How much should you pay an executive in a startup company? | Hacker News Reader

How much should you pay an executive in a startup company?

startupcompanylawyer.com

15 pointspeter1236 comments

I'm guessing thats for late stage "startups" with millions in revenue, since I don't see anyone taking those numbers for an early stage company

    * CEO 5.40%
    * President/COO 2.58%
    * CFO 1.01%
    * Head of Technology/CTO 1.19%
    * Head of Engineering 1.32%
    * Head of Sales 1.20%
    * Head of Marketing 0.91%
    * Head of Business Development 1.23%
    * Head of Human Resources 0.24%
    * Head of Professional Services 0.60%

That adds up to a pool of roughly 20% for management. That's the venture-backed world for you. Try taking 3 rounds and see where it leaves your equity!

More telling are the equity stats by founder status (more detail in the post on mean and median, but here's the range):

Non-founder CEO: 3.9%-6.5% Founder CEO: 8.3%-30%

These figures might strike you as low, but if you take a look at the salaries these people pay themselves, it starts to make sense:

Non-founder CEO: $205-$260 Founder CEO: $162-$229

As the CEO of a venture backed company, it seems you're not always in it for the equity... (more details of massive bonuses in the report too).

I think if you were still considered a startup your executive should only want to get paid enough to cover living expenses plus maybe a little more if you have revenue. Assuming they have a share in the company. After that are you even considered a startup?

You shouldn't have executives in your startup.

Not even to raise your Series A?

Most YC companies have raised their Series A with the founders. Founders often transition to fine executives.

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