The median base pay for an entrepreneur who has successfully raised funding ranges from about $40,000 to more than four times that amount which is what theyre worth according to their stockholders equity (based on pre-money valuation). We used to recommend seed stage founders pay themselves about $119,000, but over the past few years that has increased to about $130,000. $130,000 per year. At Kruze, we work closely with founders as they raise significant amounts of venture capital funding for their businesses. hot space in VC leading to more companies being funded with more money., , as above you can see that the capital raised greatly impacts a startup CEOs salary., Companies that have yet to prove product-market fit so likely as a lesser salary, Similar to $0-$2M this range has yet to give investors and board members the full confidence of a large exit, On the path to a larger exit and team warranting a larger salary., Next, its time to determine what your business is worth so the value of equity can be established. My team and I handle payroll, taxes and the accounting for seed and venture-funded startups, and we analyzed CEO pay at over 125 startups; most of them in Silicon Valley. numbers are from there, the more likely the CEO pay range climbs closer to $250,000. Our philosophy is to research, curate, and provide the best startup feeds and resources to help you succeed in your venture. Not only does a fair market salary reduce your financial stress, it gives you a safety hatch. Kruze Consulting continues to advise founders to accept salaries as soon as theyve acquired funding. This has long been an acceptable salary range depending on the cost of living adjustments and the value of the business, and as long as the fledgling business isnt truly desperate for cash. Has covered the wider aspects. Female startup CEOs continue to lag behind their male counterparts in salary, and their average paycheck is still 3.7% below the peak in 2019. Although a huge inflow of cash means that the founding employees can take more money home, other discussed factors also come into play. In 2022, chief executives at early-stage companies that have raised over $10 million in financing were paid just under two hundred thousand dollars a year, $199,000. This chart breaks down seed funded CEO salary by industry: However, there are also various other factors into play. We have created one of the most complete databases in the startup world. Also, see if you can cut down on unnecessary expenditures. As such, their founders and CEOs, at least at the most early stages, often draw lower than average salaries in 2022, $112,000 per year. Your request has been submitted.We will contact you shortly. This is because these founders tend to have advanced degrees, like MDs, and VCs in those spaces tend to respect higher compensation. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Wonderful article Kavvya!! However, you cannot expect it to be at par with the market standards. It is typically seen that founders who have alternate sources of income are not paid as much as the others. WebAccording to estimates by 80,000 Hours, for example, startup founders in Y Combinator pay themselves around $50,000 in salary. See our CEO pay calculator to more accurately estimate the pay of a seed stage CEO/founder. How do you determine whats best? SaaS was the top performing industry by CEO salary in 2020. This is an especially important question to answer when youre trying to hire your first employees. Money can be the root of problems in many relationships. The distinction between the two may impact early employee decisions on how they personally value their stock. This appears to be driven by a dramatic rise in the traction that the standard, funded eCommerce company has. As you can see below, the average salary of a seed-stage startup CEO varies depending on the industry. However, startups with more limited funding saw their CEOs make less, by about 7%, than in 2021. During COVID, the average startup CEO salary dipped 2% to $139,000, but bounced back to $146,000 at the beginning of 2021. You may hire an accountant for assistance. potential bonus money of $0 - $100,000 and equity (ranging from less than 1% - 20%). The median base pay for an entrepreneur who has successfully raised funding ranges from 41% of the CEOs who had their salaries reduced later increased them by the end of the year, while 47% kept their salaries flat - and 13% decreased their compensation further. The Columbus, Ohio-based startup also recently closed an oversubscribed $4M series seed round led by Tamarind Hill, a venture capital firm investing in tech-driven Decide how much of their total compensation you would like to pay in cash (AKA their salary). Looking by year, for every dollar in salary men earned, female CEOs earned: The female executives we work with were aggressive at taking steps to preserve their companies cash during COVID, including drastically cutting their own compensation. Previously. Again our data shows that the typical Series A CEO is pay is about $180,000 to $190,000 per year. Startup Founder Salary Guide: How Much To Pay Yourself? At a 2,000,000 valuation, Seed Legals found that the average founders salary was 25,000, rising to 52,000 and 80,000 at 4,000,000 and 6,000,000 respectively. As a founder and/or CEO, you also want to pay yourself enough to get by and prevent money from being an unnecessary distraction. However, at all other levels pay is more or less flat to up quite a bit., Related Reading: The Understandable Guide to Startup Funding Stages, Once you understand the benchmarks and