For me, hope doesn’t just mean thinking that everything will be okay. Hope becomes a strength when it has a clear objective of solving a problem. If you stick to that objective and don’t give up quickly, luck will be on your side when the right time comes. If an entrepreneur says he’s never felt scared, either he hasn’t worked hard enough or he’s not telling the truth. In the initial years of Zerodha, we neither had much money nor any big name. There was uncertainty every day. One thing I learned is that many times in life and business, the biggest advantage comes to the one who has the ability to survive the longest. It is important to be at the right time and right place, but for that you first have to stay in the game. That’s why I always tried to keep expenses low, not to lose my identity and not to change my direction after seeing others’ race. For me, hope does not mean that everything will work out on its own. Hope means that no matter what the outcome is, you never stop taking the next step. This is what will make you successful. My hope for the future of India comes from the founders I meet through Rainmatter. They are working on real problems like climate change, health, savings, investments and deep-tech. But my biggest concern is India’s employment. We have the largest youth population. If we cannot create adequate and meaningful employment for them, then the opportunity can become a challenge. Entrepreneurship should not be limited to big cities only. It should reach small towns and villages. I just want to tell the youth that do not compare yourself with someone else’s timeline. Concern about AI is real, but social media multiplies this fear. AI will change the nature of jobs, but India’s biggest challenge today is to create enough jobs. So I will focus my energy not on worrying, but on learning something new every day. The habit of continuous upskilling, curiosity and learning will be most useful in the future. These 5 things are necessary in Umeed’s portfolio… I always avoid giving advice, because luck has also played a role in my success in business, but these five things must be there in Umeed’s portfolio. 1. Trust. Confidence in India, because I think the world’s biggest opportunities are going to be created here in the next few decades. 2. Skill. So that you can become one percent better every day. 3. Health. If health is not good, achievements have little significance. 4. Relationships. People who sincerely want your success are your most valuable but often overlooked assets. It is important to maintain relationships. 5. Patience. Be it market, business or life, ultimately those who have patience get the most rewards. Stroke was the biggest lesson of life. After the stroke in 2024, I understood very closely what really matters in life. Business continues. The team takes care of its work. In the end, all you are left with is your health, your family and your own life. Good companies are built on trust, patience and problem solving. We started Rainmatter Foundation. Through this we invest in new startups. When I invest in startups through Rainmatter, I don’t first look at how fast the company can grow or what its valuation will be. I look at whether the founder is truly passionate about the problem he or she is working on. In my experience, the founders who last longer are those who work not to build a startup, but to find a solution to a real problem. Only one who loves his work progresses. I’ve also noticed that the strongest companies are often built by the quietest founders. They talk less and work more. At Rainmatter, we have supported more than 160 startups over the years in sectors like climate, health, investments and deep-tech. Our CTO and co-founder Kailash has been working on climate change for a long time. Working with them, I realized that in sectors like agriculture, water and energy, if the right people get capital along with patience, they can make a big difference. Foreign markets are not a magical solution. Through Zerodha, we have opened the way for Indian investors to invest in US stocks through GIFT City. In the coming times, youth will think about investing in different countries and different asset classes. However, foreign markets are not a magical solution. There are risks there too. It is important to understand things like currency fluctuations, taxes and market valuation. AI is also going to change investment. Our partner Kailash also believes that in the future investors will be able to place orders through any AI interface of their choice and the biggest responsibility of the broker will be to provide strong backend infrastructure. AI can analyze data for you, but it cannot decide what your risk appetite is, what your life goals are and how much you should invest. This decision will always have to be taken by the human being. Ultimately, I have always learned that good companies are not built on technology alone. They are built on trust, patience, and persistently trying to solve the right problems. The same principle applies to startups and investments as well.
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