‘Disruption should be in technology and not in our core values’ – 55 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 55 gems and insights from the week of March 4-10 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights. See also our compilation of Top 50 Quotes from 2018 here.

Strategise well because well-planned is half done. Go all in. - Avesh Sharma, Woodays

Terrible product market fits, even with the greatest founders, can never create value. Fighting headwinds never creates value, you only burn fuel. - Kunal Shah, Cred

Entrepreneurship has never been one-size-fits-all; it is about creating your own rules, own success stories and carving out your own niche. - Sanna Vohra, The Wedding Brigade

Irritation is the biggest source of energy; it shows you an opportunity. - CK Kumaravel, Naturals Spa and Salon

Having a great idea is not enough; the only way to succeed is executing it right. - Ayushi Gudwani, FableStreet

To separate yourself from fierce competition, it would be a good idea to have a distinctive style that constantly evolves. - Atul Kasbekar

You are selling progress, rather than products. - Clayton M. Christensen, 'Competing Against Luck'

If you have a live demo, show a KISS demo first that illustrates something very fundamental that you solve. - Sanjay Swamy, TiE

The decision to go for an IPO can be a rewarding one, enabling a company to metamorphose from the cocoon of a closely-held company into a butterfly called a listed company. - Aditya Narwekar, PwC India

Women’s entrepreneurship has finally come of age. There are many schemes available now to help realise our dreams. - Poojitha Prasad, Deccan Diaries

Urban transport can enable women to participate in the workforce and to live a fuller life. - Aishwarya Raman, OMI

We need to be prepared to take risks — risk to fail, to make mistakes, not to be accepted, or even to be ridiculed. - Roopa Moudgil, IPS

Diversity, inclusion, and equality are the key pillars that ensure sustainability. - Esha Ganguly Ahuja, Servify

If you were too lazy and ignored videos in 2018, you cannot afford to do that in 2019. - Garima Juneja, viralcurry.com

Without chatbots, people will have to search for and read the information themselves, and some may not feel up to doing that, especially if they’re working with small-screen devices. - Satanik Roy, Hyperxchange

The world is being divided by political and diplomatic conflicts. Innovations by deep tech startups, however, could unite the minds of people all over the world, by solving issues facing humankind globally. - Tomotaka Goji, UTEC

One of the key challenges that VCs in India face when investing in deep tech companies is our collective lack of depth in technology. - Arpit Agarwal, Blume Ventures

Battery technology is going to be all pervasive in the next five years because costs are dropping. This will also drop because of solar energy stored in the batteries. - Maxson Lewis, Magenta Power

We can no longer teach our students that gumboots are the only way to save oneself during the rainy season. - Komila Harnot, Manjhol teacher

Most of Tier II and III India needs systems that can work with and without internet and data. More so to make digital payments more adoptable. - Farhan Firaq, Microchip Payments

In India people get degrees but not everyone gets a job. - Shipra Bhutani, Quantum Career Academy

English and technology are not linked. - Shivananda Salgame, GuruG

The market opportunity for platform-based, automated field service is reflected in the huge demand from customers in infrastructure-heavy sectors such as telecom, energy and financial services. - Arka Dhar, Zinier

The rural hinterlands in developing countries still lack reliable internet access. - Binayak Acharya, ThinkZone

We need to develop the idea of ‘agripreneurship’. - M Premjit Singh, Central Agricultural University

There currently exists a growing biogas market in India largely based on biodigesters made from brick and concrete, as disseminated by government biogas programmes. - Alex Eaton, Sistema.bio

The mobile internet revolution has led to a rapid rise in the number of connected Indians, making music streaming the preferred way to enjoy music here. - Amarjit Singh Batra, Spotify India

India needs a new playbook for power. - Mohana Nair, JMB Partners

Everyone talks about the India story and the market, but how many people is your product going to reach and impact? - Vinish Kathuria, SenseAI Ventures

India should allow the manufacture of battery packs in India; this will make the Indian automobile industry self-reliant when it goes electric. - Pratik Gupta, Strom Motors

Plants have become an integral part of décor and aesthetics rather than just being an afterthought. - Komal Garg and Angud Bhalla, Plant Studio

Marine plastic pollution is a menace that directly concerns a coastal metropolis like Mumbai. - Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra Chief Minister

Reduce your effort and time in doing things, build for re-use and ultimately recycling. - Vinodh Kumar, Belong.co

In one year, immense progress has been made by Mumbai Fintech Hub in catalysing the growth of fintech startups. - SVR Srinivas, Government of Maharashtra

Innovation in rural lending is the next frontier for financial services. - Sajid Fazalbhoy, Blume Ventures

Design and innovation are the next big thing. - Amitabh Kant, NITI Aayog

Today, only the top 1 percent of social media users see any kickbacks from brands or sponsors, while the remaining 99 percent does it purely out of passion. - Pranav Kosuri and Douglas Andersson, Brandie

The best thing about being in a startup is definitely the opportunities and challenges that you get to work on every day. - Gwenaëlle Kollegger, AppTweak

An environment for mentorship needs to be in every company. It needs to be in their DNA, and this is essential for success. - Humera Iffath, Truecaller

Don’t be in a rush to hire new people, invest in new technology, or set up a plush office because you have the cash TODAY. - Ira Gilani Lal, Goldratt India

Co-creation efforts with funding partners in the social sector can benefit from bridging the communication gap. - Prerit Rana, Agrasar

There is a fine line between income from sale of copyright, and the sale of copyrighted material. - Sathyanarayana, Informatics

The city has a big heart, but people don’t know where to contribute their effort or money. - Rani Malishka, Red FM

A true democracy would mean that an individual is in a position to produce all the power that is required for his home. - Arun Rao, Magenta Power

A lot of millennials need a story behind their purchase, a cause that they want to get behind. - Ashish Gurnani, PostFold

When you’re surrounded by the likes of Amazon and Walmart, it is important that you keep honing on your key differentiator. - Radhika Ghai, Shopclues

People are turning to apps to get simple and easy fitness solutions. However, apps seldom motivate you and expect that you have limitless willpower. - Shivjeet Ghatge, StepSetGo

All kind of positive reinforcement kind of fizzles out when you’re hungry and then see a packet of potato chips. - Heena Thakkar, Whistle Snacks

Remember to ask questions, lots of questions, throughout your career; more so at the beginning. - Rachna Rao, FoodyBuddy

The ability to build a personal brand is an essential 21st century skill. - Meeta Malhotra, Ray & Keshavan

Outward appearance is not permanent. It is deceiving. - Daulat Bi Khan, Acid Attack Survivor Sahas Foundation

One way of indulging yourself is by spending time with your own thoughts. - Masaba Gupta, Masaba

If you do your actions to the best you can, you sleep peacefully. - Nivruti Rai, Intel India

The best fashion statement is when you stand on your own feet. - CK Kumaravel, Naturals

Get creative. Identify a plan. Stick to it with passion and determination. Always remember about giving back to society as well. - Anne Sajeev, Aroma Fresh

Disruption should be in technology and not in our core values. - Nagu Chidambaram, Sun Industries

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).