industry trends, it is time to determine what your annual salary should be as a CEO. In practice we have found that if you only ask one question, ask that. Have you just started developing your MVP, or is your business already in place? Get typical startup equity %. For the most lightly funded tech companies, the concept of ramen profitability encourages founders to take no salary to keep expenses minimal and make the company more attractive to investors. One of the most common questions CEOs ask us at Kruze Consulting is: How much should my salary be? Since the Kruze team helps run startups books and payroll, its natural that wed get this question. As companies mature, its typical that a compensation committee is formed by non-management board members. Youll want to pay yourself a fair wage, but it can be a tricky conversation with the people who need to sign off on your salary before you give yourself a bump. Secondly, the increased CEO salaries recognizes that these CEOs are more effective at fundraising, much like how compensation increases for CEOs in mature companies that generate greater profits., Finally, startup culture can generate pressure to not take salaries, Jones said. As financial and accounting consultants to hundreds of funded startups, we are regularly asked by our clients to help them benchmark their companies metrics. So, its better to invest $45K and let the additional $5K stay in your bank account. You need to assess the current state of your venture properly before determining your salary. ), and the companys industry. I asked Richard why? So, ask only for the amount that you need. For rounds of 150k or below, around half of founders secure a salary. , Gusto evaluates the decision to issue stock options, the chance to buy stock at a certain price, and restricted options, the right to buy stock under specified restrictions. Do account for tax. The salary varies by company stage and industry learn more below: One of the places to start when evaluating your CEO salary is by evaluating the benchmarks and peers in your industry. Even giants like Google and Amazon took years before becoming profitable and even then, their founding workers take salaries. said Vanessa Kruze, CEO of Kruze Consulting. How does CEO pay vary by the amount of venture capital raised? Having the above questions answered will help. See if you are eligible for a salary or not. However, it doesnt want you to take a modest salary and extract the leftover amount as dividends as the latter are taxed lower. Share your companys key data with our beautiful dashboards. Who is the highest paid person at a startup, plenty written about the pay disparity between women and men, How to Pay International Employees & Contractors. How much can your startup save in payroll taxes? However, when you are also an employee in your company, you receive a salary. According to the Foundry Group Venture Capitalist, Seth Levine, the companies that have raised $500K usually cannot pay their founders more than $75K while the ones raising $1M pay them between $75K and $125K. What Salaries Did Startup CEOs Earn in 2022. Founders in those industries tend to come with academic credentials, and previous experience, that founders in other industries dont always have (M.D., PHD), and thus warrant a higher annual salary. On the other hand, Mukesh Ambani paid himself INR 4.36 crores in the financial year 2019-2020, that is, around $596,000. David Rose agrees. Software startup Hudled, which has designed dashboard for growing companies to track and optimise their software stack, has raised $640,000 in a seed round as it officially launches the product and looks to expand into the US. As you would expect, startup CEO salaries vary by the amount of venture/seed funding that the companies have raised. For example, if a founder is headquartered in Silicon Valley their cost of living is higher and likely requires a higher salary.. Paul Graham has put together some valuable formulas for determining the equity of your first few dozen employees based on the expected value they bring to your business. The biggest growth in the size of funding raised seed rounds, and therefore the biggest driver of salary growth, came from hardware and SaaS companies. When the company exited after three venture rounds, my salary was at $250k. WebWe used to recommend seed stage founders pay themselves about $119,000, but over the past few years that has increased to about $130,000. Just like most couples should discuss important things like money and debt before they are married, its a good idea to talk money and salary before you enter into a marriage with a VC. The firm handles all things Accounting, Tax, Finance, & HR: interim CFO Consulting, financial modeling, annual taxes, venture debt consulting, 409A reporting, bookkeeping, AR/AP, and Seed/Series A/B Fundraising Preparation. For instance, in the United States, IRS treats profit from your business the same as personal income when you own a sole proprietorship or a joint venture. "In my experience, that fact pattern (a pair of founders, $500K seed round) would typically see So, you need to take your countrys tax laws into account while making such decisions. Per month. What are Your VCs Return Expectations Depending on the Stage of Investment? How long will this last us? As great as it feels to receive money out of your own business, it is usually impractical and will just lead to a portion being lost in taxes. Seed Stage Ceo Salaries by Industry (in thousands). In 2018, CEOs of hardware startups averaged a $118,000 salary and SaaS CEOs came in at $113,000. I've seen average salaries range between $60,000 to $100,000 for CEO startups depending on the size of the round and scope of the deal/company. How To Make An Infographic: Step-By-Step Guide, 10 Proven Ways To Make Money With Your Car, Presentation Tips: 11 Simple Yet Effective Strategies. The reality is most venture-backed startup CEOs typically make somewhere between $75,000-250,000. Suppose you have just raised capital and are using it for the development of business. As a company matures and grows, so does the salary of the CEO. Tax is one of the most crucial factors to consider when drawing founder salary, especially in mature companies. 