Bengaluru, October 2026.

Investors should resist the fear of missing out on the next breakthrough company because attractive opportunities will continue to emerge, Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak Asset Management Company, said at Kotak Private’s Take and Counter Take (TACT). Speaking at the invitation-only thought leadership platform on the theme, “Is the Future of Wealth Creation Shifting from Public Markets to Private Markets?”, Shah cautioned investors against allowing urgency or market narratives to override discipline. “You should never ever chase any investment because the sell side is saying this is once in a lifetime opportunity,” he said, adding that missing one opportunity should not be treated as an irreversible loss.

His argument challenges the FOMO that frequently surrounds private-market deals, initial public offerings and emerging investment themes. Rather than treating each new opportunity as the last chance to participate in a wealth-creation cycle, Shah suggested investors should remain patient and selective. In his analogy, if one train leaves the platform, another will arrive. The underlying message was clear: the cost of entering an unsuitable investment can be greater than the cost of letting a promising one pass.

‘Distinction Between Startups And Large Companies Will Blur’

Investment discipline may become particularly relevant as the traditional dividing line between startups and established companies begins to disappear. Shah described how some listed companies are creating startup-style units within their organisations, giving dedicated teams distinct cultures, working models and mandates to pursue innovation without being constrained by the larger organisation’s bureaucracy.

Citing the example of an Indian manufacturer seeking to develop a specialised component made by only three companies globally, Shah said the company had established a separate research and development unit with “their own culture, their own working hours, no connection to the headquarter.” The team had been given a clear mandate: “This is the money, this is the technology. Go and get it.”

The implications could be significant for investors searching for the next generation of growth businesses. Innovation may no longer be confined to privately funded startups. Established companies with capital, distribution and operating experience could build entrepreneurial ventures internally while retaining the strengths of a listed enterprise. “My feeling is that this distinction where startups will do innovation and large companies will be dinosaur, hopefully will start getting blurred,” Shah said.

‘India Had Private Equity Before It Had PE Funds’

Shah also challenged the conventional view that private equity is a relatively recent or imported investment model. India, he argued, has long had an informal private-equity culture built around families, relationships and business communities. “Relative giving seed money to a relative to start a business is also private equity,” he said.

While such capital has historically been deployed through personal networks, Shah sees scope for it to become more structured and professionally managed. “What was part of family is now becoming part of community on a professional basis,” he said. “If this model is successful, I’m sure other communities will copy.”

Together, these trends reveal how wealth creation has evolved in India. Opportunities may increasingly emerge not only from conventional startups or public-market incumbents, but from entrepreneurial units within listed companies and professionally managed pools of community capital. For investors, Shah advises discipline: opportunities will continue to arise, but not every opportunity needs to be chased.