Zerodha, India’s largest stock brokerage, continues to soar, reporting a 21% jump in revenue, reaching an impressive Rs 8,320 crore, along with a staggering 62% increase in profits
This growth has been driven largely by the mass participation of retail investors in the stock market since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, what stands out is not just the numbers but the company’s lean operations. With a workforce of only 1,150 employees, Zerodha’s headcount is minimal compared to other unicorns with similar revenue. Notably, its tech team is comprised of just 35 people, as revealed by Kailash Nadh, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), in a recent interview with Moneycontrol.
“We’ve hired about five people in the tech team in the last four years, with three in the last year. The total strength is now 35 members,” Nadh shared.
What’s more striking is the low turnover rate in Zerodha’s tech team. “Only two members of our tech team have left in the past 10 years,” Nadh said, highlighting the stability within the team.
Despite the limited size of their tech team, Nadh challenged the conventional wisdom that large-scale financial systems require an equally large engineering force. “It is a misconception that the number of people in a tech team must grow in proportion to an organization’s financial transactions, user base, or revenue. A small team can build massive systems,” he added.
However, some platform users seem to have mixed feelings about the company’s tech infrastructure. On social media, comments like “Tabhi to roz koi na koi glitch ate rahte h Zerodha me” (That’s why there’s always some glitch in Zerodha every day) have popped up, hinting at concerns over the platform’s reliability.
Despite these occasional criticisms, Zerodha’s minimalist approach to scaling its tech team appears to be paying off as it delivers impressive financial results.