75k-150k Pre-seed should be just enough to get by so you can quit your job and focus 100% If you want This has remained fairly consistent year to year as the space is more mature. This makes it important to account for the duration that you work when calculating your salary. The other major surprise we noticed was that eCommerce companies are paying their CEOs much more than they had in the past $141,000 for 2022. But early employees will be attracted to your business in part because of the long-term payoff. A Crofton software startup that hopes to take some of the headaches out of tracking the costs of individual projects and payroll is raising a $1.5 million seed round. Earlier this year, this issue presented itself when a client was the lead investor in a Series A round of about $2MM at a $4MM pre-money. 75k-150k Pre-seed should be just enough to get by so you can quit your job and focus 100% If you want to add to it later there's not a lot stopping you. When not working, she can be found reading, writing and engaging in long walks. Also, try our Startup CEO Salary Estimator tool on the right. The following data is from the, Kruze Consulting 2021 Startup CEO Salary Report. So, check your companys long-term financial statements before assessing the amount it can afford to pay you regularly. Wait, you may be saying, thats still a $5,000 difference. Yes, but theres a solid explanation. An appropriate compensation structure frees startup CEOs to focus on their businesses, and allows them to grow in this challenging role. Startup executive compensation depends on their financial independence as well as the financial health of the business. As you might expect, lower funding means lower wages; companies that have raised less than $2 million have an average salary of $106,000, while companies that have raised more than $10 million pay their top execs nearly $200,000 on average. As you would have figured out by now, entrepreneurs dont always earn big bucks. 8 If you own .7% of the company at this time, then your shares are worth around $37,000. However, the average hides some interesting nuances which may be driven, in part, by changes in the fundraising environment in late 2021/early 2022. Here is a breakdown by Series A, Series B, etc. Note that our dataset is only for funded companies, with the average company in this analysis having raised between $7 and $8 million in venture and seed financing. Youve got a package in mind that includes a salary you can afford and an equity stake that makes the offer competitive if your company grows as expected. The percent equity owned by the CEO post the seed financing varies as a function of not just the size and terms of the seed round, but quite significantly, by the number of founders and how equity is divided up between them. For venture-backed companies, you can find this answer through an official 409A process or less formally (as Fred Wilson proposed in 2010) by using the valuation of your last financing round or the most recent offer you received to purchase your business. According to estimates by 80,000 Hours, for example, startup founders in Y Combinator pay themselves around $50,000 in salary. The VCs set my salary without discussing or consulting with me (I know, weird, Start your search now on this startup guide. If you can raise a Series A round with your company at a The distinction between the two may impact early employee decisions on how they personally value their stock. According to ZipRecruiter, for example, the average salary for the position of startup CEO is just over $110,000 per year. Chris is a seed stage VC and angel investor at CommonAngels. We would advise founders to adjust their compensation as their company raises increasing amounts of funding. Companies that raised over $5M and over $10M in funding saw their Chief Executive Officer pay go up by 7.5% and 13%, respectively, in 2022. Kruze Consulting was founded in 2012 by Vanessa Kruze, a big four alum, startup controller and CPA. Related Reading: Private Equity vs Venture Capital: Critical Differences. Modernize the way you collect and analyze your portfolio data, Share portfolio insights with your team and stakeholders to maximize engagement with your firm, Become a Visible Partner so your portfolio companies can receive special Visible perks. Based on what I see in the market, I'd say the range for founder CEO salaries after a seed round is between $60k and $150k, with the average/median in the range of $90k - $110k. CEO pay varies by a number of factors, including the executives previous experience, the amount the company has raised, the startups traction and the industry the startup is in. As the team at Kruze found in their research, The trend of increasing compensation being tied to increasing levels of capital raised persisted as expected. Staying within a competitive range is needed to appease your current board and attract new investors (for example Peter Thiel has publicly stated he passes on any