‘Nikhil Kamath waved hi’: Mumbai entrepreneur recalls how a café floor change led to once-in-a-lifetime moment

A young entrepreneur in Mumbai has shared how a casual coffee meeting at a café turned into a memorable business moment for him. As per the Reddit post, the entrepreneur found himself face-to-face with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath during a visit to a cafe. He said he encountered Zarodha's co-founder at Subko Café where he had gone to meet a venture capital (VC) friend. He said that the meeting started on the first floor, but they later moved upstairs when the café felt too cramped. That shift, he says, changed everything.

Learning lessons, spotting Nikhil Kamath

As the VC friend broke down the nuances of fundraising — why storytelling matters, how investors evaluate pitches, and why clarity is crucial — the young founder suddenly spotted Kamath in a private room nearby.

“I didn’t want to interrupt because the advice I was getting was gold,” he wrote. “But the moment my friend noticed him too, we were both starstruck.”

The handwritten pitch

The VC friend then pushed him to act. “Do you have any business material on you?” he asked. With no visiting card at hand, the entrepreneur grabbed his diary, tore out a page, and quickly scribbled a note about his startup, BeHooked.

He neatly folded the note and requested a café staff member to deliver it to Kamath. The Zerodha co-founder, he recalls, read it carefully, looked up, smiled, and waved.

“That 2-second wave made the entire day worth it,” he wrote.

The takeaway: seize the moment

For the young founder, the episode was less about instant results and more about taking the chance. “If we hadn’t moved to the top floor, this moment would never have happened. Take your shots. You never know which one will land,” he reflected.

In India’s buzzing startup ecosystem, where thousands of founders chase funding and mentorship, such moments highlight the importance of initiative. A handwritten note in a café may not guarantee investment, but it can open doors that emails or LinkedIn requests may never reach.