Nithin Kamath
Nithin Kamath | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 October 1979 |
| Alma mater | Bangalore Institute of Technology |
| Occupations |
|
| Organization(s) | Zerodha True Beacon Gruhas |
| Relatives | Nikhil Kamath (Brother) |
Nithin Kamath (born 5 October 1979) is an Indian entrepreneur and the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zerodha.[1][2][3]
Early life and education
Kamath was born in Shivamogga, Karnataka, to a Konkani family.[1] His father, U. R. Kamath, worked as an executive at Canara Bank, and his mother, Revathi, was a veena teacher.[1] He has a younger brother, Nikhil Kamath, who later became his business partner. The family relocated to Bangalore in 1996.[1][4]
Career
Kamath began trading in the stock market at the age of 17, initially managing his father's trading account.[1][5][6][7] From January 1997 to January 2004, he worked as a self-employed proprietary trader.[1][8] To supplement his income, he worked as a Senior Tele-sales Associate at a call centre from January 2001 to January 2004, trading during the day and working nights.[5][9]
From January 2004 to January 2010, Kamath worked as a sub-broker for Kamath Associates, a franchise of Reliance Money, where he provided portfolio advisory services and engaged in proprietary trading.[10]
Founding of Zerodha
In 2010, Kamath co-founded Zerodha with his brother Nikhil Kamath.[1] The company introduced a discount broking model in India, offering a flat fee of ₹20 per trade regardless of order size, in contrast to percentage-based fee structures used by traditional brokers.[11][9]
The discount-broking model contributed to the firm's growth without significant spending on advertising or venture-capital funding.[12] By 2020, Zerodha reported a self-assessed valuation of approximately US$1 billion.[13][14][15]
Other ventures
In 2015, Kamath founded Rainmatter, a fintech fund and incubator that supports startups working in financial technology.[16] He also co-founded True Beacon, an investment management firm, together with Nikhil Kamath.[17]
Personal life
Nithin Kamath married Seema Patil in 2008[18]. They have a son named Kiaan.[19]
Awards
- 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]
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Hormaz Fatakia (28 November 2025). "'It's Crazy!' Nithin Kamath of Zerodha talks about the unlisted shares market". CNBCTV18. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
- ^ TOI Trending Desk (25 March 2025). "Nithin Kamath's impressive educational qualification: Know the Zerodha CEO's alma mater". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Adajania, Kayezad (12 August 2021). "Financial freedom: Why Zerodha's Nithin Kamath thinks it's all about skill development and not just money management".
- ^ Dua, Bhavya (14 November 2022). "Zerodha's Nithin Kamath's money mantras for the young".
- ^ "Biography of Nithin Kamath : Founder of Zerodha". We Rise By Lifting Others. 2024-03-05. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath on his father's role in his journey: 'Biggest cheerleader'". 30 December 2023.
- ^ "The Curious Case Study Of Zerodha's Blue Ocean Strategy". Forbes India. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
- ^ "Nithin Kamath on how Zerodha grew without advertising, fund-raising – CNBC TV18". CNBCTV18. 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
- ^ Bhalla, Kritti (2020-06-22). "Zerodha Claims Unicorn Valuation In ESOPs Buyback Plan". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Comma, Semicolon And Colon: Decoding The Grammar Of India's Billion-dollar Startup Behemoths". Forbes India. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
- ^ "Zerodha sets up non-profit organisation Rainmatter Foundation for climate change".
- ^ "Nithin and Nikhil Kamath & family". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
- ^ "'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.
- ^ Sengupta, Ankita (6 February 2023). "Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath's son, mother perform Carnatic music on stage. Watch".
- ^ "10 businessmen to watch out for in 2016". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
- ^ "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.