THE UNICORN OUT FOR DELIVERY

Within two years of launch, Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra's quick commerce platform Zepto became the first unicorn of 2023. Its 20-something founders also debuted in the 2022 IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List

- Vinita Bhatia

Mumbai’s Isha Lodha calls Zepto a lifesaver. “I was so used to visiting my local fruit and vegetable vendor in Andheri’s Lokhandwala market for daily supplies that the series of Covidinduced lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 came as a rude shock,” she recalls. That was when she learnt about the quick commerce app that promised delivery of grocery and other items within 10 minutes. Today, Zepto has become a way of life in her household.

According to a market report by Bobble AI Data Intelligence Division, Zepto witnessed a 946% user growth between December 2021 and March 2022. On the other hand, bigger brands like Reliance-owned Dunzo and Tata Group’s Big Basket clocked 94% and 58% growth, respectively.

Starting Young

Zepto was founded in 2021 by two 19-year-old Stanford dropouts Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra. Originally from Mumbai, Palicha and Vohra are childhood friends. Their parents moved to Dubai when the boys were young.

Vohra, also the chief technology officer of Zepto, started programming when he was around 11, aiming to work at a leading tech company in Silicon Valley. Palicha designed GoPool as a student project that would help parents find and schedule carpools for their school-going children. While he had earlier considered a career in law and then professional gaming, he found his calling in entrepreneurship when he stumbled on YCombinator Startup School sessions.

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