The net worth of startup founders has experienced fluctuations in tandem with stock prices over the past 12-14 months. A scrutiny of stock prices and shareholding patterns by ET reveals that founders like Deepinder Goyal of Zomato, Yashish Dahiya, and Alok Bansal of Policybazaar have reaped substantial rewards, while Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm, has witnessed a decline in his wealth.
With the exception of Nykaa, where the promoters, the family of founder Falguni Nayar, collectively own more than 52% of the company, founders of new-age public companies generally hold minority stakes in their firms.
Goyal, Zomato’s founder and CEO, saw the value of his 4.2% stake in the food-delivery company rise to nearly Rs 6,000 crore on February 27, almost three times its worth on December 31, 2022. In contrast, Sharma’s 9.1% stake in Paytm declined to below Rs 2,500 crore on February 27 from Rs 3,071 crore at the end of December 2022.
Despite the fluctuations, Zomato has been profitable every quarter since the April-June 2023 period, with its quick-commerce arm Blinkit being highlighted as a key driver for future growth and potential stock upside.
