Article · 5 min read

Zerodha now has over 1.6 Cr users without advertising

Inc42 Staff · Inc42 Free Intermediate India

A real Indian case study of brand and trust built with zero ad spend, proof that product, transparency and word of mouth beat a marketing budget.

  • Zerodha grew to crores of users with no advertising
  • Roughly a third of users came via referrals from existing customers
  • Transparency, a great product, and free education (Varsity) built the brand
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It answers 2 questions

  1. How did Indian brands like Zerodha build trust without huge ad budgets?
  2. How do I build content and an audience the Indian way, like the founders who do it well?

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