“The best description I’ve read about entrepreneurship is that it’s the most intense, relentless grind. It’s not glamorous; it’s about commitment and perseverance. People who romanticize it often underestimate the challenges, but those who love building things find immense satisfaction in the process.”
-Zepto Founders
With the rise of Zepto, one name that came to the front was Kaivalya Vohra, the co-founder of Zepto. Aged 24, Kaivalya has a degree in Computer Engineering and pursued another computer science program from Stanford University in the U.S.
Kaivalya, however, dropped out of Stanford when he realised he wanted to start his own business. At the age of 19, he confounded Zepto along with Aadit Palicha. His first venture was GoPool, which fell through as he was not able to invest his time during his studies.
Entrepreneurial Spirit
Both of the founders have been drawn to building things from a young age. Before this, they worked on smaller projects like carpooling apps. By the time they went to college, they knew they wanted to create something impactful. For them college was almost an excuse to be in the Silicon Valley ecosystem, learning how to build enduring organizations like Airbnb, Amazon, or Dropbox.
The Market Gap
The initial idea of founding Zepto came when Kaivalya was in college. Getting annoyed with the slow delivery time for online orders, he knew he needed to do something about it.
In 2021, it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that he and Aadit Palicha launched Zepto in Mumbai, aiming to meet the surge in demand for rapid delivery. Starting with 1,000 employees and delivery agents, the company tapped into the market gap in online shopping.
Given that they were doing something the competitors weren’t, Zepto’s growth was immediate. Within a month, the company brought in $200 million as people stayed home and relied on delivery services. By the end of the year, Zepto’s valuation had soared to $900 million (around Rs 7,300 crore), making Vohra one of India’s youngest billionaires.
The USP
The founders initially approached the business by scaling a model where deliveries took about 45 minutes. Soon they noticed that certain customers, purely by living closer to our delivery points, were receiving their orders much faster—within 15 or 30 minutes. Their retention rates, NPS (Net Promoter Score), and frequency of usage were significantly higher compared to others.
This led to them examining the data, and for them, the difference was clear. Delivery time had a huge impact. Customers who experienced faster delivery had much better metrics across the board. So, they decided to lean into this insight, reworking their infrastructure to make ultra-fast delivery the standard. It turned out to be a game-changer, leading them to the “groceries in 10 minutes” model.
This was something even BlinkIt and Big Bazaar were not even doing. Kaivalya’s epiphany proved to be a success and today they deliver around 6,000 grocery items within 10 minutes through a vast network of distribution centres across India.
Celebrating Feats
Not many entrepreneurs achieve what Kaivalya has achieved at such a young age. Today, he is one of the youngest billionaires in India and was featured in the 2024 Hurun India Rich List for young entrepreneurs. He was also featured in the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List in 2022 and Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list. His net worth as of today is Rs 3,600 crore.
Today, Zepto is one of the fastest growing companies today and has a valuation of 1.4 Billion. Based out of Bengaluru, Zepto operates across 10 major Indian cities, employing over 1,000 people and offering more than 5,000 products. The company’s inventory includes fresh produce, daily cooking essentials, dairy, and health and hygiene products, among others, all available for rapid delivery.
The valuation of the company has grown since day one due to the clear profitability trajectory. In their most mature markets, they’ve achieved profitability across key metrics. Compared to other models like food delivery or ride-sharing, which are lighter to scale but have tighter unit economics, their model has clearer unit economics.
Plans Ahead
The plan ahead is to focus on scaling and improving the customer experience—expanding into new geographies, enhancing freshness, and ensuring consistency in delivery. They’re building a robust machine and are deeply committed to relentless execution without distractions.
The personal goal is to create a company the founders can look back on with pride—a large, enduring, generational business. On a professional level, it’s about maximizing shareholder value while building something people genuinely want.
Excerpts taken from an interview of Zepto founders with Raj Shamani.
