If you’re familiar with the startup scene or closely follow its developments, you’re likely acquainted with Zepto’s young founders, Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra. What might elude your knowledge, however, is that, amid the peak of the pandemic, this dynamic duo, freshly out of their teenage years, may not have found their entrepreneurial footing without a generous grant of Rs 40 lakhs.
Inspired by their remarkable journey, Nikhil Kamath, the co-founder of Zerodha, introduced a novel idea on his podcast: establishing a fund to support aspiring entrepreneurs under the age of 22 who are carving their paths in the realms of home, fashion, beauty, or lifestyle brands.
Kamath’s podcast guests, including the former CEO of Myntra and current founder of Mensa Brands, Ananth Narayanan, the visionary behind Future Group, Kishore Biyani, and the innovative entrepreneur Raj Shamani, enthusiastically embraced the concept, and thus, the “WTF Fund” was born.
This fund boasts a substantial corpus of approximately Rs 80 lakhs, aimed at assisting two entrepreneurs under the age of 22. These entrepreneurs will be chosen after a rigorous evaluation of applications against specific criteria. The application deadline for this opportunity is set for the 16th of October.
A Nielsen study reveals that one out of every two Gen-Z individuals worldwide aspires to become an entrepreneur. Moreover, India’s online shopping landscape comprises a third of Gen-Z consumers, according to a report by Bain and Co. This generation’s digital natives present a vast market for emerging entrepreneurs.
From traditional global retailers to e-commerce platforms, and now the burgeoning startup scene, everyone is racing to cater to the demands of this digitally-savvy and ambitious generation.
To gain insight into the future of the WTF Fund, CNBC-TV18 engaged in a conversation with key figures, including Nikhil Kamath, the Co-Founder of Zerodha, Raj Shamani, the Founder of House of X, and Ananth Narayanan, the Founder of Mensa Brands.
Watch accompanying video for full show.