Zepto co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha said on Monday, October 21, that their success, with a market valuation of $5 billion, was driven by a passion for building a transformative company rather than just seeking wealth.
We worked 80-100 hours a week in Zepto – Aadit Palicha
At the NDTV World Summit, 22-year-old Zepto co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha shared that the team works 80-100 hours a week out of excitement for building the platform, not for financial gain. “We love what we’re building, we work like crazy, we just are genuinely so excited about what we’re building. It’s not really about money or personal wealth, because candidly, working 80-100 hours a week, we could have probably worked half of that with a lot less stress…At a certain point, money becomes inconsequential,” said Palicha, a Stanford University dropout.
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However, he noted that while many global internet companies have reached valuations in the tens of billions, India hasn’t seen similar success yet. He highlighted the difference between India’s startup scene and cities like Shanghai, which have a larger market cap. He believes Zepto can change this by creating a world-class internet company that generates significant cash flow and adds immense value to the startup ecosystem.
Zepto to introduce AI for better users accessibility
“We think we have a shot at really building out an exciting company, and if we do it, there’s a huge amount of value that we’ll add–not just to shareholders, capital markets, but to the startup ecosystem at large,” he said. He added that the quick-commerce unicorn is working on adding artificial intelligence (AI) to its search features and customer service to offer a personalised experience for customers.
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“Search is one of the biggest things that we focus on. How can I, looking at your search history, personalise results for you so that you are getting relevant products? If you sit in Defense Colony versus if you sit in West Delhi, or if you’ve got an iPhone versus you have an Oppo phone there’s a difference in what you want to see, right?
“If you’ve looked at feminine hygiene products that means you’re probably a female customer, so maybe we can push products that are more relevant to you,” he said. He added that the firm is constantly improving this to enhance the user’s buying experience.
Palicha said this will truly benefit customers. “As we speak, we’re working on a Generative AI solution for customer support. Instead of waiting 30-45 seconds for a human response, why don’t you (customer) wait two seconds, and a generative AI chatbot will respond to you, and do a better job candidly than even a human could do in that format,” he added.