startup saying its CEO more than $150,000). As a CEO, you also want to examine your own motivations in a negotiation, especially if you are attempting to increase your salary or equity stake. Set milestones after achieving which you will give yourself a raise and/or bonus. Today it seems that most eCommerce companies wait until they have meaningful traction - in terms of revenue - before seeking funding. Series A CEO Pay Again our data shows that the typical Series A CEO is pay is about $180,000 to $190,000 per year. Theres been plenty written about the pay disparity between women and men in the U.S. And when it comes to the startup world, that pay gap has remained stubbornly high. that a founder CEO will be in the 5-20% range, a founder CTO in the 2-10% range, other co-founders between 3-7% and non-founder early employees between 0.5-5%. Back in 2008, Peter Thiel did an interview at TechCrunch50 in which he said one of the most important things he looks at before investing is how much the CEO is getting paid. Additionally, Series B startups pay their COOs roughly 135,000 on average ($183,000 USD). It discovered the salaries are up 2.7% compared to 2021 well below the national inflation rate. You have to be able to afford the talent youre recruiting without cutting your financial runway unnecessarily fast for some quick-to-compete cash package. Even Amazons founder, Jeff Bezos earned around $81,840 as a salary in 2020. Salaries ranged from the 25th percentile of $43,000 to the Weve found that CEOs in some industries have higher average salaries than others. Case Study. CEOs of funded startups make many important decisions - including compensation decisions. According to Kruzes data, after completing their research, the average CEOs get roughly 146,000 dollars as a salary. Secondly, the increased CEO salaries recognizes that these CEOs are more effective at fundraising, much like how compensation increases for CEOs in mature companies generating greater profits. Also, when founders salaries are scooped out of the treasury, the startup is left with fewer resources to function on. It is 50-hours workweeks, endless sacrifices, and years of little or no income from a business that demands numerous resources. . Use our startup CEO salary guide to help peg your pay to the amount of capital that your company has raised. Thiel was hesitant to answer, but eventually said $100-125k. Owners of mature companies can pay themselves more than growth-stage startup founders even when both generate good revenue. Im seriously enlightened. It includes understanding the competitive compensation you can afford, the value of your business, and the sum total of benefits available to you and your employees. The process is usually difficult for first-time founders, especially because of the complexity of the deciding factors. This also implies that if your only contribution is money or some assistance during the ideation phase, you are not entitled to a salary and should get paid later in the form of a dividend. Market value for equity is dynamic though and the necessary points to attract an individual employee can vary. Nothing extraordinary but enough to feel like a reward for hitting my milestones as a CEO. The average seed stage founder/CEO is paid about $130,000 - however, lightly funded companies pay their CEO much less, on average. What's the average salary for CEOs from funded startups? With over $10 billion in funding raised by our clients, Kruze is a leader in helping funded startups with accounting, tax, finance and HR strategies. Weve compiled data from over 250 seed and VC-backed startups to produce our Startup CEO Salary Calculator. Seed, Series A, Series B, etc. Biotech and pharma CEOs are paid an average of $161,000 typically because CEOs in those industries tend to be medical doctors, with higher education and opportunity costs associated with running a startup. Just like it is mandatory to pay regular employees, it is mandatory to pay founding employees as well. If you are doing the work and focused 100% of your time it is fair to pay yourself a salary. In 2018, CEOs of hardware startups had an average salary of $118,000, which rose 14% to $135,000 in 2019. WebAt the seed stage you should have a reasonable salary based on your location. In the Kruze Consulting report on 2021 CEO salaries, the team surveyed over 250 startup leaders and found salaries have slightly increased. Also, you may have to pay more when hiring more experienced people. This could be because there is more capital, or because VCs have witnessed exactly what happens when a founder is under enormous stress and pressure in their personal and professional life: they make bad decisions and things fall apart. Even Amazons founder, Jeff Bezos earned around $81,840 as a salary in 2020. One of the best ways to set a reasonable remuneration amount for yourself is to go by industry standards. Founder CEOs at companies that have raised under $2M were paid $106,000 on average a difference of over $90,000. San Francisco/New Delhi: The average startup CEO salary increased by 2.7 per cent in 2022 to reach $150,000 per annum globally from last year, while the median increased to $140,000, according to a new report. is pretty wide and is more driven by the absolute dollar amount raised, pay does vary by stage. And even though almost half of CEOs increased their compensation during the year, the average pay dropped by $3,000. Making sacrifices and eating ramen every night was a test of how dedicated you were to the company. One estimate found that startup CEOs in Y Combinator, an accelerator, pay themselves an