Despite tighter markets and profitability pressures, founders of India’s new-age tech companies earned big in FY25, with performance-based payouts and ESOP encashments dwarfing fixed salaries.
Founders Take Home ₹851.5 Cr in FY25 — But Not Through Salaries
While startups have been navigating a challenging funding winter, founder payouts are scaling new heights—but mostly through ESOP encashments and performance-based gains rather than traditional salaries.
According to Inc42’s FY25 Founder Salaries Tracker, 49 founders across 27 companies earned a combined ₹851.5 Cr, a 300% jump over FY24’s ₹4.93 Cr average. However, when isolating fixed pay, the average drops significantly to just ₹2.7 Cr per founder.
- The spike in earnings reflects one-time gains, not annual salary hikes.
- Fixed pay growth was modest or flat for most, with performance bonuses and ESOPs driving the bulk of earnings.
Top Earners: Groww Cofounders Take the Lead
The highest earners in FY25 were the four cofounders of Groww, who received ₹614.4 Cr cumulatively through performance-linked incentives tied to FY24 results:
- Neeraj Singh: ₹3 Cr fixed + ₹148.3 Cr incentive
- Lalit Keshre: ₹3 Cr fixed + ₹185.6 Cr incentive
- Harsh Jain: ₹2.9 Cr fixed + ₹146.6 Cr incentive
- Ishan Bansal: ₹5.7 Cr fixed + ₹133.9 Cr incentive
Their combined payout dwarfs every other founder on the tracker.
ESOP Gains Dominate: FirstCry, Delhivery, CarTrade
Several high-profile founders saw massive ESOP windfalls:
- Supam Maheshwari (FirstCry): ₹4.9 Cr salary + ₹53.8 Cr in ESOP gains
- Sahil Barua (Delhivery): ₹2.8 Cr salary + ₹26.5 Cr ESOPs
- Kapil Bharati (Delhivery): ₹2.8 Cr salary + ₹15.2 Cr ESOPs
- Vinay Sanghvi (CarTrade): ₹7.2 Cr salary + ₹3.3 Cr ESOPs
These payouts show how wealth creation is tied to equity, not salaries—highlighting startup founders’ incentive alignment with long-term value creation.
Notable Outliers: From Zero Salary to Steep Increases
Some founders opted for minimal or zero salaries, while others saw significant hikes despite company losses:
- Deepinder Goyal (Zomato): Took zero salary in FY25, mirroring FY24, even as the company posted ₹527 Cr in profit.
- Falguni Nayar (Nykaa): Drew ₹78 Lakh, among the lowest, despite profitability.
- Bhavish Aggarwal (Ola Electric): Doubled his salary to ₹6.5 Cr (124% YoY increase), despite a ₹2,276 Cr loss and multiple layoff rounds.
- Alakh Pandey (PhysicsWallah): Took a 41.8% pay cut to ₹3.2 Cr amid a ₹243 Cr loss.
Modest Hikes and Flat Payscales Elsewhere
Many founders had flat to moderate changes in their fixed salaries:
- Peyush Bansal (Lenskart): ₹5.8 Cr (57% YoY jump), as Lenskart returned to profitability.
- Srikanth Velamakanni & Pranay Agrawal (Fractal): ₹9.4 Cr and ₹10.4 Cr, respectively, ahead of IPO.
- Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Paytm): ₹4 Cr (down 9% YoY) during a year of business restructuring.
- Sriharsha Majety (Swiggy): ₹1.6 Cr, remained modest even during IPO year.
- Varun & Ghazal Alagh (Honasa/Mamaearth): Salaries decreased by 24.4% and 18.8%, respectively.
These figures reflect cautious compensation strategies amid broader market correction and investor scrutiny.
Trends to Watch: ESOPs as Wealth Creators, Not Salaries
The FY25 data reveals key compensation trends in India’s tech ecosystem:
- ESOPs now form the bulk of founder earnings, not base pay.
- Salaries remain conservative, often flat or reduced.
- Founders are increasingly compensated based on company performance, mirroring listed company practices.
- Profitability or IPO proximity often correlates with rising payouts (e.g., Fractal, Lenskart).
As Indian startups prepare for more public listings, compensation transparency and shareholder alignment will only grow more critical.
