Indian startups, not gold and real estate: Where Nithin Kamath wishes India invested more

India needs more Indians backing local entrepreneurs, says Nithin Kamath, Founder and CEO of Zerodha and Rainmatter, at YourStory's flagship startup-tech event, TechSparks 2023.

Closing three days of stellar conversations about the startup ecosystem at TechSparks 2023, Kamath said that his dream is to get Zerodha's customers to invest in the startup ecosystem of India, instead of real estate and gold.

"I keep thinking about $70 billion that has flowed into Indian startups for funding….90% of the value creation happened outside of India," Kamath said.

"Can a country become rich inclusively if the success and the wealth of the country is being created elsewhere?" he quipped.

On the path to bootstrapping Zerodha to profitability, Kamath says he recognised early in the startup's journey that if he were to secure investor funding, he would have to significantly alter his initial vision and build differently.

"The reason we didn't have to raise money was because we didn't have to spend money to acquire a customer," he said, adding it's hard to stop paying to acquire a user once you get into it.

Busting myths in a freewheeling conversation with YourStory Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma, Kamath said that one of the misconceptions people have is that one can build a good business quickly.

"You can definitely build good valuation quickly, but when you're starting out, you need not be dependent on someone else's money for some time."