Key facts
- Zerodha has restarted its referral program following regulatory clarity.
- Founder Nithin Kamath stated that referrals and word-of-mouth have been significant growth drivers.
- The program offers referrers 10% of the brokerage generated by referred customers.
- Kamath estimated that over 50% of Zerodha's growth has come from word-of-mouth, with attributed referrals previously around 30%.
- The reinstated benefits apply to both new and past referrers.
Discount brokerage firm Zerodha has relaunched its referral program after receiving regulatory clarity, according to founder Nithin Kamath. He emphasized that word-of-mouth recommendations have been a primary driver of the company's growth since its inception.
Kamath explained that Zerodha initially launched the referral program due to a lack of funds for advertising. Under the program, clients who referred new users received 10% of the brokerage generated by those referrals for as long as the referred customers continued trading. Before the program was discontinued in 2024 due to exchange regulations, nearly 30% of Zerodha's accounts were acquired through referrals.