80 crore finance course guru says courses are dead

[Suraj]

So Sharan Hegde (Finance With Sharan, founder of 1 % Club) just appeared on a podcast with his sister and finally showed real numbers – his MF portfolio, asset allocation, salary, rent, everything. I'll jump to the numbers in a moment because they're genuinely interesting, but one line he said keeps looping in my head.

He said, almost word for word: "Because of AI, there is no need of a course anymore. People don't want to study anymore. People want me to do it for them."

This is the man who built an 80 crore revenue business mainly on selling masterclasses and courses. And he's openly declaring that the product he sold is now obsolete. He said "we are no longer going to be selling courses" and that 1 % Club is pivoting into a SEBI‑registered wealth‑management fintech. They're already managing 2000 crore for 1300 clients, mostly HNIs.

So the flow is clear: Step 1 – sell courses on managing your own money. Step 2 – claim those courses are dead because AI can do it. Step 3 – offer to manage the money for a fee. It's a clean funnel if you think about it.

Now the portfolio numbers are worth a look. 7.3 cr in mutual funds, 16 % CAGR over 8 years, and during COVID his portfolio fell only 9.2 % while the Nifty dropped 35 %. His asset allocation is 45 % Indian equities, 22 % gold, 13 % global equity (US + China), 11.5 % debt, 4 % commercial real estate, 3 % crypto. The gold overweight is notable – 22 % is far above most advisors' recommendation, but it helped during drawdowns.

His spending habit might interest us. He pays 3.2 L per month rent for a Juhu flat where Madhuri Dixit lived one floor below. His logic: the apartment sold for 15 crore, he'll never buy it, but 3.2 L a month from profits is fine. He follows a rule that annual expenses should be less than half of investment profits. That's a solid FIRE‑adjacent framework, even if the scale is different.

He also mentioned billionaires. He said talking to people like Nikhil Kamath or Robert Kiyosaki doesn't teach much because they're no longer in our stage. Real learning comes from people who are five steps ahead, not a hundred. We all sense that, but hearing it from someone who's sat across them feels different.

The AI angle was interesting too. He says employees are splitting into two groups – one earning extraordinary salaries and the other sliding into lower‑middle‑class jobs. He claims one person using AI properly can do the work of twenty people and he'd happily pay that person 1 crore instead of hiring twenty at 1 L each. Meanwhile firms like Infosys and TCS are cutting mass hiring. Whether you agree with the timeline or not, the direction is hard to dispute.

In short, the "courses are dead, give me your money to manage" pivot sticks with me. I learned a lot from his actual portfolio breakdown, but the business shift is worth discussing.

[Manisha]

Are you a fan of his?

[Satish]

I appreciate this detailed analysis.

But think about it – every course feels dead now. Anyone buying such courses gets a lot of knowledge already scattered across YouTube, just not organized.

And on top of that, many jobs feel threatened by AI, making people's efforts seem pointless.

The point about connecting with Nikhil and others is spot on; they're no longer on our level. Still, we can study their mindset and see what they did when they were at our stage.

[Prakash]

He was full of nonsense with basic stuff most Indians weren't aware of.

The more you watch his videos, the more you realise he's just another course‑selling guy.

Anyway, good for him earning 80 crore... lmao.

[Pallavi]

He's right. Don't be surprised if someone now holds views opposite to what they believed three to five years ago. The AI shift happened so fast that very few adapted, and many are still trying to figure it out.

His investments in China and the United States aren't surprising either, given the narrative two to three years back. A small group senses these shifts early and invests; they're few. I recall hearing a big investor a couple of years ago talk about China's market growth. I knew it could happen but never invested. That's the gap between them and us.

These people understand that AI benefits the rich first, so they bet on technologically advanced countries. Plain and simple.

[Keshav]

Why is a 16 % CAGR over the last eight years considered impressive?

[Aishwarya]

Ah, just another well‑known scammer who made money by teaching nothing useful.

[Gregg]

Say whatever you like, it's far too easy to fool Indians.

[Basavaraj]

Come from the original, give it, bro.

[Nath]

If someone truly knew how to make money in the market, they wouldn't be selling courses or managing other people's money.

[Arisha]

Following Sharan Hegde means you've already lost the game.