With a fund crunch, founders accused of embezzlement, and failed IPOs, the upbeat startup ecosystem has been marred by gloom for the past year. As the list of unicorns grows based on valuations bulked up with funding, only 17 out of 80 such startups are actually making profits.
From this rare breed, Zerodha doubled its profit to Rs 2,094 crore in FY22, placing its founders Nikhil and Nithin Kamath on Forbes' list of global billionaires.
Unicorns surging ahead early
At 35, Nikhil Kamath is the youngest entrant on the list and has been ranked 2,405 with $1.1 billion net worth, while his older brother Nithin (43) with $2.7 billion, is at the 1,104th position.
Their online platform Zerodha was a breakthrough as it offered low cost stock market trading, with discounts and a flat fee instead of a percentage of the trade.
Since it makes stock markets simpler and more accessible for all, Zerodha has amassed six million users who trade shares and commodities worth $10 billion every day.
Rising to the top from humble beginnings
Coming from a middle-class Indian family, Nithin dropped out of college and worked at a call centre before becoming a full time stock trader.
Nikhil had already started working in the private sector, before he helped his older brother in establishing Zerodha in 2010.
In little more than a decade, the firm has been consistently increasing its userbase and revenue, encouraging the duo to offer digital gold, insurance and mutual funds among other fintech products.
Among others, Mukesh Ambani is now the only Indian among Forbes' top 10 billionaires, since Gautam Adani slipped towards 40 before climbing back to 24.
