According to a study by PrivateCircle Research, the median salary for Indian unicorn founders in the financial year 2022-23 reached Rs 1.5 crore. Female founders had a median salary of Rs 1 crore, while their male counterparts earned a median of Rs 1.8 crore, showcasing a gender disparity in founder remuneration. The analysis focused on the top seven sectors with unicorn companies valued at $1 billion or more, where the media and entertainment sector led with a median founder salary of Rs 3.5 crore, followed by the logistics and edtech sectors with median salaries of Rs 1.9 crore and Rs 1.6 crore, respectively.
While median figures provided insight into founder remuneration trends, the study also pointed out significant variations in average salaries across sectors. The logistics sector stood out with the highest average founder salary at Rs 12.4 crore, potentially influenced by outliers, revealing discrepancies in earnings. Furthermore, the gender gap in salaries was stark, with female founders having an average salary of Rs 1.1 crore, significantly lower than the average of Rs 8.5 crore for male founders according to the report.
The research highlighted the lack of gender diversity in Indian unicorn companies, showing that 57 unicorns had no women on their board in a March 2024 analysis. Additionally, the study found regional differences in founder salaries, with Pune topping the list with the highest average and median founder salaries at Rs 20 crore and Rs 3.7 crore, respectively. This was largely due to FirstCry CEO Supam Maheshwari, whose FY23 remuneration amounted to a substantial Rs 200.7 crore. However, Maheshwari saw a decrease in monthly remuneration during the first three quarters of FY24, resulting in a total remuneration of Rs 77.5 crore according to the company's revised draft red herring prospectus. The median salary witnessed a significant increase from Rs 1.2 crore in FY22 and approximately Rs 90 lakh in both FY20 and FY21 as per the study's findings.