According to a survey performed by PrivateCircle Research, a private market intelligence platform, the median remuneration for Indian unicorn founders grew in fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23) to Rs 1.5 crore. A credible source reported that female founders earned a median compensation of Rs 1 crore, while men founders earned a median of Rs 1.8 crore.

The survey, which looked at the top seven sectors based on the number of unicorns among 114 companies valued at $1 billion or more, discovered that the media and entertainment sector topped with a median founder pay of Rs 3.5 crore. The logistics and education technology sectors followed, with median earnings of Rs 1.9 crore and Rs 1.6 crore, respectively.

While median statistics can provide insight on founder remuneration trends, the analysis also indicated significant differences in average salaries. According to the survey, the logistics sector had the highest average founder remuneration of Rs 12.4 crore, which could have been influenced by outliers.

Gender Disparity

The gender discrepancy was much more pronounced in terms of average salaries. Female founders earned an average compensation of Rs 1.1 crore, which was significantly lower than the average of Rs 8.5 crore for male founders.

According to the survey, a PrivateCircle Research spokeswoman stated, "The gender disparity in the Indian startup ecosystem is further exemplified by the lack of female directors at unicorn companies." In a March 2024 investigation, we discovered that 57 Indian unicorns have no women on their boards.

Pune's highest Average Salaries

The study also showed disparities in founder pay among locations. Pune ranked as the city with the highest average and median founder salaries, at Rs 20 crore and Rs 3.7 crore. This was partly owing to FirstCry CEO Supam Maheshwari, whose pay in FY23 was Rs 200.7 crore.

However, Maheshwari's monthly salary decreased by 49% during the first three quarters of FY24, totaling Rs 77.5 crore, according to the company's updated draft red herring prospectus. The median pay in FY23 increased significantly from Rs 1.2 crore in FY22 to roughly Rs 90 lakh in both FY20 and FY21, according to the report.