In today’s world of ever-evolving business and entrepreneurship ecosystem, start-ups have taken charge and are rapidly transforming into unicorn companies. It doesn’t take long for a start-up with a well-structured business model to give an MNC a run for its money. Stories like these are always inspiring. And one such story belongs to Nikhil Kamath, the Co-founder of Zerodha. He proves that starting from nothing and working your way up in the world of business can actually lead you to become the Co-founder of some of the most eminent start-ups in the country.
If you’re genuinely passionate about what you do and not afraid to fail, there’s no limit to what you can achieve. Nikhil has a concocted a very creative way of sharing his learnings and giving back to the society in the form of his “edu-taining” Podcast Series “WTF Is?” The podcast can be defined as ‘a Masterclass with the Masters.’ His YouTube series comprises of various episodes that each deal with an industry-specific genre, making for a very insightful experience that leaves you wanting for more.
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The King Of Start-Ups
Nikhil Kamath is an Indian entrepreneur who has co-founded and invested in discount brokerage, Zerodha, an asset management company, True Beacon, and a venture capital firm, Gruhas. Kamath is the part of Forbes Billionaires List 2023. Hailing from Karnataka, Nikhil had dropped out of school after grade 10th and he has no formal degree. His career began with a job at a call center while also engaging in equity trading on the side. In 2006, Kamath became a sub-broker and started his own brokerage firm with his brother Nithin Kamath titled Kamath & Associates to manage high net worth individual portfolios in the public markets. Talk about talented and inspiring!
Let’s learn about some of his business ventures:
Zerodha
In 2010, the Kamath brothers, Nikhil and Nithin, co-founded Zerodha. The firm provides brokerage services for dealing in stocks, currencies and commodities. Kamath introduced a deal-breaking discount brokerage model with Zerodha which reduces the commission charged for transactions, enabling the masses to invest. And it resulted in a boom for the business.
True Beacon
Nikhil then went on to be a co-founder for True Beacon in 2020. It’s an asset management company which helps ultra-high net worth individuals invest in the Indian markets via privately-pooled investment vehicles.
Gruhas
In 2021, he co-founded Gruhas, a venture capital firm, a real estate investments and PropTech company, along with Puzzalona‘s Abhijeet Pai. It focuses on Early, Venture, and Debt investment in the PropTech, CleanTech, Media & Entertainment, and Consumer space. Gruhas invests in incubators, startups and Special Situation Assets.
In June 2023, Nikhil Kamath committed to donating 50% of his wealth to charitable causes like climate change, education, and health care by signing The Giving Pledge.
“WTF Is?“
A podcast series that was conceptualised and launched in March ’23 has become quite the hot favourite in the digital ecosystem. “WTF Is?” by Nikhil Kamath, brings together various industry experts from a range of domains to discuss a central topic that everyone could relate to and lend their expertise too. With 8 episodes out so far, each one is purely fueled by the curiosity and eagerness to dive deep and learn more.
They are as insightful as they are entertaining! Where else would you get to witness high-net individuals and founders of the top businesses in the country currently speak about topics that are a part of our daily lives? The podcast, in a way, humanises them and gives us a peek into what goes on in the minds of these stalwarts. So let’s take you through the super fun series with an episodic breakdown right away:
Episode #1: WTF is Metaverse?
Under Unedited with Nikhil Kamath, the first episode of the series focused on the life, the future of media and the complexities and confusion surrounding the Metaverse. Is it really a game-changer or just nonsense? The episode is a funny and engaging exploration of the topics on the minds of some of India’s top young businessmen and social media titans:
Tanmay Bhat, Social Media Sensation and Comedian
Umang Bedi, Co-founder of Josh and Dailyhunt, former CEO of Meta India
Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-founder of TaxiForSure and Koo
They were briefly joined by Marco Staglianò, Chief Executive Officer of Another-1 and Prashant Joshua, Founder at 1Verse.
Episode #2: Secrets of Social Media Success, Mental Health & Distribution Hacks
The same group from Ep. 1 dives into an exclusive and revealing conversation about their personal journeys, the psychology and the future of social media, and whether traditional media is dead.
Episode #3: WTF is E-commerce: Founders Reveal What Sells and What Doesn’t
Prepare for a heated and insightful deep-dive into e-commerce as 3 generations clash discussing “why some products fly off the (virtual) shelves while others fail, successes and failures on the journey to growing multi-billion dollar businesses, and why e-commerce is inescapable – we either sell or get sold to.” Hear it from the industry bigwigs themselves:
Kishore Biyani, Founder of Future Group, Big Bazaar – “Father of Modern Retail”
Sujeet Kumar, Co-founder of the B2B industry leader Udaan
Vidit Aatrey, Co-founder of the $5 billion dollar e-commerce company Meesho
Episode #4: WTF is ChatGPT: Heaven or Hell?
OpenAI’s ChatGPT has taken the world by storm since it was made publicly available. It promises to revolutionise the way we work, in sectors from finance, to medicine, law and media. AI expert Varun Mayya seems to think that without a clear understanding of the full potential and consequences of this technology, we could be sleepwalking into disaster. Know more as Nikhil Kamath goes deep into conversation with the OG social media maestros:
Varun Mayya, CEO of Scenes & Tech Expert, along with Tanmay, Umang and Aprameya
Episode #5: WTF Is Ed-Tech | What’s Broken, What’s Next?
This one’s a gripping episode around the EdTech revolution where masterminds uncover the magic of personalised learning, gamification, and supercharged teachers reshaping the education scene. It’s a conversation that is bound to challenge your perspective on traditional learning systems and evaluate the changing Education system. With their contrarian views and diverse backgrounds, hear what the titans of their industry have to say:
Ronnie Screwvala, Chairperson & Co-Founder at UpGrad
Gaurav Munjal, Co-Founder and CEO at Unacademy
Jay Kotak, Co-Head at Kotak811
Episode #6: WTF is Health?
What do an action hero, a serial entrepreneur and a businessman building a bootstrapped company have in common? Well, the panelists on this episode share a common and deep passion for health and well-being. They share their personal stories on how fitness helped their careers, how sacrificing your health for career success is a no-go, and some practical tips that will help kick-start your fitness journey:
Suniel Shetty, A Bollywood Action-Hero who’s killing it at 60
Nithin Kamath, Founder & CEO of Zerodha and a total fitness junkie
Mukesh Bansal, Founder of Myntra and Cult.fit, one of India’s largest fitness chains
Episode #7: Who is Kiran Mazumdar Shaw Really? And WTF is Biotech?
A true trailblazer in the biotech industry, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, gets candid about her 40-year journey in the field and her life beyond business. She offers a behind-the-scenes look at the difficulties she encountered while establishing Biocon in India. This episode is as raw as it gets and it’s an insightful treat.
Episode #8: WTF is Going on in the World of Content
Whether you’re creating content, avidly consuming it, or believe you’re untouched by its influence – you have a tremendous impact on the content industry. Consider this episode an essential guide if you’re aiming to build, innovate, or establish a presence within the dynamic world of entertainment. The three masterminds from the industry decode the market expanse, strategies, upcoming trends, hidden aspects and subconscious manipulations that frequently go unnoticed:
Ajay Bijli, Founder of PVR Cinemas & Managing Director of PVR INOX Ltd.
Vijay Subramaniam, Founder & Group CEO of Collective Artists’ Network
Sajith Sivanandan, President & Head of Disney+ Hotstar
If you haven’t caught up on all of these episodes from the podcast series yet, we recommend you do so now! Trust us, it will make for the perfect weekend binge 🙂
