Hey everyone,
Two days ago I asked this community about the broker discovery problem in India. The responses genuinely shifted my thinking and I wanted to share what I’ve learned and ask a harder question.
Three things stood out from the feedback:
First — sophisticated investors have already solved this for themselves. Google, YouTube, word of mouth. They don’t need a platform. This told me my actual target user is the first timer who feels lost and doesn’t know who to trust.
Second — trust is more complex than I assumed. One person said they trust Zerodha and Fyers specifically because the founders are publicly wealthy and bootstrapped — meaning they’re not under pressure from VCs to cut corners. That’s a trust signal no rating system can easily replicate.
Third — physical presence still matters deeply. People want to know there’s an office they can walk into if something goes wrong. A purely digital profile isn’t enough.
But here’s the bigger question that emerged from reaching out to brokers directly:
Several firms I contacted had already shut down their broking operations entirely. Which made me wonder — with zero brokerage platforms dominating, is there still a real sustainable business in independent broking in India? Or are human advisers only viable at the very high end for HNI clients?
Would love honest perspectives from anyone who has been in this space long enough to see how it has changed.
Thanks,
Sanketh
