Kunal Shah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CRED, took to Instagram to hold an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session on Sunday. He revealed that he draws a salary of Rs 15,000 per month. On being asked why he chose to keep his salary relatively low, Kunal Shah said that he believes he shouldn’t draw a large salary until the fintech company turns profitable.
“I don’t believe I should get a good salary till the company is profitable. My salary at CRED is Rs 15,000 per month and I can survive as I sold my company FreeCharge in the past,” Kunal Shah wrote on Instagram.
A Twitter user took a screenshot of Kunal Shah’s Instagram story and wrote, “There are CEOs who take salaries in crores then we have Kunal Shah.”
The Instagram post, however, seems to have divided Twitter users. A few said that this is a common practice when it comes to CEOs. Others praised Kunal Shah’s move.
“Being humble and flexing in the same sentence. His words always poke me to be curious,” said a user.
“He’s also an angel investor and has invested in over 500 startups. His angel investments will also be giving him income as when he exits from investments,” commented another person.
Another user added, “Who here is fool enough to think taking home 15K makes a difference in his life? I mean the guy sold his startup worth hundreds of crores. He’s loaded.”
As per The Hindu Businessline, CRED recorded a net loss of Rs 1,279 crore in the financial year (FY) 2022 even though its revenue jumped by almost 340 percent from Rs 95 crore in FY21 to Rs 422 crore in FY22.