According to The Economic Times, Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath revealed that the broking firm's culture stems from deliberate choices made over 16 years, including staying small, avoiding revenue targets, and prioritising employee well-being over growth. In a public post shared after writing for Zerodha's internal employee forum, Kamath emphasized that a recent conversation with a new team member exposed an onboarding gap, where some recent hires may not fully understand what makes the company different. As reported by The Economic Times, Kamath stated that Zerodha only exists in its current form because of the culture, mission, and philosophy at the top, with lakhs of people following the company and believing in what it stands for. The employee knew Zerodha does not incite customers to trade, but did not know much beyond that, highlighting an onboarding gap that needs fixing.
As reported by The Economic Times, Kamath explained that the company could not continue with the pace of its early years, with him working odd hours and weekends until around 2019. He realized that it takes at least 1.5 to two years for someone to start contributing meaningfully to the business, and if people leave after two years, the company loses that compounding benefit. This thinking explains why Zerodha has remained a team of about 1,000 people despite its scale, with Kamath crediting CTO Kailash Nadh for shaping this approach. According to The Economic Times, Kamath initially believed more people could solve more problems, but later realized more people could also create more inefficiency. The way the tech team was built from 2014 convinced him that Zerodha could grow while remaining small.
According to The Economic Times, Kamath's thinking shaped Zerodha's investments in companies such as smallcase, Zerodha AMC, Tijori, Sensibull, Ditto, Streak, Financialist and Pensionbox. Instead of building everything in-house, Zerodha chose to work with partners in adjacent areas so that the core business stayed focused. This approach reflects the company's philosophy of avoiding revenue targets and maintaining focus on its core operations while expanding through strategic partnerships.
As reported by The Economic Times, Kamath emphasized patience and the absence of fear inside the company, stating that employees should not be afraid to admit mistakes. He explained that hidden mistakes, unless they involve ethical lapses, are more dangerous than the mistakes themselves. According to The Economic Times, Kamath said this is a big part of how Zerodha maintains quality, not through threats, but by giving people the space to own up to their mistakes and correct them. Kamath also wrote about patience and the absence of fear inside the company, stating that a "nice place to work" does not happen by chance, and is not just a perk - it is "a business model in itself."
