Understated billionaire

AS KESHRE SETTLES INTO HIS NEW ROLE AS CEO OF A PUBLIC ENTERPRISE, THE MARKET WILL BE WATCHING TO SEE IF HE CAN BUILD A LEGACY THAT BEATS THE NOISE

- ANEES HUSSAIN

MOST ACCOUNTS OF Lalit Keshre, who recently rung the bell to mark Groww's blockbuster debut on the bourses, describe him as the antithesis of the flamboyant tech founder. In an ecosystem often defined by loud valuations and exuberant founders, Keshre remains conspicuously modest and focused on the basics.

Keshre frequently cites a specific interaction with his grandfather during his childhood in Lepa village, Madhya Pradesh, as a defining moment in his character development. In second or third grade, after achieving the first rank in his class, he ran to his grandfather expecting applause and praise. His grandfather simply said, “Good”. That single word seems to have become the operating system for Keshre’s life: Success is not an occasion for hysteria; it is simply the expected output of a well-engineered system.

That same understated demeanour was on display this week as shares of Billionbrains Garage Ventures, Groww’s parent entity, surged post-listing, catapulting the 44-year-old into India’s billionaire club with a net worth estimated at over ₹9,400 crore (over $1 billion). While the street cheered the ₹1 lakh crore market cap, Keshre, characteristically, remains focused on the basics.