Nikhil Kamath has crucial advice for under-25 founders and it’s not about funding

Nikhil Kamath advised young founders to build the skill of story-telling.

Zerodha co-founder and billionaire entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath recently sat down with a group of founders under the age of 25 for a podcast-style conversation, offering candid insights into what it takes to build and scale businesses at a young age. While the discussion covered multiple aspects of entrepreneurship, Kamath’s advice on communication and negotiation stood out.

Addressing the young founders, Kamath stressed the importance of storytelling as a core life and business skill. He said the ability to clearly articulate what one is building and why it matters, can make a decisive difference, especially while pitching products or ideas. According to him, founders should be able to summarise their work in a single line and build a compelling narrative around it, adding that storytelling helps not just professionally but also in personal interactions.

Kamath openly admitted that storytelling did not come naturally to him. He shared how he actively worked to improve the skill by hiring a speech coach. Recalling the experience, he said the coach, a communication expert from Israel who has trained several US politicians, spent a week mentoring him. During the sessions, Kamath was stripped of all digital distractions and made to write extensively by hand—an exercise he described as challenging but transformative.

The Zerodha co-founder also urged young entrepreneurs to develop strong negotiation skills, calling it another critical tool for founders looking to scale. He said negotiation is often less about ideas and more about people, noting that disagreements usually stem from perceptions of the individual presenting the idea rather than the idea itself.

Kamath explained that understanding who is likely to agree or disagree with you before entering a negotiation is crucial. He pointed out that preconceived notions, whether someone likes or dislikes you play a significant role in how your ideas are received. For founders, recognising these dynamics early can help them navigate conversations more effectively.

He added that when faced with outright criticism of a business idea, founders should respond with caution and clarity rather than defensiveness. Projecting thoughtfulness and balance, Kamath said, is essential when discussing business decisions, especially in high-stakes negotiations.

Through the conversation, Kamath emphasised that while ambition and speed matter for young founders, skills like storytelling, negotiation and self-awareness often determine how far those ambitions can realistically go.