From idea to success: the startup journey in 19 quotes

We’re in the middle on the summer and it’s time to reflect on what we’ve done over the past few months and what we want to achieve in the near future. Time to think, analyze and… get inspired, to come back even stronger after the summer holidays.

To help you achieve that, we’ve put together a list of some of the most inspiring CEO and founder quotes. A combination of words and thoughts that are the result of years of experience, struggles and, in some cases, joy.

Time for the best startup quotes.

Ideas, innovation and execution

Photo | Joey Gannon

We all have ideas, but translating those ideas into something tangible -a product or a service- is what separates doers from thinkers. Facebook was not the first social network, the iPhone was not the first smartphone, Google was not the first search engine and Stripe was not the first payments processor in the world.

What differentiates these companies from others is their level of execution, how they took existing products, improved them and successfully built enterprises around them. A process that has been highlighted by many entrepreneurs in the history of technology.

It’s not about the individual, but the team

Companies are the result of the work of founders and employees. Putting together a great group of talented people is obviously not enough to succeed, but it is a step in the right direction.

Founders are responsible for building companies that are attractive to employees and for creating the right culture to promote innovation and growth. The company’s vision should be an interpretation of their own ideas and execution.

Two ways to go: raising money vs. bootstrapping

There are two types of companies: those that raise external funding to grow and those that are able to do so with no help from investors, using the cash that the business itself generates.

Here’s some advice from investors and entrepreneurs when it comes to raising money or to bootstrap.

Failure: when things go wrong

These days it seems that starting your own company is something in the mind of most people, young or old. In the case of Spain, a country with an unemployment rate of almost 25%, entrepreneurship is seen by many as an opportunity to start over and create jobs in an economy that has been destroying them for many consecutive months.

However, it’s important to highlight -and repeat over and over- that creating a startup and building a lasting company is not an easy task. Most startups close within the first two years of operations, thus increasing the importance of understanding that failure is part of the job and an experience people can learn from.

A story with a happy ending

Hard work tends to pay off, either in the short or long term. Investors back companies with the mindset of getting a financial return, founders and employees work together with the objective of creating something valuable and lasting… and customers tend to benefit from both of these factors.

Failure is the most probable end for a startup, but exits, acquisitions, mergers and IPOs create value that ignites new waves of innovation.

Photos | JC Institute & Notegraphy