Top 30 quotes for startups and innovators from TechSparks 2013
The annual TechSparks 2013 conference and showcase of Indian startups revealed not just the Top 30 product startups of India, but a wealth of insights and advice from investors, entrepreneurs, CEOs, academics, authors, techies and designers.
Here is the list of Top 30 quotes for startups and innovators, from YourStory’s 2013 edition of TechSparks!
A company lasts only as long as its culture sustains and drives it.
- Sanjay Anandaram, Venture Partner, Seed Fund
Even if it works, you should break your product – before someone else does!
- Shailendra Singh, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India
Put anthropology before technology.
- Nick Talbot, Global Design Head, Tata Elxsi
When people are hit by the power of what is possible, they become changed individuals.
- Madan Padaki, Co-founder and Chairman, Head Held High Services
I am introverted, but shy people can also become entrepreneurs!
- Binny Bansal, Co-founder at Flipkart
India is a country of storytellers – the largest and oldest stories in the world come from here!
- Shradha Sharma, Founder/CEO, YourStory Media
Success can lead to arrogance, complacency, and lack of further innovation. Only unrelenting innovation will help you succeed in the long run.
- Gerard Tellis, Director of the Centre for Global Innovation, Los Angeles
To go global, your product has to be phenomenal. Your product has to have personality, not just lines of code.
- Kavin Bharti Mittal, Head of Strategy, New Product Development, Bharti SoftBank
Investors look not just for financial success, but enduring success.
- Shailendra Singh, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India
Separate your goals from your dreams.
- Dr. Anu Vaidyanathan, Ultraman Athlete, IP Professor
The bigger the company, the harder it is to innovate.
- Nick Talbot, Global Design Head, Tata Elxsi
Every enterprise has to be global and social at the same time.
- Madan Padaki, Co-founder and Chairman, Head Held High Services
Think global; your Chennai startup can get competitors from Prague and Indonesia the next day.
- Gautam Mago, Principal, Sequoia Capital India
India is a fast adopter, but not yet a fast creator or fast contributor in the technology movement.
- Pallav Nadhani, Co-Founder and CEO, FusionCharts
Indian startups have a designer shortage. The Indian education system needs to gear up and introduce more design thinking.
- Ravi Gururaj, Chairman & Co-Founder, Frictionless Ventures
Real heroism comes from unexpected sources. Keep your senses open.
- Dr. Anu Vaidyanathan, Ultraman Athlete, IP Professor
The emerging startup opportunities in India are in re-imagined enterprise apps, and seamless integration between them.
- Srikanth Karnakota, Country Head, Server & Cloud Business, Microsoft India
The biggest enemy for innovation change can be within: your own culture!
- Gerard Tellis, Author, Unrelenting Innovation, Los Angeles
We thought we are in analytics, but we realised we are in saving lives.
- Analytics firm Flutura Solutions
Solution providers need to operate at the speed of social.
- Airwoot CRM solutions
The need of the hour is to turn complexity into simplicity.
- Software delivery firm CloudMunch
Don’t just keep your customers satisfied, make them your fans.
- Equity tools provider TradersCockpit
If you are a single founder, it is easy to pivot. It is difficult when there are multiple founders.
- Saumil Majmudar, Co-Founder & MD, EduSports
It is important for startups to stay ethical, in a corrupt environment like India.
- Pankaj Mishra, National Editor, Mint
Transparency is important for a startup. Communicate your vision clearly to create a sense of belonging and a common goal.
- Srikanth Iyer, CEO, TutorVista & Pearson Education Services
For an entrepreneur, work is not seen as ‘work,’ it is passion, you like it, you want to do it.
- Binny Bansal, Co-founder at Flipkart
The emerging startup opportunities in India are in crowdsourcing and e-governance, and in identifying influencers in these categories.
- Rejenish Umapathy, WebEx Business Lead – India and SAARC, Cisco
Do, delegate, or delete” for a startup founder should become “Delegate, delete or die.
- Alpesh Patel, Dealmaker at UK Trade & Investment
Don't waste your time on just studying. Build something and learn; explore and contribute.
- Pallav Nadhani, Co-Founder and CEO, FusionCharts
Perseverance is even more important for startups in India than in other countries, the pain factors are much more intense at every stage.
- Shailendra Singh, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India
The next big movement is Rubanomics: harnessing urban aspirations of entrepreneurial rural youth.
- Madan Padaki, Co-founder and Chairman, Head Held High Services
Design = vision + craft + communication + pragmatism.
- Nick Talbot, Global Design Head, Tata Elxsi
Build curiosity in your employees. Give awards and prizes for the best question of the month. If people don't ask important questions, answers are irrelevant.
- Ambiga Dhiraj, Head of Fulfillment, Mu-Sigma
Social dynamics are important for startup teams. Can you have drinks with your colleagues and work with them till 4 am?
- Kavin Bharti Mittal, Head of Strategy, New Product Development, Bharti SoftBank
I’m going to start up, be the king of my life. I’m gonna get the crown. I’ll kiss the dirt but make it work!
- Abhinav Singh, composer of the Techsparks Theme Song
Cows on the roads in India teach you more about attitude than anything else!
- Dr. Anu Vaidyanathan, Ultraman Athlete, IP Professor
