‘You are only limited by your own imagination’ – 25 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 25 gems and insights from the week of February 28 – March 6 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.

When you're doing the first pitch, you're asking people to believe in an idea .. and that YOU are the people that can execute this idea. - Vasanth Kamath, smallcase

There has to be a shared vision between the founders and investors while forming the board of directors. - Bibhu Mishra, Global Education and Leadership Foundation

Board governance is important. But fundamentally, it is more important if the founder is a good person or a bad person. That is the starting point. - Shekhar Kirani, Accel

The Total Addressable Market (TAM) is the most important aspect of looking at potential investment in a company. - Ashutosh Sharma, Prosus Ventures

Effectively, VCs can help the venture stabilise for the next phase of growth. - Amit Sharma, Cactus Venture Partners

One should have the ability to select the client and not the other way around. - Mahesh Singhi, Singhi Advisors

If we penetrate the daily lives of users, giving them sustainable products, the growth of the industry can only be imagined. - Ved Krishna, Yash Pakka

Organisations should look to create a customer-obsessed culture by following an employee-first approach. - Vijay Yalamanchili, Keka Technologies

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Reimagine the very art of storytelling as everything around seems to be in a state of flux. Put the customer at the centre of all communications, putting people at the heart of the tale. - Pranab Pani, Talendeate beyond Border

The more relatable your story is the more effective your marketing campaign is. - Priya Patankar, PhonePe

Gen Z's relationship with brands is also multi-layered. Beyond being a possession, a brand provides access, becomes an important form of self-expression, and also becomes a platform through which they can display and practice their ethical concerns. - Rutu Mody Kamdar, Jigsaw Brand Consultants

One of the key elements of product-market fit is you’re able to replicate the use case and the outcome of the software. - Shashank Bijapur, SpotDraft

Design - branding, packaging or tech platforms - is at the deepest level of problem-solving. - Niraali Parekh, Bokaap Design

Startups should jump into diversity and inclusion further by implementing universal design concepts into their product design. - Tanaya Sarma, Speaking Herbs

We, as a community, can uphold our humanitarian duties only when we serve to change the lives of those around us. - Shekhar Mehta, Rotary Club

Autistic children are different for a reason. They can shake up systems if given the right guidance. - Devangana Mishra, Brain Bristle

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Caffeine is a super food for your skin and hair, and it has a very strong psychological connect - it gives energy and excitement to the youth including the millennials of India. - Vaishali Gupta, mCaffeine

Stress and sleep are deeply bidirectional. - Deepa Kannan, PFNR

The minimal thing we can do is reduce overall power consumption and focus more on using energy resources that wouldn’t be as detrimental to the planet. Fortunately, solar power ticks all the right boxes. - Gautam Mohanka, Gautam Solar

If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve. - Jeff Bezos

Get into the sea, you will see both sharks and boats - choose your boat and set sail. Every experience is a new learning. - Divya Mahendra Rathod, Silvery Nanos

Start off with cartooning as a hobby. If you are good enough, you will certainly find a full-time job. - Triambak Sharma, ‘Cartoon Watch’

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It is critical that senior leadership lead by example when it comes to diversity and inclusion. - Susanne Pulverer, IKEA

Women should chase their dreams. If you want to do it, you will do it and you can do it. Nothing can stop you. - Sukhman Kaur, Eego Italy

There is no taboo in working for the alco-bev industry. - Lalithabai J, United Breweries

Don’t worry if you're the only woman on the team, use your voice with courage and conviction. You are only limited by your own imagination. - Ruby Tomar, HP

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).