Big, Bold Inspiration in a Small Gathering of Indian Business Owners

On my recent whirlwind tour of EO chapters in South Asia, we made a short trip in and out of Goa, enjoying a very engaged and constructive meeting with this smaller EO chapter's board. I was impressed by their warm welcome, strong motivation, unlimited amounts of passion, and, as so prevalent in EO, a total can-do attitude.

Afterward, I was thrilled to listen to a keynote conversation with one of India’s youngest self-made billionaires, Mr. Nikhil Kamath, who at just 36 years old, embodies the EO core value: Think Big, Be Bold. What an incredible story this young entrepreneur from humble beginnings has already lived.

Born in Bangalore, Nikhil dropped out of school at age 14 to pursue his prodigious love of chess competitively, initially aiming to go professional, but changing course when that did not work out. Nikhil realized he would have to get creative to find success in work because, in his words, "No one was going to hire me without a college degree". He needed a backup plan.

Soon after, Nikhil Kamath and his only slightly older brother Nithin began stock trading - investing money for family and friends at first, but learning – quickly learning. Over the next decade, the brothers turned their impressive quantitative skills and intuitive feel for human beings and markets into a principled, successful trading strategy that ultimately disrupted the fintech world.

Together, they built a multi-billion dollar business called Zerodha, without any outside funding. Let me repeat that: they bootstrapped their business without any external investment. Wow. By late 2020, their business joined Forbes India Rich List with a combined wealth of $1.55 billion and Nikhil, just 34 at the time, was named India’s youngest new billionaire.

Listening to Nikhil speak, I marveled at how approachable, humble and reflective he still is today. I too launched my first business without outside funding, and know how challenging and character-building that chosen patch can be. #respect

Reflecting on the keynote, I felt such gratitude, and a reinforcement in my belief of how important it is for all of us - no matter the age or stage of our journey - to continue seeking and finding inspiration; especially the kind that encourages us to keep thinking big, and being bold. I would not know where I would get to experience and learn about entrepreneurship in such depth, authenticity and intensity other than through my peer network in EO.

Thank you EO Goa and EO South Asia for hosting me.