CEO of Grow became a billionaire after IPO: Farmer’s son Lalit Keshare started the company in 2016, today he has shares worth ₹ 9,448 crore.

Grow’s co-founder and CEO Lalit Keshare has made his place in the list of India’s billionaires after the company’s IPO. Grow’s shares, which were listed on November 12, have risen more than 70% in four trading days and are trading at ₹170 today.

With this rise in the stock, Keshare’s 9.06% stake is now worth ₹9,448 crore, which is equivalent to about $1.13 billion. This journey of Lalit Keshare, coming from a small village in Madhya Pradesh, has become a new inspiration in the startup world.

Lalit Keshare’s journey from village to IIT Bombay

Lalit Keshare was born in a farmer family in Lepa village of Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh. His father earned his living by farming and Lalit was brought up by his grandparents.

There was a lack of facilities in the village, but he studied in the only English medium school in Khargone. After cracking JEE, he reached IIT Bombay, from where he obtained Bachelor and Masters degree in Technology.

Left Flipkart and started Grow in 2016.

Lalit Keshare’s career started with Flipkart, where he was a Product Manager in the early stage. Then in 2016, he left Flipkart and started Grow. This story of 44 year old Keshar shows that big things can be achieved even from small towns.

Grow was co-founded by four Flipkart veterans – Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Ishan Bansal and Neeraj Singh. His app has so far connected millions of people with the stock market.

Company’s value crosses ₹26,000 crore after IPO

Grow’s IPO was listed on BSE and NSE on November 12. Its issue price was kept at ₹ 100. After the listing, the company’s shares rose 70% in the first two sessions. It is now trading at ₹170 per share, which is the best debut among recent IPOs.

With this, the overall market valuation of the company reached more than ₹26,000 crore due to the founders’ holdings. This performance shows investor confidence in the fintech sector. Grow has planned to invest the funds raised from the IPO in technology and expansion.

Grow made founders rich overnight after listing

After the listing, the value of shares of all the founders of the company has increased. Lalit Keshare holds 55.91 crore shares of the company, which is 9.06% stake. That means now at the price of ₹ 170, the value of the shares held by him has become ₹ 9,448 crore.

The value of co-founder Harsh Jain’s 41.16 crore shares (6.67%) has now reached ₹6,586 crore. Apart from them, Ishan Bansal’s 27.78 crore shares (4.5%) are worth ₹4,444 crore and Neeraj Singh’s 38.32 crore shares (6.21%) are worth ₹6,132 crore. These figures show that Grow has made its founders rich overnight.

The company was started with a mutual fund platform.

The company was valued at $3 billion in the first private valuation, but the public market further strengthened it. The company started as a mutual fund platform, but soon it became a stock trading and investment app. The founders’ experience with Flipkart made it user-friendly.

Grow, ranked among India’s top investment apps, has more than 5 crore users, who easily invest in stocks, mutual funds and gold. The company attracted the youth with its zero brokerage model.

Grow sets benchmark, new era begins for fintech

Experts say that Grow’s IPO is a milestone for fintech startups. An analyst said that this shows that the Indian market can now compete at the global level. Lalit Keshare said in an interview, ‘Our mission is to provide an easy way for every Indian to invest. Becoming a billionaire is a byproduct, our focus will be on the users.

Company keeping an eye on wealth management and global expansion

With the IPO funds, Grow will launch wealth management services and enter international markets. Experts estimate that if the performance continues, the share price may soon cross ₹200.