In a headline-grabbing statement that sparked both buzz and backlash, Zepto co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha called out a pervasive flaw in India’s startup culture: a dangerous comfort with “small wins.” According to the 23-year-old founder of India’s fastest-growing delivery startup, many Indian entrepreneurs are thinking too local, too soon.
“We settle way too early. We need founders who think in billions not just funding, but users, impact, and reach,” Palicha said during a fireside chat at a startup leadership forum.
His statement hit a nerve and might just be the reality check the ecosystem needs.
From Fast Deliveries to Fast Truths: Palicha Doesn’t Hold Back
At the helm of Zepto, a 10-minute delivery juggernaut valued at over $1.4 billion, Palicha isn’t new to speed. But this time, he wasn’t delivering groceries he was delivering hard truths.
Palicha questioned why, despite India having 100+ unicorns and the third-largest startup base globally, very few Indian startups have become household names abroad.
“We’ve got the brains, the backing, and the market. What we’re missing is the ambition to build something legendary,” he remarked.
Silicon Valley Thinks in Orbits. India’s Still Thinking in Blocks.
Palicha drew an unapologetic comparison to founders in Silicon Valley and China, where startups aren’t just scaling — they’re aiming to change the very fabric of life through deeptech, frontier AI, and moonshot missions.
“In the US or China, founders start off wanting to dominate entire industries. In India, we often want to solve a neighborhood problem and stop there,” he said.
This mindset, he argues, is India’s greatest startup bottleneck not funding, not talent.
What’s Really Holding Us Back?
Palicha outlined key issues that silently clip the wings of Indian founders:
- Fear of Failure: “We celebrate success but stigmatize struggle. That’s a cultural block.”
- Risk-Averse VCs: Indian investors often push for profitability at the cost of scale.
- Limited Global Vision: Startups optimize for exits, not empires.
- Policy Maze: Bureaucracy still chokes innovation, especially in regulated sectors.
The Zepto Way: Scale Fast, Think Bigger
Zepto’s story is almost startup folklore now: Founded during the pandemic, scaled in months, and raised hundreds of millions while going head-to-head with giants like Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart.
“We weren’t scared to think outrageous. That’s the only way to build something that lasts,” Palicha said, recounting how many advisors told him the 10-minute delivery model was “impossible.”
Now, Zepto is looking beyond groceries — and Palicha believes more Indian founders should be thinking beyond.
Insight Tech Talk’s Take: India’s Got Next But Only If It Dares
Palicha’s mic-drop moment is a challenge to India’s brightest minds: If you can build for 1.4 billion people, you can build for the world.
India doesn’t need more unicorns. It needs legacy companies. It needs global narratives. It needs founders who think like rebels, not just operators.
This is more than ambition. It’s a mindset shift.
So to every founder with global dreams — your moment isn’t in the next round. It’s in the next continent.
