Why is Zerodha not filing for an IPO? Nithin Kamath answers

Zerodha co-founder and CEO Nithin Kamath has explained why the brokerage firm is not chasing an initial public offering (IPO), even as many Indian startups and financial services companies line up for listings.

Responding to a question on Reddit about what makes Zerodha profitable and why the company has avoided going public, Kamath shared that the firm’s long-term approach and independence from external investors have shaped its strategy.

“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, 25 years in all. Things in business compound over time, especially if you like or love what you are doing and if you are lucky to be in the right place and time,” he wrote.



Kamath underlined that Zerodha was built with minimal capital. “So the money we have spent on Zerodha is maybe ~Rs 10 lakhs, and that is all the money that has gone into the business till date. Rs 2.5 lakhs for our website, Rs 5 lakhs for our office interiors (we had an office before), and Rs 2.5 lakhs for miscellaneous. So, we came from an extremely middle-class background and had no rich uncles. Dad was a bank manager, and Mom taught Veena,” he said.

The founder added that timing and luck were equally important in the company’s rise. “Our rise coincides with India's rise. We were present at the right place and time with the right products and initiatives. Any gyan any founder gives, eventually comes down to getting timing right, and this has got everything to do with luck.”

On the IPO question, Kamath stressed that staying private allows Zerodha to make decisions in the interest of customers rather than investors. “Now that there is no pressure to give any exit to any investor, we can continue doing what is right for the customer, sometimes even at the cost of the business. For example, our no spam or no tracking policy. I believe that the philosophy with which we run Zerodha will be our real moat as a business. It is very tough to stick to it as a public company,” he noted.

Zerodha, launched in 2010, is one of India’s largest stock brokerage by active clients. While many fintech players have tapped public markets, Kamath’s latest remarks suggest that Zerodha intends to remain independent without an IPO in the near future.