This New Year, we’ve asked startup founders who are part of the Startup-O platform community which quote inspired them most, and has been a guiding light during their startup journey. 

Here’s 18 quotes (listed in alphabetical order) from 18 startup founders to inspire you and kickstart 2018: 

1. Abhinav Girdhar, Co-founder of Bodhi Health Edu, favourite quote

Abhinav believes that only when the founder does this, good things will happen for the startup and opportunities open up.

2. Asim Haneef, Founder of PaidUp, favourite quote

Asim found this quote simple, yet effective. Brian’s business (Airbnb) is now worth over $30B – but he knew that he had to start small and focused. This has guided PaidUp’s strategy – finding 100 people that love their product and would be upset if it vanished tomorrow.

3. Clarissa Leung, CEO of Seekmi, favourite quote

Clarissa believes that no matter your circumstances or disadvantages at any point in time, there is no possibility of failure if you keep trying and never give up.

4. Francis Dolojan, Managing Director of Leverage.ph, favourite quote

5. Guillaume Catella, CEO of Creatella, favourite quote

Guillaume found this quote useful because as a startup founder, you can’t do accomplish everything alone. Focus on finding and keeping the best talents by creating the best environment. Then give them the power to make key decisions, let them reach their full potential, believe in them. Not only will they be doing their best for you, but they’ll also be very loyal and propel your startup forward.

6. Jawahar Kanjilal, Founder of TeamStreamz Pte Ltd, favourite quote

Jawahar likes this quote because purpose, passion and courage are the key ingredients a founder needs to get started. Building the right team (of co-founders & early employees) with the right skillsets to deliver on that mission is the most essential ingredient to success. Startups are truly team sports, despite only the captain being visible most times.

7. Oh Ser Wah, CEO of Whizpace Pte Ltd, favourite quote

Ser Wah believes in being positive and some seemingly unfavourable situations may turn out to be good opportunities.

8. Paul Guillaumot, CEO of Spare Parts 3D, favourite quote

For Paul, this quote doesn’t mean we should be lazy or passive. Rather, we should be patient, dedicated and resilient in order to make things happen. These are important traits of an entrepreneur.

9. Pranav Shirke, Co-founder of TempoGO, favourite quote

Pranav believes Steve Jobs’ advice is a great way of traversing the invariably arduous and humbling journey, that of a startup, where every step is part of a steep learning curve.

10. Prateep Basu, Co-founder of Satsure, favourite quote

The quote is a constant reminder for Prateep in the best and worst times about why he’s building his startup.

11. Sandeep Menon, Founder of Serv.sg, favourite quote

The quote is a reminder of the build-measure-learn feedback loop in running startups. Startups inevitably disrupt existing business models and more often than not – founders tend to fall in with assumptions and their own biases. This quote serves as a reminder on the importance of experimentation when setting out to do something new, to begin the process of learning quickly on what works and what doesn’t.

12. Siddharth Bidwan, Co-founder of MedLabz, favourite quote

Siddarth found this quote useful because all of us want to seek progress. Yet, it isn’t wise to let the ego get in the way, and not seek help from anyone else.

13. Sudhanshu Ahujal, CEO of impress.ai, favourite quote

Recently, this has been Sudhanshu’s favourite quote. A lot of people have contributed and helped him along his journey, including his partner. When lots of people want you to succeed, your chances of succeeding multiplies.

14. Theo Rusli, Founder of Bustiket.com, favourite quote

Theo found this quote a useful reminder to focus on the Now. Often times we always focus on what will happen in the future and what we should do tomorrow. Instead, we should focus on “What do we have to do today to be ready for an uncertain tomorrow?”

15. Thomas Schickler, CEO of THE LIQUIDITY MARKETPLACE Ltd., favourite quote

Thomas likes this quote because we’ll never have perfect information. The best decision is made based on the context at hand, and then keep an eye on the situation so we can improve upon the original decision. It’s also important to have no ego about the decisions.

16. Vishal Agarwal, Co-Founder of LocoBuzz Solutions Private Limited, favourite quote

To Vishal, this quote embodies the spirit of entrepreneurship – no matter at what stage your company is, it has always inspired him to do that little extra, a little more effort, a little more for his customers before calling it a day!

 17. William Temple, Co-founder of Ampotech, favourite quote

To William, this quote is a great reminder to keep working towards your goals, even if you’re only taking small steps every day.

18. Zal Dastur, Co-founder of Lucep, favourite quote

Running your own startup can be emotional, amazingly high highs and equally low lows. Zal found this quote a great reminder to try and keep a level head in all situations. Focused on the macro picture, instead of getting caught up in the emotions of the day.

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