Rs 10 Lakh Invested In Zerodha Till Date, Nithin Kamath Reveals
Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath has shared insights into what makes the online stock brokerage platform stand out in the market. He said Zerodha's success happened at a time when India's stock market and retail trading were experiencing growth.
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Nithin Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, has revealed that the company has operated without external investment.
In a recent social media post, Nithin Kamath shared valuable perspectives on what distinguishes the online stock brokerage platform Zerodha in today's competitive market. According to Kamath, the company's impressive growth aligned perfectly with the expansion of India's stock market and increased retail trading activity.
"The combination of being in the right place at the right time with the right products proved essential for our success," he stated on X.
Someone on Reddit asked what does Zerodha do differently, how are we profitable, why don't IPO etc. This is what I replied:Hmmm... so you forget that we have spent 15 years getting here. And maybe another 10 years, before Zerodha, I was involved in the markets in some form. So,…
— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) September 16, 2025
Kamath explained that he was responding to a Reddit user who inquired about Zerodha's differentiation strategy, profitability model, and decision to remain private rather than pursuing an IPO.
He emphasized his extensive 25-year experience in financial markets, including a decade before establishing Zerodha. "Success in business compounds gradually, particularly when you're passionate about your work and fortunate enough to find yourself in the right circumstances," he noted.
Kamath disclosed that Zerodha initially launched as a partnership firm because the exchange deposit requirement was significantly lower then – Rs 90 lakh compared to Rs 1.5 crore. When starting out, the company utilized NSE trading software, which was provided free to NSE brokers.
"For essential back-office operations like sending contract notes and maintaining ledgers, we partnered with a vendor who provided services at nearly zero cost in exchange for us testing their platform," he explained.
According to Kamath, the total initial investment in Zerodha was just Rs 10 lakh, allocated as Rs 2.5 lakh for website development, Rs 5 lakh for office setup, and Rs 2.5 lakh for miscellaneous expenses.
"We came from a typical middle-class background without wealthy connections. My father worked as a bank manager, and my mother taught Veena," he added.
Drawing a parallel to Nvidia founder Jensen Huang, Kamath pointed out that Huang spent three decades building his company before achieving remarkable success. Huang persisted in his business until finding the perfect opportunity and timing.
"For many years, people likely questioned his direction until very recently," Kamath observed.
He emphasized that because Zerodha has never accepted outside funding, they don't face pressure to deliver quick returns to investors. This freedom allows them to prioritize customer interests, even when it might reduce short-term profits.
"Consider our no-spam and no-tracking policies as examples. I believe our operational philosophy will ultimately be Zerodha's greatest competitive advantage. Maintaining these principles would be significantly challenging as a public company," he concluded.