Every now and then, an idea comes along that feels less like an iteration and more like a complete teardown of the old way of doing things. That's exactly the vibe I'm getting from The Foundery, a brand-new venture from two of India's most talked-about business minds: Zerodha's billionaire co-founder, Nikhil Kamath, and the man who reshaped Indian retail, Kishore Biyani. They've teamed up to create what they call a "co-founder factory," a 90-day, all-in, residential program designed not just to teach entrepreneurship, but to forge entrepreneurs in the fires of actually building a business.
Key Highlights
- ✓ A new 90-day residential entrepreneurship programme called The Foundery launched in Alibaug.
- ✓ Backed by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath and Future Group's Kishore Biyani.
- ✓ Participants pay no tuition fees and instead receive capital and mentorship.
- ✓ Founders retain up to 25% equity in the consumer brands they help build.
- ✓ Successful ventures are eligible for seed funding of up to ₹4 crore.
- ✓ Mentors include titans like Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm and Kunal Bahl of Snapdeal.
This isn't just another accelerator or incubator. The Foundery is a direct, unapologetic challenge to the traditional path to business leadership, most notably the high-priced MBA. Instead of paying hefty tuition for classroom theory, participants get their hands dirty building real consumer brands from day one, with capital, mentorship, and a potential stake in the outcome. Here’s why this might be one of the most interesting experiments in the Indian startup ecosystem today.
The Big Idea: A Direct Challenge to the MBA
Let's be clear: this project didn't come out of nowhere. For months, Nikhil Kamath has been vocal about his skepticism towards traditional, expensive MBA programs. In one podcast appearance, he bluntly questioned their relevance, and with The Foundery, he's putting his money where his mouth is. He even took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce it, cheekily referring to himself as "an idiot I know" who said MBAs might be a bad idea, before unveiling this radical alternative.
His quote on the program’s philosophy says it all: "Most of what we call education was built for a world that doesn’t exist anymore. It teaches people to fit in when progress comes from those who don’t. MBAs create managers. We need people who can build, break, fail and rebuild." This is the core thesis of The Foundery. It’s a bet that the future belongs not to managers who can optimize existing systems, but to builders who can create new ones from scratch. The world of startups, especially in the fast-moving consumer space, values speed, resilience, and practical execution over theoretical frameworks.
What this tells us is that the very definition of "business education" is up for debate. For decades, the MBA was the gold standard. But in an era where a teenager with a laptop can build a global app, the value of a two-year, high-cost degree is being seriously questioned. The Foundery is positioning itself as the answer for a new generation that values experience over credentials and action over theory.
Forging Founders Through Experience, Not Theory
Kishore Biyani, a veteran of building consumer empires from the ground up, echoes this sentiment. "This isn’t a classroom or an incubator," he stated. "It’s a live business-building environment where entrepreneurs learn by creating, testing, failing, and evolving." The emphasis on "failing" is critical. Traditional education often penalizes failure, whereas the startup world sees it as a necessary part of the innovation process. By creating a safe, yet intense, environment to experiment, The Foundery aims to compress years of trial-and-error into just three months.
The "Skin in the Game" Model: Flipping the Financial Script
Here's where things get really disruptive. The financial model of The Foundery is a complete inversion of traditional education. Instead of applicants paying a fortune, The Foundery invests in them. The estimated cost per participant is around ₹10 lakh for the three-month residency, but the candidates pay nothing for it. They don't take on debt; they are given an opportunity.
In exchange for their time, talent, and commitment, selected participants get to be co-founders. They will retain up to 25% equity in the businesses they help create. This is the ultimate "skin in the game" model. It aligns the incentives of everyone involved. Kamath, Biyani, and their fund WTFund only see a return if the ventures created are successful. The participants are not students; they are partners from day one.
Furthermore, the journey doesn't end after 90 days. The program culminates in a Demo Day where founders pitch to a network of investors. Successful ventures will receive seed funding of up to a whopping ₹4 crore, along with continued strategic support. This isn't just about launching a prototype; it's about building a funded, scalable company. This model completely democratizes access to high-level entrepreneurship, making it accessible to talented individuals who might not have the financial cushion to quit their jobs or pay for an expensive degree.
