Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath has shared his thoughts on the challenges faced by startups today, admitting that if he were to start the company in 2025, he likely wouldn't have ventured into the online brokerage space. In a recent post on his Trading Q&A platform on X (formerly Twitter), Kamath reflected on the crowded nature of the market and how it would be difficult to replicate Zerodha's success in today's competitive environment.

When asked by a follower whether he would have done anything differently if starting Zerodha in 2025, Kamath delivered a rather surprising response. He explained that the brokerage industry is now saturated with players offering similar services, making it challenging to break into the market. “We would not have started Zerodha. The market is so crowded, and being another one doing the same thing wouldn't work”, Kamath said.

He elaborated that while Zerodha's product has evolved significantly over the past decade, he doesn't believe it would be possible to build a similar platform today and expect it to succeed right out of the gate. According to Kamath, attempting to beat the best players in the market from day one would be an uphill battle. “I don’t think it would make sense to attempt to beat the best today on day 1 of the business”, he said.

Instead, Kamath indicated that he might have explored a different route. “I would have probably built a brokerage with some other moat, maybe charge higher fees and offer better research”, he suggested. Despite a potentially smaller customer base, Kamath believes such a business model could still lead to significant earnings.

The post, which has already garnered more than 50,000 views, sparked discussions in the comments section, with many users reflecting on Kamath’s candidness. One commenter observed, “Best example of 'The grass looks greener on the other side'. Such a brilliant piece of work Zerodha is, but yes always there is room for improvement”. Another commenter warned, “Starting a business in an overcrowded market without a 10x better idea is entrepreneurial suicide. Unless you can outthink, outbuild, or outserve the biggest players – you're not disrupting, you're drowning”.

Nithin and Nikhil Kamath co-founded Zerodha in August 2010, driven by a shared vision to democratize trading and investing for Indians. Despite facing challenges such as limited resources and a lack of infrastructure, they eventually turned Zerodha into one of India’s largest and most respected fintech companies. The launch of their flagship trading platform, Zerodha Trading Platform (ZTP), in 2015 marked a major turning point. Offering a user-friendly interface, low brokerage fees, and innovative features, Zerodha catered to both beginner and experienced traders.

Today, Zerodha boasts over 6 million registered users, making it a formidable force in India’s financial services industry. However, Kamath’s recent reflections suggest that the journey to success in today’s fintech landscape may look very different from the path they took a decade ago.