- Mrunal Jhaveri criticised a startup founder for using seed funding on a car and apartment
- Jhaveri outlined founder pay ranges based on funding rounds from Seed to Series C and beyond
- He said startup equity upside is real but founders must focus on company success first
A Mumbai-based venture capitalist has divided the internet after he criticised an early-stage startup founder for utilising the seed money to buy a new car and apartment. In a now-viral LinkedIn post, Mrunal Jhaveri, founding partner at Ice VC, detailed that he was forced to have a "very uncomfortable" conversation with the founder after his rather extravagant purchase.
"A founder got Rs 5 crore in seed funding last year. First thing he did was buy a new car and move to a bigger apartment. I had to have a very uncomfortable conversation after that," wrote Jhaveri.
Jhaveri explained that he did not want his founders to be stressed about rent or the school fees, but there was a difference in living comfortably and treating venture capital funding like a 'salary hike'. He highlighted a basic framework regarding the amount of money that founders should pocket, based on the funding the business is able to raise.
"Here's exactly how I think about founder pay. Seed stage (Rs 4-12 crore round). Rs 60k to Rs 1.2 lakh a month. The business is burning money and you haven't proved anything yet," said Jhaveri.
"Series A (Rs 20-35 crore round). Rs 3-5 lakhs a month. You've proved something real now. Modest lifestyle upgrades are okay here. Series B (Rs 50-100 crore round). Rs 5-7 lakhs base. Now I start building variable pay. Hit your milestones and total comp can cross Rs 1 crore for the year," he said. adding that founders can earn over Rs3-4 crore after Series C and beyond.
Jhaveri pointed out that outsiders felt like investors like him wanted to keep the founders poor. However, the reality was different, as per him.
"Some of you feel investors want to keep you poor. I've heard it. But here's the honest truth. The equity upside is real. The exit payday is real. But only if the company actually wins first," he said.
"If a fat salary is what you need right now, corporate is the right place for that. Startups pay in equity and that's the deal from day one. This is one of many dark realities of India's startup ecosystem."
Check The Viral Post Here:
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As the post gained traction, a section of social media users disagreed with Jhaveri's assessment, while others said founders needed to rein in their expenses during the early stages of a startup.
"I fundamentally disagree with this view, not because early-stage founders shouldn't make sacrifices, but because it reflects a narrow view of entrepreneurship." said one user, while another added: "Founder salary should never be based on fundraise. It should be based on the revenue bracket."
A third commented: "This hits close to home, being fully bootstrapped means I've never had the luxury of that first decision to get wrong, every rupee going into business has to justify itself immediately."
A fourth said: "I would judge founder compensation the same way I judge every other expense: does it materially increase the company's chances of reaching the next milestone? If yes, it's justified. If not, it's just another cost."
