Zerodha has become an unlikely media powerhouse, with its content ecosystem now reaching more people than its core product serves!
Every brand aspires to be a media company these days, but Zerodha actually pulled it off.
Their approach broadly mirrors Red Bull’s: build a publisher to own a cultural space around the product.
Red Bull does this with action sports storytelling; Zerodha with finance education, embedding the brand as the trusted source rather than an interruptive advertiser.
This is a distinctly long-term play. Indian brokerages are cyclical businesses - revenues and user growth swing wildly with market sentiment. Zerodha's consistent educational presence builds mindshare that persists through downturns.
Consider this from another angle: At a sufficient scale, Zerodha's content operations could function as standalone media businesses. With millions of subscribers, established creator networks, and diverse revenue potential through sponsorships, partnerships and events, these properties could theoretically spin off as distinct entities.
This optionality also showcases an intriguing experiment. Can trust built as a moat in one vertical (brokerage) extend into adjacencies (media)? Zerodha appears to be testing this hypothesis.
It maintains rigorous educational standards without pushy sales tactics across its content ecosystem. If these properties can thrive independently, it validates trust as not just a defensive moat but an offensive platform for expansion.