OYO’s Ritesh Agarwal took home INR 12 Cr in remuneration, representing a 114% hike from INR 5.6 Cr withdrawn in FY22.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: 24 February, 17:oo PM IST