Vikas

Caption this @elonmusk

Today we celebrate Team @_groww often called the Charles Schwab or Robinhood of India — now the largest stock brokerage platform in the country, built in just 5 short years. 🇮🇳📈 Lalit, Harsh, Ishan, and Neeraj started Groww after leaving Flipkart in 2016 with one goal: make investing easy for Indians.  They launched mutual funds in 2017. At Series B, Groww had $0.7M ARR; by Series C in 2020, $2M ARR — all from mutual funds alone. Stocks hadn’t even launched yet. Then came liftoff: from $2M ARR in 2020 to $450M in revenue with 45%+ net income margins in just five years. From 55K monthly users in 2019 → #1 brokerage in India today with 26% market share and 10M+ active users. How? Culture, focus, and execution — all shaped by the founders. @lkeshre is one of the best product minds in the world. He’s in hundreds of WhatsApp groups with tens of thousands of users. When asked about competition, he’d say, “I don’t look at them.” His only focus: remove friction so young Indians can invest confidently with the relevant information. In the early days we often questioned TAM ( there were only 10M equity buyers in India) Lalit replied: “Small TAMs are the result of products with high friction” He was right — Groww expanded the market itself. A few lessons I’ve learned from Lalit: • Deeply understand the customer : Lalit is in command of the business because he is still deeply in touch with the customers and understands their needs more than anyone. You won't see him publicly or in interviews as he operates with a very simple principle - stay under the radar, execute and over deliver. Your work should speak for itself • Stellar clarity of thought. When we led the Series C at YC , we sent him our valuation memo ($1–1.5B base, $3B upside). He replied with a 6-page teardown explaining why we were wrong on TAM — backed by data and A/B tests. Keep in mind that stocks hadn't even launched yet but he was right about the path it would take once launched. • Be disciplined. When every consumer company advertised during IPL (the equivalent of a Superbowl ad), Lalit refused — “He refused to spend as much money to acquire customers for an investing product where retention was of utmost importance. He also wanted his customers to understand the pros and cons of investing and take the time to onboard and trade. That relentless clarity defines Groww’s culture. @_harshjain26  is Groww’s backbone — he built the regulatory and risk foundation that allowed the company to scale safely across mutual funds, stocks, F&O, credit, and insurance. In a sector where many moved fast and broke things, Harsh ensured Groww moved fast but with strong reliability and compliance.  Neeraj architected the platform and culture behind engineering. He hired young engineers from top colleges and taught them to think like owners. His bias for simplicity — fewer clicks, faster load, zero friction — made Groww one of the most reliable consumer apps in India, even on peak trading days. @ishanishu has been the quiet engine of financial discipline. As CFO from day one, he ensured every product line was self-sustaining and every decision grounded in unit economics. Thanks to Ishan, Groww is that rare fintech — both category leader and consistently profitable. It’s rare anywhere in the world to see four founders work this well together — from start to IPO — and still go strong. Many US LPs have asked me if Indian investments would ever make money. Ecosystems take time — but here’s Groww, returning capital many times over and returning at least two US funds fully and likely delivering one of the best IRRs of the decade (Launching Stocks in 2020 → IPO in 2025). It’s been a privilege of a lifetime to be part of this journey @nshalek, @dvbydt & I often joked it was one of the easiest boards to be on. Team Groww - you deserve all the credit - not just for Groww, but for the next decade of Indian founders you would have inspired.