How a 23-Year-Old Stanford Dropout Became India’s Grocery Delivery King with Zepto!

Here is the story of a young, inspiring, and successful entrepreneur who started a unicorn startup all of a sudden and raised its net worth to $100 million within months. This is Aadit Palicha, the CEO of Zepto, the quickest online grocery delivery app in India, founded in 2021.

Who is Aadit Palicha?

Aadit Palicha is the co-founder and CEO of Zepto, India’s quickest grocery delivery app. He has become well-known under the name of Zepto, but he also earned the tagline of “a Stanford dropout” years ago. However, we shouldn’t underestimate what a Stanford dropout can achieve in this competitive era of technology.

Aadit’s Early Life

He was born on October 5, 2001, in Mumbai, and later his family moved to the United Arab Emirates. There, he completed his schooling at GEMS Modern Academy, Dubai, which not only provided academic enhancement but also fostered personal growth. After that, he earned an IB Diploma in Mathematics and Computer Science.

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After high school, Aadit gained admission to Stanford University for Computer Engineering. As he continued, he realized his immense passion for business and entrepreneurship, leading him to make a very crucial decision: he left Stanford without completing his degree. That was the moment he began to chase his dreams, and now those dreams are blooming.

Family as a Core Support System

Behind every successful person, there is often a great supporting family, and Aadit is no exception. He has a nuclear family consisting of his father, mother, and younger brother. His father, Kavit Palicha, is an engineer and Aadit’s best well-wisher. He always encouraged Aadit to pursue his dreams and even invested in Zepto, trusting Aadit’s vision.

Aadit’s mother, Urvashi Palicha, is the CEO of Search Point, a company that helps recruit professionals in finance, technology, and banking. She serves as Aadit’s mentor for business-related doubts and questions. Aadit has a younger brother named Ishaan, who supports him and is very proud of his brother’s achievements so far.

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With such a beautiful and supportive family, Aadit could confidently face all challenges and chase his dreams.

His First Venture

From a very young age, Aadit has shown a curiosity for business and technology. His entrepreneurial journey started at the age of nine with his very first venture called GoPool. He co-founded this mobile application, which was launched to help parents in Dubai coordinate carpools for their children.

Although it was a very small start, it brought Aadit closer to the world of business and taught him the basics of technology.

The Story Behind Zepto

This success story began during the greatest pandemic of all time in India—the COVID-19 outbreak. During this time, everyone was stuck at home and unable to go grocery shopping, a challenge particularly faced by many bachelors.

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Two childhood friends, both dropouts from Stanford University, were looking for a solution: Kaivalya Vohra and Aadit Palicha, two teenagers with innovative minds. They came up with the idea of an online grocery delivery app that could deliver within 10 minutes, and thus Zepto was born.

Zepto has seen impressive growth, serving 10 major cities with 1,000+ employees. They deliver more than 5,000 products, revolutionizing the Indian grocery sector with 10-minute delivery, advanced tech, and optimized centers. Within months of launching, Zepto gained recognition, securing a valuation of $570 million within five months, and as of 2024, Zepto’s valuation is reported to be $5 billion.

Net Worth Matters!

According to the Hurun Rich List of 2024, Aadit Palicha is among the top youngest billionaires in India at the age of 23, with a reported net worth of 4,300 crores. Co-founder Kaivalya Vohra also made the list with a net worth of 3,600 crores.

This reflects his hard work and dedication to entrepreneurship at such a young age. In the future, we can expect even more growth in his net worth, which will also reflect the growth of the Indian technological and business sectors.