Gender pay disparities among business founders continue, the New Zealand Founder Pay Report 2025 released by LiveRem and Oxygen Advisors has found.
The report examines anonymised payroll data from founders at Kiwi startups and scaleups nationwide, covering businesses with annual revenues ranging from under $1 million to over $10 million and teams varying from a few employees to more than 100.
The report reveals that male founders earn, on average, more than their females – 8% higher on average and 25% higher when measured by the median.
The report also highlights other pay disparities: founders in Auckland earn 18% more than those elsewhere, and technical founders make 20% less than CEOs.
Meanwhile, the average founder’s annual salary is $205k, with a median salary of $195k. For companies generating less than $3 million in revenue, the average founder salary is $146k, rising to $292k for those with revenue exceeding $10 million.
“Founder pay is a taboo topic. Without reliable data, many founders default to ‘as little as possible’, risking burnout, inequity and blind-spot budgeting. Yet, paying yourself isn’t just a line in Xero; it’s a strategic call that shapes how long you can lead and how well you can live,” LiveRem co-founder and chief executive Kathleen Webber said.
“We see companies wrestle with this every day,” Mike Mandis, co-founder and co-CEO of Oxygen Advisors, added. “Pairing LiveRem’s live benchmarks with Oxygen Advisor’s modelling means boards can set pay that’s fair today and sustainable tomorrow.”
Additionally, the report found that higher salaries can help reduce stress and improve founder retention.
“Founders also told us that their pay cheque isn’t about lifestyle upgrades – it’s about mental bandwidth,” LiverRem’s Webber explained.
“Our dataset also shows the ‘typical’ Kiwi startup founder is a 40-year-old man in Auckland. When that profile is still the norm, it’s clear we’ve got a long way to go in building a more diverse pool of founders.”
“As a country, we have to ask how many great ideas never see daylight because the personal cost is just too high. If New Zealand wants more world-class startups, we need better government–industry partnerships – that may include targeted grants, matched funding or smarter tax settings that shorten the runway and make entrepreneurship a career path people can afford to choose,” Webber added.