What makes Zerodha what it is? Founder Nithin Kamath answers in the simplest way possible
Nithin Kamath said that he is often asked this one particular question when he is meeting young entrepreneurs.
- Jul 3, 2026,
- Updated Jul 3, 2026 12:46 PM IST
Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath said he often gets asked this one question: what makes Zerodha what it is. And his answer is quite simple: they just don’t care.
They don’t care about advertising or spamming or pushing or inducting customers.
This is thanks to the Kamath brothers’ bootstrapping of the company, which means there is no external pressure from investors.
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Taking to social media, Kamath wrote: “Whenever I'm at events or am meeting young entrepreneurs through @Rainmatterin, the one recurring question I get is what makes Zerodha what it is. We'd created this page to explain what makes us different.”
He posted an image with the tweet with the following sentence: ‘If it is free then you are the product.’ Tracking, profiling, and user ‘engagement’ are standard practices globally. We don’t care.
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In the ‘philosophies’ page that he shared, it is mentioned that their principles of “customer interest over growth, transparency, and product development” are the reasons why customers trust them. It said that Zerodha employees also do not have perverse incentives as they do not impose any metric-based growth targets. It said that the word-of-mouth referrals are what drove their growth.
In the part about practices, Zerodha says there are no invasive app permissions required, there are no third party trackers, no user engagement spam, no cross-selling, no gate-keeping, and if fully transparent.
Users lauded Kamath but said there are minor improvements that are still essential for the platform.
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Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath said he often gets asked this one question: what makes Zerodha what it is. And his answer is quite simple: they just don’t care.
They don’t care about advertising or spamming or pushing or inducting customers.
This is thanks to the Kamath brothers’ bootstrapping of the company, which means there is no external pressure from investors.
MUST READ | Nithin Kamath on NRI investing: Why a 60-day onboarding process is hurting participation
Taking to social media, Kamath wrote: “Whenever I'm at events or am meeting young entrepreneurs through @Rainmatterin, the one recurring question I get is what makes Zerodha what it is. We'd created this page to explain what makes us different.”
He posted an image with the tweet with the following sentence: ‘If it is free then you are the product.’ Tracking, profiling, and user ‘engagement’ are standard practices globally. We don’t care.
DON'T MISS | 'Don't you dare leave India': Zerodha's Nithin Kamath tells young students
In the ‘philosophies’ page that he shared, it is mentioned that their principles of “customer interest over growth, transparency, and product development” are the reasons why customers trust them. It said that Zerodha employees also do not have perverse incentives as they do not impose any metric-based growth targets. It said that the word-of-mouth referrals are what drove their growth.
In the part about practices, Zerodha says there are no invasive app permissions required, there are no third party trackers, no user engagement spam, no cross-selling, no gate-keeping, and if fully transparent.
Users lauded Kamath but said there are minor improvements that are still essential for the platform.
MUST READ | From idea to company in 90 days? Nikhil Kamath's new bet is turning heads