Nikhil Kamath success story is truly an inspiration for us all since it is the journey of a school dropout who became India’s youngest billionaire at the age of 37. After dropping out of school, he started working at a call center with a monthly salary of Rs. 8,000. Soon after that, he casually started stock trading with his money, which became the foundation of his journey to opening unicorn startups in the finance industry.
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What Made Him Drop Out Of School?
As we mentioned at the blog’s beginning, he dropped out of school in 10th grade. Most of you must be thinking, what would be the reason to quit school? Was it because of financial trouble? No, he didn’t drop formal education because of the financial crisis. Instead, he was highly disinterested in his studies, so the school management didn’t allow him to sit in the 10th board exam class, after which he dropped out of school. And the rest is history. Nikhil Kamath success story is a testament that the success of an individual is not pegged to his/her formal degree.
Nikhil Kamath’s Career Before Becoming An Entrepreneur
As we have mentioned, Nikhil dropped out of school young and later started working at the call center, where he earned INR 8,000 a month. Soon, he left his parents’ home. As per him, “When you move away from the family ecosystem and the judgment of relatives, you get down to real stuff.” This was the same period when he started trading in stocks and soon became an expert in it, and this played a pivotal role in Nikhil Kamath Success Story. Later, he convinced his manager to let him manage his money. After this episode, Nikhil stopped going to the office. However, he was responsible for managing the team’s money, and was marked present in the office. After becoming incredibly successful, he and his elder brother Nitin Kamath launched Zerodha in 2010.
Also, learn more about the success story of Anupam Mittal.
Nikhil’s Business Ventures
Nikhil had an entrepreneurial spark since his early childhood. When he was 14 years old, he used to sell mobile phones, which his furious mother later flushed into the toilet. However, this incident stands as a beacon of his undying hunger for entrepreneurship. Founding 2 successful entrepreneurial ventures is a significant phase in Nikhil Kamath success story
Zerodha
Soon after his success in trading, Nikhil co-founded Zerodha in 2010 with his elder brother, Nitin. Zerodha is the biggest discount broking platform in India and is a critical moment in Nikhil Kamath success story. In 2023, Zerodha reported a profit of more than Rs. 2,000 crores! Zerodha is the combination of “Zero” + “Rodha,” a Sanskrit word for barrier; together, these 2 words make up zero barriers, which reflects their vision for their company. Zerodha has an active client base of 6.3 million.
True Beacon
Another crucial part of Nikhil Kamath success story is founding a wealth management firm, True Beacon, launched in 2019. The firm offers wealth management services to high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) without charging a fee. Its flagship product, the Alternative Investment Fund (AIF), is a category 3 investment fund that invests in Indian equities. The fund is managed by experienced investment professionals with a track record of stellar returns.
Investments and Philanthropic Endeveaours
Besides being an excellent trader, Nikhil is also a marvelous investor. In this part of the blog, we will cover some of Nikhil Kamath’s major investments.
Personal Investment
| Announcement Date | Organization Name | Funding Round | Amount |
| September 11, 2023 | Pee Safe | Series B | ₹250 million |
| June 26, 2023 | Mainstreet | Seed Round | ₹2 million |
| January 31, 2023 | Nourish You | Seed Round | ₹163.7 million |
| July 26, , 2022 | Nas Company | Venture Round | ₹12 million |
| March 15, 2022 | Licious | Series F | ₹11.5 billion |
| February 8, 2022 | Kofluence | Seed Round | ₹4 million |
| January 27, 2022 | Growth School | Seed Round | ₹375 million |
Partnered Investments
| Announcement Date | Organisation Name | Funding Round | Amount |
| October 13, 2023 | Emoha Elder Care | Series B | $11 million |
| April 5, 2023 | Ossus Biorenewables | Seed Round | ₹197 million |
| March 15, 2023 | Spirit Media | Venture Round | – |
| February 25, 2022 | Licious | Series F | ₹91.4 million |
| February 17, 2022 | Omnipresent Robot Technologies | Venture Round | – |
Philanthropic Activities
Nikhil Kamath success story is not only about earning money; but also about how Nikhil used the money for philanthropic endeavours for the greater good of society.
- Nikhil recently became India’s youngest billionaire, signing the giving pledge and promising to donate 50% of his wealth.
- He also started the Young India Philanthropic Pledge (YIPP), which mandates that people under 45 donate 25% of their wealth.
- Kamath Brothers donated 100 crores in 2022, as per EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2022.
Awards And Recognitions
Nikhil Kamath has a net worth of $3.45 billion with a yearly salary package of Rs. 100 crore. Apart from this, he is also decorated with certain awards and recognitions, which are as follows:
- In 2016, he was on Forbes India’s “30 under 30” young entrepreneurs list.
- Nikhil Kamath was also enlisted in the richest self-made Indian under 40 by ‘IIFL Wealth Hurun India & Under Self-Made Rich List 2022’.
- In 2023, he was on the Forbes list of world billionaires.
Wisdom Nuggets
There is a lot we can learn from the Nikhil Kamath success story that we can adopt in our life to achieve our goals:
- Nikhil Kamath success story teaches us to set out of our comfort zones and try new things as he did when he left his parent’s house.
- His success story teaches us to follow our passion, regardless of circumstances.
- Nikhil Kamath success also teaches us to be resilient and to work towards our goals consistently.
- The success story of Nikhil Kamath teaches us to believe in ourselves even when others are not.
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