Founder Salaries Tracker FY26: How Much Did India’s Startup Founders Earn?
A study by Inc42 tracked fixed remuneration for 22 founders across 15 Indian tech startups in FY26. Combined salaries rose 4.6% to ₹61.28 Cr from ₹58.54 Cr in FY25, with average per-founder remuneration increasing to ₹2.79 Cr. Sixteen founders received pay raises, four saw reductions, and two remained unchanged. Lenskart's Peyush Bansal drew the highest at ₹5.7 Cr, while some founders like Bhavish Aggarwal (Ola Electric) and Falguni Nayar (Nykaa) experienced significant declines. Total compensation often exceeded fixed pay through bonuses and perquisites.
Key points
- 22 founders earned ₹61.28 Cr combined, up 4.6% YoY
- Average fixed remuneration per founder: ₹2.79 Cr
- Peyush Bansal (Lenskart) earned highest at ₹5.7 Cr
- Bhavish Aggarwal saw steepest decline at 34.8%
Summary and key points written by AI from the headline and a short excerpt, so they can be incomplete or wrong. Inc42 did the reporting; read the original for the full story.
Read the full story at Inc42