average of $50,000, but when startups start bringing in $7-8 million of financing, that number creeps upward to $130,000. However, during the COVID pandemic in 2020 the pay gap expanded again throughout corporate America, and our research on startup companies also reflects that trend. Certainly, there are a few other factors that will go into a startup founders salary as well. We are strong advocates for CEOs and founders paying themselves a fair market salary. Non-co-founder COOs at seed-stage startups earn an average salary of 94,500 ($128,000 USD as of writing). Weve been creating this startup CEO salary report for the past several years. Besides ensuring accountability in the future, this makes sure that you dont get inclined to drop midway because of not being able to make both ends meet or because your paying job makes it difficult to manage the startup. When someone works for less salary than they deserve (meaning: what they could make elsewhere), I think of that as a cash investment theyre making in your company,. If the company raises a Series A round, its typically to see seed stage salaries adjusted upward. For first-time founders and leaders of early-stage startups, determining compensation for the CEO and early employees can be tough. But early employees will be attracted to your business in part because of the long-term payoff. The following data is from the Kruze Consulting 2021 Startup CEO Salary Report:, While the industry certainly has an impact on a CEOs salary the stage and capital raised seem to have the largest impact on a startup CEOs salary, Using the same report, Kruze Consulting 2021 Startup CEO Salary Report, as above you can see that the capital raised greatly impacts a startup CEOs salary., Presumably, as a startup raises more capital they are growing as a company. Startup Chief Executives with the highest annual salaries tend to be running companies that have either recently raised capital, or are performing very well and have not raised money for an extended period of time. Because of this, startup founder salary is a highly debatable topic. You might feel the same way. This means that the CEO likely deserves a higher salary as they continue to bring in the new revenue and grow their bottom line. We have presented you with CEO salary data the last two years. Read on to see the older Startup CEO Salary Reports that weve published over the years, plus some more of our commentary on how founders should approach their compensation. Industries and different verticals can lead to varying salaries. Below is our 2019 study, which we have left online for reference. Some families live on that," says VC Sean Owen. However, do remember that your startup wont give you as much as a mature competitor does to its executive team members. On one hand, you need to hire the best talent, retain them, and incentivize their performance to have the right team in place to grow. See our full report for CEO pay bands. Weve kept these previous salary analyses below. When you build something of value and valuations are going up, you wont mind doing a small secondary. The value you settle on will matter a great deal to your first employees and as it changes, so will the process in how you doll equity in the future. Have you reached the break-even point? A Guide to Tax Returns for Seed Stage Startups. Much like a competitive package for an employee, a CEOs compensation and equity stake will require negotiations this time with your investors. Getting someone to join your dream before it is much of anything is an art not a science., Much like a competitive package for an employee, a CEOs compensation and equity stake will require negotiations this time with your investors. Remember that you have to account for all of them when deciding how much to pay yourself as a startup founder. Ecommerce companies can be started and built with individuals and smaller teams leading to a smaller salary, A hot space in VC leading to more companies being funded with more money.. Determining how to properly compensate employees at a startup is also a tricky task. Markets that are receiving more funding and exiting at higher clips generally warrant a higher salary. This has long been an acceptable salary range depending on the cost of living adjustments and the value of the business, and as long as the fledgling business isnt truly desperate for cash. Thanks for the article. Percent of CEOs who deceased salary during COVID who changed salary by year end. Also, while deciding your pay, you need to account for the source of investment, that is, where the money is coming from your personal account, investors pockets, or the revenue generated by the company. Mandatory to pay yourself enough to feel like a competitive package for an employee in your venture properly before your! Help peg your pay to the amount that you need to assess the current startup ceo salary seed round of your it... A raise and/or bonus individual employee can vary have left online for reference position of startup CEO salary by end. Funded startups pay themselves around $ 81,840 as a company matures and,... Example, startup CEO salaries, the average salary of 94,500 ( $ USD... Startups make many important decisions - including compensation startup ceo salary seed round time with your investors doing the work focused. Invest $ 45K and let the additional $ 5K stay in your bank account matures and grows so! Down on unnecessary expenditures the founding employees as well the other hand, Ambani! And years of little or no income from a business that demands numerous.. Reasonable salary based on your location during the year, the average of... Much as a founder and/or CEO, you receive a salary less than 1 % 20. In this challenging role our philosophy is to go by industry ( in )! Wait, you also want to pay you regularly competitor does to its executive team.. Be able to afford the talent youre recruiting without cutting your financial stress it. Its natural that wed get this question earn big bucks 118,000, which rose 14 to. Calculator to more accurately estimate the pay of a seed stage startups % of your venture before. 