Ask a young college student about her career plans and chances are that she is dreaming about becoming an entrepreneur. This is expected in a country that boasts over 100,000 start-ups with nearly a 100 Unicorns, valued at over a billion dollars. Most metro and tier-1 colleges in India have vibrant entrepreneurial cells fuelling the start-up dreams of students.
And yet, many of the Unicorns that are growing at a fast clip are making losses. Most internet-related businesses are loss-making. But there are some honourable exceptions. Dhruv Nath focuses on these exceptions, bringing alive the stories of four phenomenal founders and their profitable unicorns — Naukri, Zerodha, Dream11 and Zoho — in his third book on start-ups The Earnicorns. He has coined the catchy term “earnicorn” to refer to “Unicorns that earn money”.
Nath, a computer scientist from IIT Delhi, who was involved in software consultancy NIIT during the pre-PC era is not new to coining terms. In the late 1990s, a new educational programme he developed for children was called LEDA, an acronym for Learning through Exploration, Discovery, and Adventure. Known for his witty anecdotes-laden conversational style, he deploys it to good effect in the book to craft engaging narratives about the four ‘earnicorns’.
Driven by passion, and a clear focus on solving a problem, these founders are focused on making profits consistently without depending on investor money because they chase the business, and not valuations! The book focuses on these founders and their early struggles in setting up the business.
Doing the unthinkable
Take the inspiring story of how Sridhar Vembu of Zoho, a global leader in SaaS products, transformed rural Tamil Nadu by recruiting young school students and nurturing them into star programmers. Vembu had always believed in hiring people with potential and the will to succeed, even if they did not have a degree. In 2004, Zoho did something unthinkable — it launched Zoho Schools, taking in bright youngsters straight out of Class 12, training them, and absorbing most of them into the company after two years. Many of these recruits came from rural, low-income households — young people who could not afford further education due to financial constraints.
This initiative had a profound social impact. The students were highly motivated because Zoho Schools had given them an opportunity that they had previously been denied. This made them productive employees, which led to lower operational costs. This approach is one of the major reasons Zoho has remained profitable. Vembu also built a unique company culture, making Zoho’s products affordable for global customers through innovative pricing.
Taking on the biggies
Then you have the story of Nithin Kamath, founder of Zerodha, who took on big brokerage houses like ICICI Direct and HDFC Securities in 2010 by charging a flat brokerage fee of ₹20, compared to the misleading percentage-based fees charged by others. Interestingly, Kamath never took external funding, famously saying, “We did not TAKE money, so we had to MAKE money.” He managed this by controlling costs and spending very little on marketing. Nithin and his brother overcame their lack of pedigree, tech background, and experience with a deep passion for capital markets and a genuine intent to help others. While telling the story of Zerodha, Nath also humorously explains stock trading concepts, making it understandable even to lay people.
Fostering trust
And of course, there’s Ivy League-educated Harsh Jain, the founder and CEO of Dream11, a fantasy sports firm. Dream11’s headquarters is called a stadium — complete with a football field, goalpost, and Astroturf flooring. Jain wanted to create a sports culture within the organisation, so he didn’t just recruit programmers — he recruited programmers who were passionate about sports. Like Kamath and Vembu, he also fostered a strong sense of trust within his team.
For instance, during the Covid pandemic, when there were no matches and therefore no fantasy sports, the company’s revenues plummeted. Yet, Dream11 did not resort to mass lay-offs, a strategy commonly followed by many internet companies. Jain famously said, “During good times, you have looked after the company. Now during bad times, the company will look after you.” This phenomenal trust has kept team members loyal to Dream11, contributing to an annual employee turnover of just 4 per cent, a remarkable achievement for an internet company.
Frugal mindset
And then, of course, we have the highly respected Sanjeev Bikhchandani of InfoEdge (Naukri.com), who has always championed the idea of running a frugal business. So committed was he to this principle that he started his company with second-hand computers and furniture, operating out of the servants’ quarters in his father’s house. InfoEdge’s co-founder Hitesh Oberoi, who came from Hindustan Unilever, also has the same frugal mindset and Nath describes how his first car was a Daewoo Matiz, one of the smallest and lowest-cost cars in the Indian market then. Today, InfoEdge boasts several thriving internet ventures, including 99acres, Shiksha, and Jeevansathi.
The racily and quirkily written book delves into how these founders built their businesses, fended off competition, created a company culture that fostered employee loyalty, and provided exceptional customer service that kept clients coming back. It also highlights how they managed to run frugal operations, enabling them to turn a profit year after year. In essence, it reveals the secrets behind how these founders built their “earnicorns”.
About the Book
Title: The EARNICORNS: Stories of Rare, Profitable Unicorns: Naukri.com, Zerodha, Dream 11, Zoho
Author: Dhruv Nath
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 301
Price: ₹499
The reviewer is a senior strategic communications professional