‘Dropping out of school had drawbacks…’: Nikhil Kamath on the challenges behind Zerodha’s success

Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, built an empire in India’s financial landscape, but his path was anything but conventional.Having dropped out of school at the age of 15 or 16, Kamath has openly discussed the challenges and insecurities that came with forgoing formal education.

“Leaving school and not pursuing a formal higher education had its drawbacks,” Kamat admitted to LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky. He admitted that the lack of a structured educational framework made him work harder to gain confidence and knowledge. Reading extensively allowed me to compensate for my lack of formal education,” he said.

Kamat’s distaste for traditional academics was evident early on: “I hated school. Always did,” he shared, reflecting on his rebellious teenage years. Back in grade 9, Kamath stumbled upon his first venture, trading cell phones. After making a profit from his first sale, he reinvested the proceeds and grew his side hustle.

However, his fledgling business came to an abrupt end when his mother discovered his activities and destroyed his inventory, flushing the phones down the toilet.

Despite this setback, Kamath’s decision to drop out of school prompted him to adopt a disciplined approach to self-education. Feeling the need to overcompensate, he devoured books and sought practical knowledge to bridge the gap that formal schooling left.

This relentless drive to learn and grow eventually led to a partnership with his brother Nitin Kamat, and together they founded Zerodha, a venture that disrupted the Indian stockbroking industry and made Nikhil one of the country’s youngest billionaires.