Getting In: The Hunt for "Potential Over Polish"
So, who are they looking for? The Foundery isn't just for early-stage founders with a pitch deck. They're casting a wide net for "aspiring entrepreneurs, mid-career professionals," creators, strategists, and operators. The common thread isn't a perfect resume, but a certain mindset. As Santosh Desai, who helped conceptualize the program, put it, they are searching for people who "combine imagination with intent — those who can think differently and act decisively."
The application process itself is designed to filter for these traits. It starts with a non-refundable fee of ₹5,000—a small barrier to ensure only serious candidates apply. The 40-60 minute online application goes far beyond work history. It asks about "unconventional experiences ('trial by fire')," execution history, and business judgment under stress. This isn't about what you've learned; it's about what you've done when things got tough.
Applicants also need to showcase their comfort with AI tools and submit a two-minute self-introduction video. From a pool of applicants, around 75 will make it to the final interview rounds and a workshop/bootcamp, with the first cohort consisting of about 30 co-founders for 20 potential businesses. From my perspective, this selection process is a masterclass in finding true entrepreneurial DNA. They're looking for resilience, creativity, and raw drive—qualities that can't be taught in a lecture hall.
The All-Star Mentor Lineup: Learning from Legends
If the model itself wasn't enough of a draw, the list of mentors is simply staggering. This is where The Foundery truly distances itself from any traditional program. We're talking about a who's who of the Indian business world. The lineup includes people like Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder of Paytm; Kunal Bahl, founder of Snapdeal; Mithun Sacheti, the man behind CaratLane; and Varun Berry, the operator who steered Britannia. The list goes on, covering every conceivable domain from FMCG and e-commerce to AI and design.
Here's why this matters so much: access. The single biggest challenge for a new founder is getting the right advice and opening the right doors. A typical entrepreneur might spend years trying to get a 15-minute meeting with just one of these individuals. At The Foundery, their guidance is a core part of the curriculum. Participants will get direct mentorship on everything from brand design and operations to fundraising and legal matters.
This isn't just about celebrity endorsement. These are operators who have built companies, navigated crises, and scaled to massive heights. Their advice isn't theoretical; it's forged from their own successes and, more importantly, their own failures. Learning how VSS navigated the complexities of digital payments or how Sacheti built a trusted online jewelry brand is an education you simply cannot buy.
Is This the Future of Entrepreneurial Education?
The Foundery isn't happening in a vacuum. It taps into a much larger trend. We see it with the rise of coding bootcamps, vocational training programs, and on-the-job apprenticeships. There's a growing recognition that for certain fields, especially ones that change as rapidly as technology and business, the traditional university model is too slow and too abstract. This initiative is a bold statement that entrepreneurship is one of those fields.
It's also fascinating to see this coming from the Kamath family. Nikhil's brother, Nithin Kamath, has already made a huge impact on financial literacy with Zerodha's Varsity, a free educational platform. Over 60,000 people have attended its live online classes. There seems to be a shared philosophy here: a belief in democratizing access to high-quality, practical knowledge at scale, often for free. While Varsity teaches people how to invest, The Foundery teaches them how to build something worth investing in.
The real story here is whether this model can be replicated and scaled. If The Foundery succeeds in producing even a handful of successful consumer brands, it could create a blueprint for a new kind of venture creation. It blurs the lines between education, acceleration, and venture capital, creating a hybrid that could be far more effective at building resilient, market-ready companies from the ground up.
Conclusion
When you strip it all down, The Foundery is a high-stakes bet on human potential. It’s a belief that with the right environment, the right mentorship, and the right incentives, extraordinary people can build extraordinary things in a very short amount of time. Nikhil Kamath and Kishore Biyani are not just launching a program; they are making a powerful statement about what it takes to succeed in the modern economy: practical skills, resilience, and the courage to build.
This isn't just an "MBA alternative." It's a fundamental reimagining of how we identify, nurture, and fund the next generation of Indian entrepreneurs. By removing the financial barriers and focusing intensely on execution, The Foundery has the potential to unlock a wave of innovation. It will be fascinating to see what kinds of companies emerge from that Alibaug campus in the years to come.
About the Author
This article was written by the editorial team at ChopalCharcha, dedicated to bringing you the latest news, trends, and insights across entertainment, lifestyle, sports, and more.
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