Four former Flipkart employees built Groww into India's largest investment platform, making investing simple for millions of Indians.
From bootstrapping an investment startup to building India’s largest investing platform, here’s the inspiring story behind Groww’s incredible success.
Written by TFN Research Desk | covering startups, technology, venture capital, and business strategy.
Quick Facts
Lalit Keshre: Alma mater: IIT Bombay, B.Tech in Electrical/Microelectronics Engineering. Occupation: Co-founder and CEO, Groww (Billionbrains Garage Ventures); founded Eduflix earlier; former senior product manager at Flipkart. (Groww Blog)
Harsh Jain: Alma mater: IIT Delhi, M.Tech; MBA from UCLA/XLRI. Occupation: Co-founder and COO, Groww; former Flipkart product management team.
Ishan Bansal: Alma mater: BITS Pilani; MBA in Finance from XLRI Jamshedpur; CFA charterholder. Occupation: Co-founder and CFO, Groww; former Flipkart corporate development.
Neeraj Singh: Alma mater: ITM Gwalior (B.E.), PG Diploma from CDAC. Occupation: Co-founder and CTO, Groww; former Flipkart engineering manager.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- The Groww Story
- Business Model
- Funding and IPO History
- Revenue and Recent Performance
- Groww vs Competitors
- Key Takeaways
- FAQs
Introduction
Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Ishan Bansal, and Neeraj Singh, four Flipkart colleagues who bonded over a shared frustration with investing in India, built Groww into the country’s largest investment platform by active users. Nine years after quitting stable jobs to bootstrap the company, Groww listed on the BSE and NSE in November 2025 as one of India’s most closely watched fintech IPOs.
The Groww Story
The four founders met at Flipkart and quit in 2016 after noticing that despite India’s 400 million-plus internet users, only a small fraction participated in financial markets, largely because existing platforms were either too complex or catered only to high-net-worth individuals. (OrangeOwl) Coming from non-finance backgrounds, they pooled their savings and bootstrapped Groww, launching operations in 2017 as a direct mutual fund distribution platform before expanding into stocks, ETFs, digital gold, and IPO access by 2020. (Golden; Sugermint)
Business Model
Groww operates a direct-to-customer digital model, eliminating branches and relationship managers to offer stocks, derivatives, mutual funds, bonds, margin trading, and personal loans at scale with minimal marginal cost. (Liquide) Broking remains its core revenue driver, contributing roughly 85 percent of FY25 revenue from operations, with the company also expanding into Groww Credit, an asset management arm, and “W,” a wealth vertical targeting high-net-worth individuals. (Groww)
Funding and IPO History
Groww raised roughly $393 million in total private funding before its IPO, from investors including Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital India, Ribbit Capital, and Y Combinator Continuity Fund. (Chittorgarh) The company, operating under parent entity Billionbrains Garage Ventures, listed on the BSE and NSE on November 12, 2025, raising approximately ₹6,632 crore through a fresh issue and offer for sale priced at ₹95-100 per share; the issue was subscribed 17.6 times overall. (mStock)
Revenue and Recent Performance
Groww posted FY25 revenue of ₹3,901.7 crore, up 49 percent year-over-year, with a net profit of ₹1,824 crore and margins around 59 percent. (mStock) The company continued that momentum into FY26, with Q1 profit surging to ₹378 crore and full-year FY25-26 results showing 19 percent revenue growth and 14 percent PAT growth. (Groww) SEBI’s October 2024 derivatives framework did dent activity, with active broking users falling from 7.24 million to 6.12 million between Q1 FY25 and Q1 FY26, though Groww’s diversification into margin trading and commodity derivatives helped offset the impact. (Groww IPO page)
Groww vs Competitors
Groww’s most direct rivals are Zerodha and Upstox in discount broking, and listed peers like Angel One in the wider wealth-tech space. Groww holds an edge in raw user scale, but faces intensifying competitive pricing pressure and potential regulatory curbs on futures and options trading that could affect the broader discount-broking sector, not just Groww specifically.
Key Takeaways
- Four ex-Flipkart employees bootstrapped Groww in 2016, growing it into India’s largest investment platform by active NSE users.
- The company raised roughly $393 million privately before its November 2025 IPO, which was subscribed 17.6 times.
- FY25 revenue reached ₹3,901.7 crore with a net profit of ₹1,824 crore, a rare profitable listing among Indian new-age fintechs.
- Broking contributes about 85 percent of revenue, though Groww is actively diversifying into lending, asset management, and wealth products.
- SEBI’s 2024 derivatives framework reduced active broking users, a regulatory risk shared across the discount-broking industry.
FAQs
Who founded Groww?
Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Ishan Bansal, and Neeraj Singh, all former Flipkart employees, founded it in 2016.
Is Groww profitable?
Yes, it posted a net profit of ₹1,824 crore in FY25 with roughly 59 percent margins.
When did Groww go public?
It listed on the BSE and NSE on November 12, 2025.
Who are Groww’s competitors?
Zerodha, Upstox, and Angel One in India’s discount broking and wealth-tech space.
© The Founder Nation | Written by TFN Research Desk
