Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath opened up about the dynamics of working with his brother Nithin in a recent podcast, shedding light on how India’s most influential fintech siblings divide power, handle egos, and keep their billion-dollar business stable without outside investors.

“But we do completely different things,” Nikhil Kamath said. He focuses on stock markets and investments, while Nithin handles product, broking, and people operations. 

“We don’t get into each other’s way,” he added. “That works for us.”

But harmony didn’t come without structure. From the start, the brothers approached their partnership with formality. “We had everything on paper. We were very much formal—as brothers,” Nikhil explained, noting their early days building Kamath Associates nearly 16 years ago.

The duo has kept the business lean—eschewing outside capital, avoiding debt, and growing Zerodha the “old-school way.” “We’ve run it like a baniya business in the farce of a modern company,” Nikhil said, using the Hindi word for a traditional family-run shop.

Still, conflicts arise. “There are times when egos come into play. There are times when misunderstandings happen,” he admitted. To navigate this, they rely on a clear operational split: “If it’s anything to do with stock markets, investing, or trading, I take the final call. If it’s product, people, or broking—it’s Nithin’s.”

That clarity, along with mutual respect and defined roles, has helped Zerodha scale without the chaos that often accompanies founder duos. In an era of venture-fueled startups burning capital, the Kamath brothers have grown a bootstrapped, profitable business on their own terms—one that’s now synonymous with India’s retail investing boom.