Kamath was born in Shivamogga, Karnataka, to a Konkani family.[1] His father, U. R. Kamath, worked as an executive at Canara Bank, and his mother, Revathi, was a veena teacher.[1] He has a younger brother, Nikhil Kamath, who later became his business partner. The family relocated to Bangalore in 1996.[1][4]
Career
Kamath began trading in the stock market at the age of 17, initially managing his father's trading account.[1][5][6][7] From January 1997 to January 2004, he worked as a self-employed proprietary trader.[1][8] To supplement his income, he worked as a Senior Tele-sales Associate at a call centre from January 2001 to January 2004, trading during the day and working nights.[5][9]
From January 2004 to January 2010, Kamath worked as a sub-broker for Kamath Associates, a franchise of Reliance Money, where he provided portfolio advisory services and engaged in proprietary trading.[10]
Founding of Zerodha
In 2010, Kamath co-founded Zerodha with his brother Nikhil Kamath.[1] The company introduced a discount broking model in India, offering a flat fee of ₹20 per trade regardless of order size, in contrast to percentage-based fee structures used by traditional brokers.[11][9]
The discount-broking model contributed to the firm's growth without significant spending on advertising or venture-capital funding.[12] By 2020, Zerodha reported a self-assessed valuation of approximately US$1 billion.[13][14][15]
Other ventures
In 2015, Kamath founded Rainmatter, a fintech fund and incubator that supports startups working in financial technology.[16] He also co-founded True Beacon, an investment management firm, together with Nikhil Kamath.[17]
Personal life
Nithin Kamath married Seema Patil in 2008[18]. They have a son named Kiaan.[19]
Awards
Top 10 Businessmen in India by The Economic Times (2016)[20]
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