Zerodha hired only 5 techies in 4-years? CTO explains why
Zerodha, a popular online stock trading company in India, has taken a really picky approach when it comes to hiring for its tech team. In the last four years, it has only brought in five new faces to this team. Zerodha's Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Kailash Nadh, shared this info. He also pointed out that three of these hires happened just last year.
Close-knit work environment prioritized over rapid expansion
Nadh highlighted that Zerodha's priority is on creating a close-knit, collaborative workplace, rather than chasing after speedy growth. He shared that the tech team now has 35 members, and only two of them have left in the last 10 years. Nadh characterized the team as "a group of people who hang out with each other, who have the right philosophies, who gel well with each other."
Zerodha's culture values human decency and relationship building
Nadh said that Zerodha's vibe is all about being decent and building strong relationships. He thinks there's no one-size-fits-all formula for this approach. He pointed out that many companies these days are hiring aggressively as if it's the default way to grow, and he finds that pretty worrying. He also took a trip down memory lane, recalling how software teams were much leaner 10-15 years ago, without needing to bring on board hundreds of programmers.
'Small teams can build massive systems'
The Zerodha CTO backed the idea that a company can stick to its current structure, and still expand with just a small team. He wasn't on board with the thought that a tech or engineering team's size has to grow in tandem with the organization's financial transactions, user base, or revenue. "It is absolutely possible for a really small team to build massive systems that scale to really massive numbers," he said.
