‘From your biggest adversity comes the biggest opportunity’ – 50 quotes from Indian startup journeys

From adversity to advantage, witness the memorable journey of Indian entrepreneurship in these excerpts and stories! 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 50 gems and insights from the week of February 12-18 with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights. 

Data is the new natural resource. We are at the beginning of an era where data is the new oil. - Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries

Your capacities can be dramatically enhanced with data. - Abhijit Bhaduri, ‘The Digital Tsunami’

Leadership is an intense journey into yourself. - Jeffery Immelt, GE

Weatherwise and otherwise, Bengaluru is the place to be to ideate, innovate, and invest in Karnataka. - Priyank Kharge, Minister for IT & BT, Karnataka

Karnataka is the first state to come out with an aerospace policy as well as have two exclusive aerospace parks. - Suvarna Raju, HAL

We should have 1,000 world-class incubators in the country to take the startup ecosystem forward. - Shailendra Singh, DIPP

There is a huge opportunity for IT services and bioinformatics and various other aspects of Big Data analytics and algorithms which Bengaluru now needs to focus on. - Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Biocon

There are very high levels of antibiotic drug resistance in hospitals and it is urgent that we find a solution that is potentially affordable to us. - S Shrikumar, Sea6 Energy

India created history by successfully launching 104 satellites in a single space mission. – Xinhua News

India has become very aspirational. Indians want to get rid of poverty and move ahead. - Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister

We want to promote India as a forward-thinking design destination; not just a crafts hub. - Astha Khetan, House of Things

With a clearer rule of law, India might just take off. - Tim Draper, Draper Venture Network

India probably has the highest app uninstall rate in the world. - Ankur Singla, Helpchat

Estimated at $2 billion in India alone, the employee transportation sector is currently highly fragmented, inefficient and opaque. - Anuj Nangpal, JLL

To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail. - Michael Jordan

Private market valuations are not the best form of price discovery. - Kabeer Biswas, dunzo

Business is not just technology, it is man, money, material, machines, mind, marketplace. - Udayant Malhoutra, Dynamatic Technologies

One cannot be spiritual as long as one has shame, hatred, or fear. - Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

With love and care, everything is possible. - Rajib Thomas

From your biggest adversity comes the biggest opportunity. - Tanmay Bhat, AIB

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. – Abraham Lincoln

It’s the biggest crowdsourced project in the world. - Bibop G. Gresta, Hyperloop

So @Flipkart wants level playing field with @amazonIN? Start by cutting top exec salaries by 80 percent. Overpaid, underperforming crybabies. - Mahesh Murthy, Seedfund

Target societal impact and not valuations alone. – Guruprasad S., Bosch

Science cannot be for the sake of science and unless it changes things on the ground for the common person we cannot say that we've been able to make a social and economic impact. - K T Rama Rao, Industry and IT Minister, Telangana

The universal rule to keep employee morale intact is to appreciate talent and understand that talent needs a transition! - Shrijay Sheth, LegalWiz

Employees have way more touch points with the organisation than customers do, but most organisations never bother to understand what the issues on the ground are. - Arun Krishnan, n!Factorial

Don’t fall for all the offers that come your way. Don’t get attracted to short-term candies. - Varuna Bhambhani, SaralHai

There is a close relationship between the ‘ha-ha’ of humour and the ‘aha’ of discovery. - Roger von Oech, ‘A Whack on the Side of the Head’

Education is a great equaliser and the pathway to a better life. - Christel DeHaan, RCI

Man or woman, in comedy you do well only if you’re funny. - Punya Arora

A woman should not be judged by the profession of her spouse. - R Seshasayee, Infosys

I think mothers and women have more compassion and power than we even realise. - Dalai Lama

Tell yourself that there is no option but to keep going come what may, and blaze your trails while you are at it. - Manisha Girotra, IndiaBulls

Women are on the move; they are strong, they are individualistic. - Deepa Reddy, Open Trunk

Online matchmaking in India is a gender, age, proximity, faith and mother tongue-based business. – Able Joseph, Aisle

We are not too far away from the day when strangers will be having cybersex with each other, with privacy. - Salim Rajan, IMbesharam

The future of advertising is “fewer, better, non-standard ads.” - Ankit Rawal, GreedyGame

If you provide people with alternatives then they will no longer have the need to leave their native land. - Srikrishna Hegde Ullane, ConnectFarmer

Even if I take a holiday, I must find something to do or I’ll go crazy. - Madhubala

Throughout my life, I have been called foolish. Now suddenly that foolishness has become a passion. - Nithin Kamath, Zerodha

Every customer counts but not at the cost of losing money. – Anusha Anand, Peacock Colours

The industrial sector is at an inflection point where digitalisation is disrupting fundamental process/product design. - Krishnan Raman, Flutura

Math is getting commoditised. - Shashank Dubey, Tredence

The internet creates more of an appetite for media - it doesn't replace physical books, radio or TV. - Marissa Mayer

eSports has become a cultural phenomenon in the last few years. - Nitish Mittersain, Nazara Technologies

Workshops, events, and interactions with mentors and industry experts are huge enablers in fostering innovation and learning. - Shanti Mohan, LetsVenture

Our education system lacked quality complementary education platforms to assist in the classroom learning. Complementary education platforms are immersive platforms. - Bharath Raman, Space Trek

A role model should be a person that was born in a society and conditions similar to yours, rather than in a country possibly half the world away. - Shreyas Rajeev Bhave, Our First Million

The universe has its way of balancing everything and producing enough for everyone. - Prashant Jogiya

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).