Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath looks at these two things before investing in companies

Having strong economics and creating impact are the two benchmarks investor and entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath considers while investing in companies. “Most ventures can be valued on two benchmarks - one is the economics side and the other is the impact side. When the two come together, they often make great companies,” he said.

Kamath launched stock brokerage firm Zerodha along with his brother Nithin Kamath in 2009. They have also invested in several start-ups through their investment and incubation entities- Rainmatter Climate and Rainmatter fintech.

The Kamath brothers, besides being among the richest entrepreneurs in the country, are also among India’s top 10 philanthropists in personal capacity. Their donations jumped 308 per cent to reach Rs 100 crore in FY22, making them the ninth-largest individual givers in India, according to the EdelGive Hurun Philanthropy List 2022.

Talking about his philanthropic pursuits, Kamath told Business Today, “Doing philanthropy helps you more than it helps the cause. We all have some sense of consciousness or morality deep down.” 

He said doing these kinds of projects soothes one’s own conscience. He also said that for the longest time, they didn’t talk about their endeavours but feel the need to do so now. Why? “Because nothing will happen in isolation,” he clarifies.

Kamath said that with more people coming in, he feels positive about bringing about some change in the issues that beset the society at large.

It takes a lot of effort to move things within the world. So what drives Kamath to undertake different projects one after another? "If I didn’t have something to do every day, I would not be very happy. Hence, I manufacture reasons to start different projects and work every day," he said, adding that he doesn’t like having an idle mind.

Also Read: From Zerodha's Nithin Kamath to Navi's Sachin Bansal: How new players are disrupting India's mutual funds space