‘Showing respect to your competitor’s success will speak about your integrity’ – 30 quotes of the week on entrepreneurship and leadership

Launched in 2014, StoryBites is a weekly feature from YourStory, featuring notable quotable quotes in our articles of this past week (see the previous edition here). Share these 30 gems and insights from the week of February 14-20 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.

See also our pick of Top Quotes of 2021 on Entrepreneurship, Investment, Digital Transformation, Storytelling, The India Opportunity, Pandemic Resilience, Failure Recovery, Design, and Art.

Everyone needs to be empowered to realise their power to bring change to thrive. - Yashveer Singh, Ashoka Young Changemakers

A mentor must be someone who can inspire you, give you brutally honest feedback at times and lift your spirits at other times. - Namita Thapar, Emcure Pharmaceuticals

Reality can be confusing, but brands need to go on a process of continuous experimentation and expansion. Consumers are constantly experimenting and brands need to be agile to keep up with that. - Bhavik Vasa, GetVantage

Design is a mode of communication where you can narrate stories. - Aarushi Kilawat, The Loom Art

If you have a story that you believe in, do not listen to what others say. Put it out there and market it well. - Shravya Bhinder, ‘Something I’m Waiting To Tell You’

Founders are often impatient and jump into developing products without doing the necessary customer research, which is where most of the mistakes happen. - Shirish Nadkarni, ‘From Startup to Exit’

Early-stage startups need easier access to non-dilutive funding, they also need mentorship from founders and operators, and a community to empower and learn from. - Prayank Swaroop, Accel

The decision of an entrepreneur is based on speed with accuracy coming second, but it is the other way for an investor. - Ashish Kumar, Fundamentum Partnership

The beauty of Fund or Fund structures is that they can be cost and tax-efficient for investors. - Ashwin Patni, Axis AMC

Indonesian entrepreneurs are ambitious and growth-oriented, focusing on building their own local brands. - Krishnan Menon, Lummo

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You need to build trust, take the team along with you, and realise what we are doing is for their own good. - Anandhavalli Krishnaswamy, Intuit

Today, business leaders know that a succession plan helps to ensure a smooth transition when it comes to a leadership change, and this is the best way to keep a company’s original mission and vision intact. - Sreepriya NS, Entrust Family Office

The organisational culture needs to not merely tolerate but encourage proactiveness, innovativeness and (calculated) risk-taking – and help managers feel safe to try and fail. - Shameen Prashantham, ‘Gorillas Can Dance’

The primary challenge businesses face today arises from traditional performance management systems that have been practised for decades, utilising manual operating systems and annual reviews and appraisals. - Gaurav Chaubey, Mesh

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Critical care is an expensive affair. Providing the same at an affordable price is a major solution. - Sudhanshu Tyagi, Porvoo Transition Care

It is wrong for the world to have a fear of math when it’s actually such a fascinating subject and something that is universally useful for everybody. - Vivek Sunder, Cuemath

The younger generation focuses on living every moment as if it is their last and creating unforgettable memories, one day at a time. So, rather than buying properties, residences, and assets, a majority of this generation believes in investing in coliving accommodations to free up the margin in their budget. - Sunny Garg, Crib

As human beings, we are all plagued with biases. It’s important to identify and work on erasing them, and resolve to positively develop ourselves and the people we cross paths with. - Deepa Menon, PVR Nest

Women seek to build our own identity, devoid of which family we belong to and who we intend to marry. - Aparna Acharekar, Eve World

Most bullying cases take place in poorly-lit school corridors/corners…so cameras and good lighting can not only solve, but prevent a lot of cases. - Anoushka Jolly, Anti-Bullying Squad

When people go to salons, they not only look for products that give results but also get educated because there is an expert that advises on the pros and cons of using it. - Jigar Patel, Brillare Science

The concept of green space for mental well-being is getting attention from the entire world for helping individuals to maintain their mental peace. - Seema Rekha, Antarmanh

Every single meal that you eat must have optimal protein, some healthy fats, and fibre from not starchy or low glycemic vegetables and grains. - Deepa Kannan, PFNR

Ragpickers are the most neglected community in our country; nobody acknowledges them. - Sanjana Runwal, Clean Up Foundation

Enough is plenty and the pursuit of more leads to destruction. - Geoff Francis, 'Alchemy' exhibition

Cities will become smarter when there is equitable sharing of resources, inclusion of informal sector populations, and social cohesion. - Rajendra Joshi, Saath

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In today’s highly competitive market, becoming a differentiator is tougher and tricky, where the bar is set and the competitor needs to make highly differentiated quality products to convert customers. - Arman Sood, Sleepy Owl Coffee

With the rise and spread of direct-to-consumer beauty and personal care firms, research and competitive manufacturing in the field are becoming increasingly important. - Pawan Kumar Gupta, Onest Limited

Showing respect to your competitor’s success will speak about your integrity and open up the opportunity to serve your secret sauce on a hot plate. - Donna Griffit

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).