and the first company would invariably fail. - Kaninika Mishra, The Indic Quotient
Tackle every obstacle thrown your way and take every challenge in your stride to emerge stronger, with a successful business. - Purvi Rohit Pugalia, The Rooted Co
You have to develop the ability to detach to see that a product or company failing does not mean you are a failure. - Bhavna Dalal, Checkmate Office Politics
As a great source of financing and knowledge with less risk, angel investments can be pivotal in a startup’s progress and growth trajectory. - Roma Priya, Burgeon Law
Identifying, reassessing, and taking responsibility for the unique set of risks is invariably crucial for startups before they embark on their private-to-public transformation. - Sunny Goel, WTWIIB
Startups should only consider an IPO when they are completely prepared - ready for examination and with a new playbook that includes recruiting the correct board of directors and establishing communication lines with stakeholders. - Nishant Arora, Setup Services India
While all entrepreneurs want to build IPO companies, that isn't always the reality. Some die and others have a great path to acquisition. - Krishna Vedati, Tynker
When you decide to go grow and scale further, you are answerable to millions of people who invest their savings into your journey and story. - Abhinav Yajurvedi, PharmEasy
Unless a startup figures out a unique business model or go-to-market strategy, you cannot compete with [established players]. - Manu Chandra, Sauce.VC
Human progress comes from new ideas, perspectives that can solve the big problems we face. And it is the young people who can achieve that. - Barack Obama
The essence of the spirit of leadership is to create confidently yet humbly from uncertainty. - Bhavna Dalal, Talent Power Partners
India is among the top five nations in terms of research output, and it excels in some select areas. However, the overall quality of research (if you remove a few top institutions) is still quite low. - Hari Pulakkat, Space. Life. Matter.
Only six universities from India are in the top 500 university rankings worldwide. - Shashank Shwet, ImaginXP
For India to be the world’s manufacturing hub, we must prioritise upskilling and generating employment for our women workforce. - Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola
For brands in the US and the UK, India is the best market when it comes to outsourcing work at economic convenience. - Mayank Gulati, ContentNinja
[D2C] is such an underpenetrated market with billions of consumers to cater to. In comparison to other countries, India is not even scratching the surface yet. - Kanwaljit Singh, Fireside Ventures
Unfortunately, economic insecurity and financial instability in small-town India is rendering millions incapable of spending the time or money to start their own ventures. - Vivan Marwaha, What Millennials Want
Home decor in India is a highly unorganised market and there is no standardisation of such services. - Vinay Bansal, Inflection Point Ventures
The blue-collar worker recruitment opportunity in India is large and growing. - Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures
It is high time we had a wake-up call to learn from the success of other nations that have used innovation and technology in sports. We should ask ourselves the potential use of “Dual-use” technology in sports. - Anurag W, NITI Aayog
For [the rest of] India, curfew is happening now because of coronavirus. But in J&K, it is a very normal thing and can happen once or twice every month. - Siddarth Gupta, SID07 Designs
The reality is that modern needs have not changed what was always important — space, natural light, air, access to clean and inspiring surroundings, and proximity to loved ones. - Akshat Bhatt, Architecture Discipline
To meet the peak demands, renewable sources alone will not help unless combined with some form of energy storage like chemical and mechanical forms of storage to balance supply and demand. - Shreyas Gowda, Oorjan
Banana fibre uses six times less water per ton produced than cotton, and 10 times less fertilisers. - Tarun Bothra, Saathi
The renewable sector is unfolding itself with new opportunities and challenges. People are more adaptive to new technology and are becoming environmentally conscious, which gives a boost to the sector. - Bhargav Deori, Renergy Solutions
Yoga as a whole is emerging as a complementary practice to manage mental health issues such as anxiety and lack of focus. - Priyanka Jain, Eka app
Organic products hold a promising future. The trend has now come to India as people are becoming more health-conscious. - Ashwani Arora, LT Foods
Fibre does not need to be in the form of smoothies or drinks. It can just be the traditional Indian meal with all the components on your plate. - Deepa Kannan, PFNR
Most of the foods are sprayed with pesticides and other chemicals. Moreover, the growing fast-food culture in the country has further given rise to worsening health conditions among Indians. - Mathew K Samuel, Synthite Industries
To transform the healthcare industry, it is important to identify grassroots changemakers and back them with sufficient resources. - Shuchin Bajaj, Cygnus Medicare Group
Either we are too fat, or we are too thin, we as a society have been obsessed with a certain image and figure. But the reality is different. - Sakshi Sindhwani
When it comes to prosthetics for the breast, it affects the patient both psychologically and physically. - Sushmita Basak, SugarShell
Women entrepreneurs in the startup ecosystem have created a bond of sisterhood that will inspire future generations and young girls who dream big. - Phalguni Joshi, Karmaar Crafts
Musical expertise is a product of multiple inputs from a variety of sources, experiences, influences, inspirations, challenges, struggles, failures, and victories. - Sonu Nigam
Through studying the performing arts, students gain the opportunity to engage in an individual and collaborative expression of who they are and potentially can be. - Rajashree Kadam, Salaam Bombay Foundation
[Photography] is not only about aesthetics but also about stories. - Prasenjeet Yadav, National Geographic
The author’s journey starts when you have something to tell. It should be enthralling enough to keep you motivated over a long period. Only then will you have a finished book. - Tony V Francis, Matrix Publicities
The ideal pathway for a successful brand is to acquire mindshare, then create market share, and monetise that to profit-share. - Jessie Paul, Paul Writer
Social distancing norms drastically changed consumer behaviour as well and consumers were now willing to move online and digital. - Sameer Chugh, Mosambee
The power of the combined ecosystem will be larger than the sum of its parts. - Anurakt Jain, Klub
If you have a dream, leave no stone unturned until you make it a reality! - Divanshi Gupta, Ucanji
Journaling helps you to gain better clarity on your thoughts and ideas, and also clear up any roadblocks you may have that are clogging your mental bandwidth. - Karthik Nagendra, ThoughtStarters
Never undervalue yourself. - Ashish Chanchlani, YouTuber
Anything you treasure cannot be rushed. - Kalki Koechlin
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 Suman Singh