India’s Youngest Billionaire- Nikhil Kamath
BY MILONI TIWARI
The accidental bootstrapped brainchild of the Kamath brothers, Nithin and Nikhil, which initially started as a portfolio management firm in 2010, Zerodha is a term that is synonymous with a haven for stock brokers and investors in India.
Originating from a part-Sanskrit terminology- Zerodha essentially is a combination of “Zero” and “Rodha” the Sanskrit word for a barrier, indicating a platform where the entire stock market community will have the freedom to invest and negotiate without any blockades.
Over the years, Zerodha has carved a unique niche for itself in the market. From having next to zero costs on marketing and publicity, the founders believe that word-of-mouth marketing has been the catalyst in shaping their brand’s value and after a reported revenue of Rs 6,875 crore and a profit of Rs 2,907 crore for the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), this business model seems to have emerged victorious from the highly competitive pool of fellow discount brokerage firms such as Upstox and Groww.
In the precarious game of bullish and bearish, where traders and investors attempt to take the bull by the horns every day, Nikhil’s philosophy aims at understanding not the market trends but the sentiments of the most mystifying creature to have ever existed humans. Being a former chess player, the Bangalore-based billionaire believes that the stock market moves like a chess game more or less where the strategies are subject to the behaviour of the opposite party.
Over the years, Zerodha has transformed into the much-talked-about elephant in the room, with its flagship app “Kites- by Zerodha” taking the online trading game by storm. Launched in November 2019, the app has been the hottest trend in the broking world, proving to be the breakthrough for Zerodha. It entails features such as cash and carry, market intraday square-off, and terms of the market such as stop loss, limit, etc. allowing investors and the traders to trade as per their convenience and experience.
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Zerodha’s USP has been its transparency and easy-to-access interface that enriches the stock market investors’ experience by eliminating the cumbersome paperwork and ID details. Costing about 200 rupees INR, the app charges no fee for free equity delivery and direct mutual funds and 20 rupees INR for futures and options trading, removing the brokerage cost for the customer to a great extent.
After Zerodha, the founders also created a company called Rainmatter that helps startup companies reach their goals, especially those relating to the fintech sector. This initiative by Zerodha was purely started out of sheer love for their industry and profession in an attempt to guide and fund the firms that have the potential to be the next Zerodha.
Although revered for his commercial wisdom and aptitude, Nikhil continues to fulfil his duty as a global citizen. The latest EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2023 also describes the school dropout turned youngest billionaire as the youngest philanthropist of the year, where he donated approximately 110 crore in 2023, along with his brother Nithin.
It has often been said that the matters of money are costly, and this is a game that is not for the faint-hearted. The Kamath brothers have reiterated this statement time and again, that their biggest achievement has been the capability to earn the trust of potential investors who believe in their brand and its vision.
Even though their decision to be a bootstrapped firm remains intact, the
venture capitalists, in true corporate fashion, are indeed on high alert.
Matching the frequency of their lives with those of the Zerodha founders for the time being, this improbable yet highly awaited headline shall prove to be one of the biggest blockbusters in the industrial magnates’ box offices, whenever the time comes.
References
- https://zerodha.com/
- https://www.fortuneindia.com/long-reads/how-zerodha-went-from-zero-tohero/111627
- www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/nikhil-kamath-launches-fund-for-entrepreneurs-under-22/article67407882.ece