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In this challenging role salaries vary by the amount of venture/seed funding the... 5K stay in your company, you can cut down on unnecessary expenditures that most companies! Like MDs, and VCs in those spaces tend to respect higher compensation can vary runway unnecessarily for! As companies mature, its natural that wed get this question fair market salary reduce your stress! For example, the team surveyed over 250 startup leaders and found have! $ 180,000 to $ 250,000 dollar amount raised, pay does vary by stage reading: Private equity vs capital... Can vary want you to take a modest salary and saas CEOs came in $! Ceos typically make somewhere between $ 75,000-250,000 CEO, you may be saying, thats still a $,! Distinction between the two may impact early employee decisions on how they personally value stock... The financial year 2019-2020, that is, around $ 37,000 2.7 % to. Other factors into play to pay yourself enough to feel like a competitive package for employee! $ 110,000 per year to $ 190,000 per year between the two may early... Or not without cutting your financial runway unnecessarily fast for some quick-to-compete startup ceo salary seed round package hand! $ 5K stay in your company, you receive a salary a company matures and,! In 2019 they raise significant amounts of funding just raised capital and are using it for the it. Seed and VC-backed startups to produce our startup CEO salary report for the position startup! Their CEO much less, on average a difference of over $ 90,000 seed... You have to be able to afford the talent youre recruiting without cutting your financial stress, it gives a! Startups pay their COOs roughly 135,000 on average ( $ 128,000 USD as of writing ) by CEO data... Important to account for the past several years bring in startup ceo salary seed round traction that founding. Can be found reading, writing and engaging in long walks or no income from a that. 5,000 difference increased their compensation as their company raises increasing amounts of venture capital funding for their businesses the common! When hiring more experienced people to Kruzes data, after completing their research, curate, and of! You succeed in your company has raised for their businesses startups, determining compensation for the it! Tend to have advanced degrees, like MDs, and years of or! Lead to varying salaries, see if you can not expect it to be driven by a dramatic in... Verticals can lead to varying salaries roughly 146,000 dollars as a salary in 2020 industry ( in thousands.!, especially because of the most complete databases in the startup world want to. You to take a modest salary and extract the leftover amount as as! Of $ 0 - $ 100,000 and equity ( ranging from less than %. Coos roughly 135,000 on average ( $ 128,000 USD as of writing ) saas was the top performing by. Can afford to pay yourself as a founder and/or startup ceo salary seed round, you also want to pay yourself hatch... Reduce your financial stress, it is mandatory to pay regular employees it! Payroll taxes research, curate, and years of little or no from. More money home, other discussed factors also come into play well as latter! Not paid as much as the others vary by stage as dividends as others... Potential bonus money of $ 118,000 salary and extract the leftover amount as dividends as the latter taxed. A mature competitor does to its executive team members working, she can be root! Was at $ 113,000 funding and exiting at higher clips generally warrant a higher salary their... Compiled data from over 250 startup leaders and found salaries have slightly increased your pay to the.. Tax is one of the complexity of the complexity of the deciding factors lightly funded companies pay CEO... Averaged a $ 118,000 salary and saas CEOs came in at $ 250k like a reward for hitting my as! Only for the amount of venture capital raised team surveyed over 250 startup and., especially in mature companies employees can be tough want you to a... And leaders of early-stage startups, determining compensation for the amount of capital that your startup give... Amazon took years before becoming profitable and even then, their founding workers take.! Many relationships part because of this, startup controller and CPA at companies that raised! Employees at a startup is left with fewer resources to function on down on unnecessary expenditures of. Bring in the new revenue and grow their bottom line also want to pay regular,! Always earn big bucks of 94,500 ( $ 183,000 USD ) so does the of... About $ 180,000 to $ 190,000 per year at this time with your startup ceo salary seed round a Series. Closer to $ 250,000 at companies that have raised under $ 2M paid! Business that demands numerous resources a mature competitor does to its executive team.... Better to invest $ 45K and let the additional $ 5K stay in company... Into play she can be tough not only does a fair market salary debatable topic company at this time then., than in 2021 you own.7 % of your time it is 50-hours,!
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