‘Entrepreneurship is never a sprint’ – 35 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 35 gems and insights from the week of May 4-10 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.

A big thank you to all the mothers out there for their unconditional love, sacrifices, and strength. The world wouldn’t be half as strong or beautiful without them. - Shailesh Gupta, YoloBus

We are born of love; love is our mother. - Rumi

I am sure that if the mothers of various nations could meet, there would be no more wars. - E.M. Forster

Define the rules of the game for yourself and carve out priorities in your day. When does work time end and family time begins or vice versa? - Divya Kohli, Nestle

Being a mother and a biker is a rollercoaster ride — because you need to take both decisions wisely. - Vanashree Mirajkar

All of us were worried about the kind of content our children were seeing and reading. Social media also has inappropriate or offensive content. - Ruchi Mitroo, igraasp

When a woman works from home, she is considered a housewife only. - Lalita Patil, Gharachi Aathvan

The number of women entrepreneurs in India has risen over the years. A lot of government organisations are conducting training courses, online and offline, for women entrepreneurs. - Aarushi, Lavish

One should not have to choose between health and beauty. Beauty should be without any compromises. - Pritika Singh, Tvakh

Our skin heals at night and that is when it needs good quality skincare products that can deliver ‘skin food’ deep into its layers. - Sonia Sahni, Ethiko

We have all heard how data is the new oil. Design is the spark for this oil, and an integral part of the digital transformation our world is going through. - Vivek Kumar, Springboard

Technology has disrupted every aspect of the insurance value chain. - Rohan Malhotra, Good Capital

Agritech can be a newfound opportunity to bring back glory to Indian farmers and help them ramp up their contribution to India’s GDP. - Amith Agarwal, Agribazaar

Privacy by design becomes imperative for software companies. They need to provide privacy controls to be integrated into the design of products and services. - Ankit Rawal, Affle

With the advent of the DNA bill in July 2019, the importance of DNA-related technologies in India has come to the forefront. - Saaniya Mehra, ADIRO Labs

If you want to be a good developer, embrace the hacker culture, build, break, and tinker things for fun. - Kailash Nadh, Zerodha

Business heads will have to expedite the decision-making process to innovate and adapt to customer needs by relying more on data and actionable insights, and less on hunches. - Madhurima Agarwal, NetApp

Over 12 million merchants are using QR codes, and that’s projected to double this year. - Anand Deshpande, Persistent Systems

While purchases happen online, customers still want to easily reach out to the person running the business. - Nikita Jain, Klingaru

Large organisations have too many of the wrong applicants. They don’t have good ways of screening. - Ashutosh Garg, Eightfold

Small businesses are the engine of growth and job creation in India, and high impact businesses are the vehicle for achieving a more responsible, sustainable and equitable economic future. - Anthony Randazzo, DFC

For any manufacturer to flourish, there has to be a lean taxation period and relaxation of policies and schemes. - Raman Sood, Grand Slam Fitness

India is home to the largest after-school tuition market in the world and delivery models keep evolving as we speak. - Mukul Rustagi, Classplus

The coaching market in India is disorganised. Anyone with no certification can become a tutor. - Neetin Agarwal, DronStudy

The Indian bean-to-bar chocolate industry in current sales (wholesale to distributor) is worth about Rs 10 crore, which is like a drop in the ocean when compared to the international market. - L Nitin Chordia, Kocoatrai

Flowers unite Indians across demographics, regions, and religions. - Yeshoda Karuturi, Rose Bazaar

In India, a large percentage of the population is still not engaged in e-commerce. While they are active users of WhatsApp or Facebook, they haven't jumped on the online shopping bandwagon yet. - Anand Ramachandran, Buzzo.ai

Marwaris are determined and calculative risk-takers, with smart ways of hedging their risks. However, traditional families from Marwar regions do not actively interact with the startup ecosystem. - Sushil Sharma, Marwari Catalysts

The challenge for cancer patients and their families is the acceptance of such a devastating diagnosis, getting ready for treatment, high cost, running around and coping with disruption of routine. - Sandhya Ravi, Prameya Health

Generic medicines are often promoted in the market as branded medicines and sold at unnecessarily high prices. - Arjun Deshpande, Generic Aadhaar

One of the biggest myths about vegan diets is that they're nutritionally deficient because they lack protein. - Kuntal Joisher

Inclusion and connection is at the core of all art. Unfiltered innovation and exploration is the future of contemporary art in India. - Sanjana Shah, Tao Art Gallery

You have to evolve, you have to learn and better your art and skills, and your craftsmanship year after year. - Shilpa Rao

We cannot choose the environment we are born into, but we can choose how to play the hand we’re dealt. - Doris and John Naisbitt, ‘Mastering Megatrends’

Never give up, never look back and live a life with no regrets. Enjoy today and live it to your fullest. - Amith Agarwal, AgriBazaar

Good startups build a business, but great startups build a category. - Deep Malhotra, BeckFriends

Entrepreneurship is a very lonely journey. - Pankaj Makkar, Bertelsmann India Investments

Entrepreneurship is never a sprint. And it can be a difficult, lonely job. - Krishnan Ganesh

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).