Founder Salaries Tracker FY23: Amid The Funding Winter, How Much Did Startup Founders Earn?

A total of 98 founders of 57 new-age tech companies in India took home INR 496 Cr in annual salaries in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23)!

The average founder annual salary rose 68% to INR 5.16 Cr in FY23 from INR 3.07 Cr in FY22.

This comes at a time when the ongoing funding winter has brought about a significant transformation in the country’s startup ecosystem, compelling startups to focus on profitability. This also meant cutting down cash burn, which resulted in companies taking aggressive cost-cutting measures, including pay cuts and layoffs.

According to Inc42’s layoff tracker, Indian startups have laid off more than 37,620 employees since the onset of the funding winter in 2022. 

While these drastic measures helped some startups turn profitable or reduce their losses, most of the startups are still bogged down by losses.

While 57 companies reported a total operating revenue of INR 1.10 Lakh Cr in FY23, 39 of them incurred a combined loss of INR 31,965 Cr.

Amid all these, it’s natural for one to ask that if the employees are losing their jobs and taking pay cuts, have the founders of the new-age tech companies also seen a decrease in their remunerations? To answer this question and keep our readers up to date with the remunerations earned by the founders, Inc42 has launched the ‘Founder Salaries FY23 Tracker’. 

The tracker will keep you informed about the remuneration earned by the founders in FY23, the percentage increase/decrease in their salaries compared to FY22, and more.

Editor’s Note: This list is not a ranking of any kind, we have placed companies alphabetically. This is a running list and will be updated periodically. 

Founder Remuneration Tracker FY23

Companies are placed in alphabetical order | Data has been sourced from MCA filings, annual reports, and DRHPs | The remuneration Includes salary, wages, & bonus

*NOTE: Includes, salary, wages, & bonus
^ NOTE: Includes short-term employment benefits and share-based payments

Supam Maheshwari | FirstCry

Supam Maheshwari, the cofounder of IPO-bound omnichannel startup FirstCry, received an annual remuneration of INR 200.7 Cr in the financial year ended March 31, 2023. As per the startup’s DRHP, Maheshwari’s remuneration in FY22 stood at INR 29.1 Cr. In the first three months of FY24, Maheswari received an annual remuneration of INR 25.8 Cr.

The DRHP revealed that Maheswari’s remuneration of FY23 and the first three months of FY24 included short-term employment benefits and share-based payments.

In FY23, the startup’s loss increased over 500% to INR 486 Cr, while operating revenue rose to INR 5,632.5 Cr.

Nithin & Nikhil Kamath | Zerodha

Nithin and Nikhil Kamath, the cofounders of bootstrapped stock broking platform Zerodha, took home INR 48 Cr each in annual salaries in FY23, making them one of the highest paid founders in this list. However, their remuneration remained unchanged from the previous fiscal year even as Zerodha’s net profit increased 37% to INR 2,909 Cr. Its total revenue inched closer to the INR 7,000 Cr mark during the year under review.

Ritesh Agarwal | OYO

OYO’s Ritesh Agarwal took home INR 12 Cr in remuneration, representing a 114% hike from INR 5.6 Cr withdrawn in FY22. It must be noted that while Agarwal’s compensation more than doubled during the year, the unicorn fired nearly 600 employees in FY23.

OYO reported a 34% decline in its net loss to INR 1,286.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 1,941.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The SoftBank-backed startup’s operating revenue grew 14% to INR 5,463.9 Cr in FY23 from INR 4,781.3 Cr in FY22. 

Deepak Singh Ahlawat | Gameskraft

Deepak Singh Ahlawat, the cofounder of Gameskraft, received one of the biggest hikes among the list of the cofounders featured in this list. His annual remuneration jumped 264.6% to INR 10.1 Cr in FY23 from INR 2.77 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

The startup’s revenue from operations jumped 24.8% to INR 2,662.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 2,133.1 Cr in FY22, while profit rose 14.2% to INR 1,061.9 Cr in FY23 from INR 930.4 Cr in FY22.

Manish Taneja | Purplle

Manish Tanjea and Rahul Dash, the cofounders of beauty ecommerce startup Purplle, took home INR 6.71 Cr each in remuneration in FY23, a hike of 527% from INR 1.07 Cr each they got in the previous fiscal year.

The startup’s operating revenue or sales stood at INR 474.9 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), an increase of 116% from INR 219.8 Cr in FY22. Loss grew 13% to INR 230 Cr from INR 203.6 Cr in FY22.

Nitish Mittersain | Nazara Technologies

Nitish Mittersain, CEO and cofounder of publicly listed Nazara Technologies, was one of the highest-paid founders in the year under review. Mittersain took home INR 4 Cr as remuneration in FY23. His remuneration increased 21% from INR 3.3 Cr he earned in the previous fiscal year. 

Meanwhile, the Mumbai-based company reported an operating revenue of INR 1,091 Cr in FY23, a jump of 75% from INR 621.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Net profit rose 21% to INR 61.4 Cr from INR 50.7 Cr in FY22. 

Vijay Shekhar Sharma | Paytm

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder of Paytm and the poster boy of the Indian fintech sector, took home INR 4 Cr as remuneration in FY23. Sharma’s annual remuneration increased 8% from INR 3.7 Cr in FY22. 

On the other hand, Paytm reported a 1.6X jump in operating revenue to INR 7,990.3 in FY23 from INR 4,974.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Net loss reduced 26% to INR 1,766.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 2,396.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Dinesh Agarwal | IndiaMART

Dinesh Agarwal, the founder of publicly listed B2B ecommerce marketplace IndiaMART, took home took home INR 3.8 Cr in salary, an increase of 11.8% from INR 3.4 in the previous year. 

The company which was founded in 1999 reported an operating revenue of INR 985.3 Cr in FY23, an increase of 31% from INR 753.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Profit, however, dipped around 5% to INR 283.8 Cr from INR 298 Cr in FY22. 

Sahil Barua & Kapil Bharati | Delhivery

Sahil Barua, the cofounder and CEO of Delhivery, received an annual remuneration of INR 3.1 Cr in FY23. This was a 11% increase from INR 2.88 Cr that he took home in the previous fiscal year. 

Kapil Bharati, the CTO of Delhivery, received an annual remuneration of INR 3 Cr in FY23, an increase of 24% from INR 2.42 Cr in FY22.

Meanwhile, Delhivery reported a 5% jump in operating revenue to INR 7,225.3 Cr in FY23 from INR 6,882.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Loss was almost flat at INR 1,007.7 Cr in FY23 as against INR 1,011 Cr in FY22. 

Gaurav Singh Kushwaha| BlueStone

Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, the CEO and cofounder of Ratan Tata-backed jewellery brand Bluestone, took home an annual remuneration of INR 3.1 Cr. This was a surge of 313% from INR 75 Lakh he took home in the previous fiscal year.

Meanwhile, BlueStone saw its operating revenue increase 67% to INR 771 Cr in FY23 from INR 461.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Net loss jumped 183% to INR 167.2 Cr in FY23 from INR 59 Cr in FY22.

Last Updated: 2 May, 19:oo PM IST

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