Nithin Kamath
Born1979 10 05
EducationB.Tech in Electronics and Telecommunication
Alma materBangalore Institute of Technology

Nithin Kamath (born 5 October 1979) is an Indian entrepreneur and businessman, who is the founder and CEO of Zerodha.[1][2] Nithin is known for revolutionizing the Indian stock broking industry with his discount broking model and technology-driven approach.[3][4][5]

Early life and education

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Nithin Kamath was born and raised in a Konkani family in Shivamogga, Karnataka.[1][6] His father, U.R. Kamath, worked as an executive at Canara Bank, while his mother, Revathi, was a veena teacher.[1][6] He has a younger brother, Nikhil Kamath, who later became his business partner.[4] The family moved to Bangalore in 1996.[1]

Career

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Nithin Kamath started trading in the stock market at the age of 17, managing his father's trading account.[1][7][8][9] From January 1997 to January 2004, he worked as a self-employed proprietary trader.[1][10] To supplement his income, he worked as a Senior Tele-sales Associate at a call center from January 2001 to January 2004, trading during the day and working nights.[7][11]

From January 2004 to January 2010, Nithin worked as a sub-broker for Kamath Associates, a franchise of Reliance Money, providing portfolio advisory services and proprietary trading.[12]

Founding of Zerodha

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In 2010, at the age of 30, Nithin Kamath founded Zerodha along with his brother Nikhil Kamath.[1] The company introduced a discount broking model in India, charging a flat fee of ₹20 per trade regardless of its size, disrupting the traditional percentage-based fee structure.[13][11]

Zerodha grew rapidly without relying on traditional advertising or venture capital funding.[14] By 2020, the company became a unicorn startup with a self-assessed valuation of about $1 billion.[15][16][17]

Other ventures

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In 2015, he founded Rainmatter, a fintech fund and incubator that supports innovative Indian startups focusing on financial technology.[18] He also co-founded True Beacon, an investment management firm, with his brother Nikhil.[19]

Awards

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  • Top 10 Businessmen in India by The Economic Times (2016)[20]
  • Forbes India Leadership Award (2019)[1]
  • Startup of the Year (Bootstrap) by Economic Times (2016)[21]
  • Emerging Entrepreneur Award by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) (2014)[1]

Personal life

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Nithin Kamath married Seema Patil in 2008[22]. They have a son named Kiaan.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Banerjee, Soutrik (2023-08-07). "Insightful Details About Nithin Kamath, Founder and CEO, Zerodha". Business Outreach. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  2. ^ "Nithin Kamath Success Story: Biography, New Worth, Education, Age, Wife, Children, Books, Family, House, and some interesting facts about "Zerodha" Founder". 2021-11-02. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  3. ^ "The Discount Brokerage: How Zerodha Founder Kamath Brothers Revolutionized Online Trading In India". Zee News. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  4. ^ a b Dayal, Swati. "Startup DNA: How Siblings Are Crafting Success Stories in India". www.tice.news. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  5. ^ IBTimes (2024-07-07). "Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath Recognized in IBT's Top 20 CEOs List for 2024". www.ibtimes.co.in. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  6. ^ a b "Nikhil Kamath is India's youngest billionaire; Know about his career, education, and net worth. Check out who else is on Forbes' 2024 list". Financialexpress. 2024-04-05. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  7. ^ a b "'Karma has a way of biting back': Spam calls remind Zerodha's Nithin Kamath of days as call centre worker". Business Today. 2024-05-04. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  8. ^ Adajania, Kayezad (12 August 2021). "Financial freedom: Why Zerodha's Nithin Kamath thinks it's all about skill development and not just money management".
  9. ^ Dua, Bhavya (14 November 2022). "Zerodha's Nithin Kamath's money mantras for the young".
  10. ^ "Biography of Nithin Kamath : Founder of Zerodha". We Rise By Lifting Others. 2024-03-05. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  11. ^ a b "Meet Nithin Kamath, a call centre worker with an 8k income whose 'Zerodha' is now worth Rs 2,094 crore". The Economic Times. 2023-01-26. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  12. ^ "Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath on his father's role in his journey: 'Biggest cheerleader'". 30 December 2023.
  13. ^ "The Curious Case Study Of Zerodha's Blue Ocean Strategy". Forbes India. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  14. ^ "Nithin Kamath on how Zerodha grew without advertising, fund-raising – CNBC TV18". CNBCTV18. 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  15. ^ Bhalla, Kritti (2020-06-22). "Zerodha Claims Unicorn Valuation In ESOPs Buyback Plan". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  16. ^ "INTERVIEW: Zerodha founder defends the 'self-valuation' of nearly a billion dollars⁠ — and why he never raised funds from investors | Business Insider India". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  17. ^ "Comma, Semicolon And Colon: Decoding The Grammar Of India's Billion-dollar Startup Behemoths". Forbes India. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  18. ^ "Zerodha sets up non-profit organisation Rainmatter Foundation for climate change".
  19. ^ "Nithin and Nikhil Kamath & family". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  20. ^ "10 businessmen to watch out for in 2016". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  21. ^ "ET Startup Awards 2016: How the Bootstrap Champ Zerodha is taking investment to the masses". The Economic Times. 2016-08-08. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  22. ^ "'He Joked For Me': Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath's Wife Seema Patil Recalls Battle With Cancer". Times Now. 2024-04-08. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  23. ^ Sengupta, Ankita (6 February 2023). "Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath's son, mother perform Carnatic music on stage. Watch".