The story of Groww and its CEO, Lalit Keshre, is nothing short of inspirational. From his humble beginnings in a small village in Madhya Pradesh to steering India’s retail investment platform into a strong IPO debut, Keshre’s journey captures the essence of ambition, resilience and innovation. Backed by global heavyweights and driven by a clear mission, Groww’s rise under his leadership is being celebrated industry-wide.
In this blog—presented by Vizzve Finance—we walk through the key milestones, strategies, challenges and lessons from this remarkable journey.
Early Life & Roots
Lalit Keshre grew up in a modest setting in a village in Madhya Pradesh. According to reports, his early schooling environment was limited, prompting his family to make sacrifices so he could pursue quality education.
He went on to study engineering at IIT Bombay, leveraging that foundation to enter the tech ecosystem. Before founding Groww, he worked at Flipkart, where he learned how technology and scale can transform user experience.
These formative years instilled in him a blend of technical competence, customer-centric thinking and awareness of opportunity—ingredients that would later shape Groww’s culture.
Founding Groww and Mission
Groww was founded in 2016 by Lalit Keshre along with his co-founders: Harsh Jain, Neeraj Singh and Ishan Bansal—all part of a team dedicated to simplifying investing for India’s retail audience.
Early on, the mission was clear: make investing simple, transparent and delightful. As Keshre put it, the goal was to bring first-time investors into the fold.
Starting as a mutual funds platform, Groww gradually expanded into equities, IPOs, ETFs, digital gold and derivatives. This evolution allowed the company to scale rapidly in India’s wealthtech ecosystem.
Growth, Strategy & Market Position
Rapid Expansion & User Growth
Although Groww’s initial revenues were modest (operating revenue in the early years remained very low) the focus was on building a strong user base.
By 2023 – 24, Groww had already overtaken many competitors and cemented itself as one of the largest digital brokers in India.
Customer-First & Lean Approach
One of Keshre’s core beliefs: remain close to the user. In interviews he has said that the company still handles customer support, listens hard to feedback and iterates fast.
That lean, tech-driven and feedback-oriented model is credited with driving organic growth rather than heavy conventional advertising.
Timing and Market Dynamics
The timing of Groww’s pivot into broking (stocks and derivatives) was opportune: when trading activity soared during the pandemic, the platform was ready to scale.
At the same time, the company expanded its product suite and leveraged a strong user experience to gain word-of-mouth momentum.
The IPO Milestone
Groww’s public listing is a major chapter in its story. According to multiple sources:
Groww is set to become one of India’s youngest new-age wealthtech companies to list, founded only in 2016.
The IPO was sized at approximately ₹6,600 crore, with a price band of around ₹95-100 per share, valuing the company at over ₹60,000 crore.
On listing day, shares opened sharply above the issue price (news reports indicated strong market debut).
This debut is not merely financial—it validates Groww’s model, the vision of its founding team and the opportunity in India’s retail investment ecosystem.
Why This Journey Matters
Democratization of investing: Groww’s platform lowered barriers for Indians to participate in mutual funds, stocks and other wealth creation avenues.
Tech + trust: The model built trust by focusing on user experience, simple onboarding and transparent fees—critical in financial services.
Scaling from modest roots: Lalit Keshre’s personal journey—from rural Madhya Pradesh to CEO of a listed entity—is motivational and exemplifies what can be achieved with opportunity and execution.
Macro tailwinds: With India’s financial markets deepening, digital broking gaining traction and younger demographics entering investing, Groww’s timing is powerful.
Challenges Ahead
While the company’s trajectory is impressive, Groww faces some headwinds:
A large portion of revenue is still concentrated in trading and broking (derivatives) rather than recurring wealth-management fees.
Intense competition in fintech/wealthtech and looming regulatory dynamics in derivatives and brokerage.
Maintaining growth momentum after the IPO, diversifying revenue sources and keeping customer experience excellent.
Keshre himself has emphasized that the IPO is just the beginning—not the end. The work ahead is to build a lasting institution.
Key Takeaways & Lessons for Founders
Start with a strong mission: Making investing accessible for millions gave Groww a clear north-star.
Stay close to the user: Listening to feedback, supporting users directly and keeping UX simple pays off.
Timing matters—but execution matters more: Being early helps, but readiness to scale counts.
Lean beginnings build discipline: Groww’s early years in a funding-challenged environment taught cost discipline and focus.
Use tech as an enabler: Building the stack in-house and iterating fast supported scale and product breadth.
Think long-term: The IPO is a milestone—what follows defines longevity.
FAQ
Q1. Who is Lalit Keshre?
Lalit Keshre is the co-founder and CEO of Groww. He studied engineering at IIT Bombay and earlier worked at Flipkart. He co-founded Groww in 2016 with Harsh Jain, Neeraj Singh and Ishan Bansal.
Q2. What is Groww’s origin story?
Groww began in 2016 as a direct mutual fund investment platform targeting first-time investors. It was founded in Bengaluru and leveraged technology to democratize investing.
Q3. How did Groww become successful so quickly?
Several factors contributed: simplicity of product, technology-first approach, strong user experience, timely expansion into stock broking and derivatives, and focusing on underserved retail segments.
Q4. What special about Groww’s IPO?
Groww’s IPO marks one of the first major listings of a new-age wealthtech platform in India. It garnered strong investor demand, delivered a strong debut share price, and validated the change in India’s investing ecosystem.
Q5. What are the risks for Groww after IPO?
Risks include heavy reliance on trading revenue (which can be cyclical), regulatory changes especially in derivatives, competitive pressure in fintech and wealthtech, and the need to diversify into wealth management and higher-margin businesses.
Q6. What can entrepreneurs learn from Lalit Keshre’s journey?
Entrepreneurs can draw inspiration in many ways: humble beginnings don’t limit ambition; strong product vision plus user obsession leads to scale; timing helps but consistent execution wins; and building for the long-term matters more than short-term hype.
Published on : 12TH November
Published by : SARANYA
Source Credit ; Bhavya Sukheja
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