Startup Compensation Benchmarks

Overview

This skill provides salary and equity benchmark data for startup hiring. Data is segmented by company stage, role level, and location tier to help CEOs make competitive offers.

How to Use This Data

• Identify company stage (Seed, Series A, B, C+)

• Determine role level (IC, Senior, Staff, Manager, Director, VP, C-level)

• Apply location tier adjustment (Tier 1, 2, or 3)

• Consider percentile target (25th for budget-conscious, 50th for competitive, 75th for aggressive)

Salary Benchmarks by Stage and Level

Seed Stage Companies

Level 25th %ile 50th %ile 75th %ile

Junior IC $70K $85K $100K

Mid IC $90K $110K $130K

Senior IC $120K $145K $170K

Staff IC $150K $175K $200K

Manager $130K $155K $180K

Director $160K $190K $220K

VP $180K $220K $260K

Series A Companies

Level 25th %ile 50th %ile 75th %ile

Junior IC $80K $95K $115K

Mid IC $100K $125K $150K

Senior IC $140K $165K $190K

Staff IC $170K $200K $230K

Manager $150K $175K $200K

Director $180K $215K $250K

VP $220K $270K $320K

Series B Companies

Level 25th %ile 50th %ile 75th %ile

Junior IC $90K $105K $125K

Mid IC $115K $140K $165K

Senior IC $155K $185K $215K

Staff IC $190K $225K $260K

Manager $165K $195K $225K

Director $200K $240K $280K

VP $260K $310K $360K

Series C+ Companies

Level 25th %ile 50th %ile 75th %ile

Junior IC $100K $120K $140K

Mid IC $130K $155K $180K

Senior IC $170K $200K $235K

Staff IC $210K $250K $290K

Manager $180K $215K $250K

Director $225K $270K $315K

VP $300K $360K $420K

Location Tier Adjustments

Tier Description Multiplier

Tier 1 SF, NYC, Seattle 1.0x (baseline)

Tier 2 LA, Boston, Austin, Denver, DC 0.90x

Tier 3 Remote / Other locations 0.80-0.85x

Application: Multiply base salary by location multiplier.

Equity Benchmarks by Stage and Level

Equity shown as percentage of fully-diluted company ownership.

Seed Stage

Level 25th %ile 50th %ile 75th %ile

Junior IC 0.02% 0.05% 0.10%

Mid IC 0.05% 0.10% 0.20%

Senior IC 0.10% 0.25% 0.50%

Staff IC 0.25% 0.50% 0.75%

Manager 0.15% 0.30% 0.50%

Director 0.40% 0.75% 1.00%

VP 0.75% 1.25% 2.00%

Series A

Level 25th %ile 50th %ile 75th %ile

Junior IC 0.01% 0.025% 0.05%

Mid IC 0.025% 0.05% 0.10%

Senior IC 0.05% 0.15% 0.30%

Staff IC 0.15% 0.30% 0.50%

Manager 0.10% 0.20% 0.35%

Director 0.25% 0.50% 0.75%

VP 0.50% 1.00% 1.50%

Series B

Level 25th %ile 50th %ile 75th %ile

Junior IC 0.005% 0.015% 0.03%

Mid IC 0.015% 0.03% 0.06%

Senior IC 0.03% 0.08% 0.15%

Staff IC 0.08% 0.15% 0.25%

Manager 0.05% 0.10% 0.20%

Director 0.15% 0.30% 0.50%

VP 0.30% 0.60% 1.00%

Series C+

Level 25th %ile 50th %ile 75th %ile

Junior IC 0.002% 0.005% 0.01%

Mid IC 0.005% 0.015% 0.03%

Senior IC 0.015% 0.04% 0.08%

Staff IC 0.04% 0.08% 0.15%

Manager 0.025% 0.05% 0.10%

Director 0.08% 0.15% 0.30%

VP 0.15% 0.35% 0.60%

Role-Specific Adjustments

Engineering

• Machine Learning / AI: +10-20% salary premium

• Security / Infrastructure: +5-15% salary premium

• Frontend typically at baseline

Sales

• Base + OTE structure (typically 50/50 or 60/40 split)

• AE OTE typically 2x base

• Sales leadership may have accelerators

Executive Hires

• C-level equity: 1-5% depending on stage and role

• CEO typically retains largest stake

• CTO/CFO often second-tier equity

Refresh Grants

Annual equity refreshes to retain talent:

Stage Typical Annual Refresh

Seed 25-50% of original grant

Series A 20-40% of original grant

Series B 15-30% of original grant

Series C+ 10-25% of original grant

Total Compensation Philosophy

Cash vs. Equity Tradeoffs:

• Earlier stage = more equity, less cash

• Candidate with family/mortgage may prefer cash

• Experienced candidates often value equity more

• Consider candidate's risk tolerance

Competitive Positioning:

• 25th percentile: Budget-conscious, offset with equity or mission

• 50th percentile: Market-competitive baseline

• 75th percentile: Aggressive hiring, competing for top talent

Additional Resources

For detailed role-specific guidance, see:

• references/engineering-compensation.md

• Engineering role breakdowns

• references/sales-compensation.md

• Sales comp structures

• references/executive-compensation.md

• C-level and VP packages