- Report this article
Ryan Lee 
Ryan Lee
Founder & CEO @ JIGO | Product
Published Nov 2, 2023
+ Follow
What's market for a founder's salary(US)? It seems to be around...
$100K -140K (Seed)
Like many things in startup land, there has been and currently are various views on this.
Peter Thiel famously said, "The lower the CEO salary, the more likely it is to succeed". And the famous 'Ramen Profitable' essay from Paul Graham - which are both a bit dated. But the prevailing sentiment these days seem to be for founders to be paid a real (but not large) salary.
So what are founders paying themselves? Based on various sources, a startup founder at a seed stage are paying themselves around $100K-140K.
Pilot recently published a survey of 750 startup founders <here> which has the average at $121K and mean $115K for 2023. But interestingly says that 40% of founders pay themselves less than $100K. The report has come great breakdowns so I highly recommend checking it out.
Kruze Consulting has the average at $145K (2023) with Seed stage founders getting somewhere around $130K-135K.
They also published the following chart for 2022.
Fast Company recently (Sept 2023) published an article that says that...
The median founder salary for startups with five or fewer employees was $93,000, while the median for more than 50 employees was $200,000. The highest salary for fewer than five was $500,000, and the highest salary for more than 50 was $400,000.
Again, lots of nuances here. So know the market and make informed decisions.
Other sources
https://openvc.app/blog/startup-founder-salary : lots of other resources included
https://www.deel.com/blog/how-to-pay-yourself-as-a-startup-founder
Like
Celebrate
Support
Love
Insightful
Funny
27
8 Comments
Jeff Croft
10mo
- Report this comment
What has the trend in these been over time? Especially the last 5 years. These don't seem to have kept up with inflation
1Reaction 2Reactions
Chan Jong (CJ) Na
Co-Founder/ CTO. Ex Cruise
10mo
- Report this comment
I think it makes sense to see founders paying less to themselves to succeed more.It would mean they have more conviction in their companies to grow (or it seems externally)If you are paying more than market wage for yourself, that is shortneing company's runway, albeit in small way
1Reaction 2Reactions
See more comments
To view or add a comment, sign in
More articles by this author
No more previous content
- Master Service Agreement (MSA) : Key Terms for B2B Companies Selling to Larger Enterprises Sep 5, 2024
- 🌟Starter Plan is now available : Free Trial for You 🌟 Aug 30, 2024
- Startup Accelerators (US) - Participation Fee Aug 1, 2024
- Maximizing the Impact of One-on-Ones: Avoiding the Trap of Empty Praise Jul 19, 2024
- YC Post money SAFE = Full Rachet anti-dilution? May 31, 2024
- [Survey] Insights on Korean Startups Seeking US Investment May 16, 2024
- Co-founder equity split : close to even May 3, 2024
- [Startup Investment] Pay-to-play : No Apr 11, 2024
- [Startup Investment] Drag Along Rights - Yes Apr 5, 2024
No more next content
Sign in
Stay updated on your professional world
Sign in
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
New to LinkedIn? Join now
Insights from the community
- Salary Negotiations How can you ensure executive pay is competitive in a startup?
- Startup Development What unique candidate requests should startups prepare for in negotiations?
- Job Search Strategies How can you research the benefits of a startup before negotiating?
- Startup Development Here's how you can secure a performance-based raise in a startup.
- Startup Development Here's how you can evaluate leaving a stable job for a startup career.
- Startup Development How do you structure equity and stock options for your team?
- Startup Development Here's how you can select the right startup to work for.
- Startup Development How can you keep top startup talent?
- Startup Development How can you persuade top talent to join your startup over an established company?
- Startup Development What do you do if you want to transition from full-time employment to self-employment in startup development?
Others also viewed
- Death of Employees Without Paychecks? 10 reasons why startup hires won’t work for only equity anymore. Max Shapiro 1y
- A Guide to Startup Bonus Plans Assaf Shamia 6mo
- Wondering if your startup will survive 2023? Read this article! Amr El Selouky 1y
- So I Launched a Startup (Pt. 7): Some Common Questions Charles Givre 3y
- What Salaries Do Startup CEOs Earn In 2024? Angel Capital Association 1mo
- Skin in the game Ganesh Balakrishnan 5y
- Economy Going Down? How Startups Can Thrive In A Bear Market Amit Garg 2y
- How Do Employee Stock Options Work At Startups Victoria Akingbemila (AICMC) 1y
- When to Quit While Bootstrapping with a Paycheck Sramana Mitra 9y
Explore topics
- Sales
- Marketing
- IT Services
- Business Administration
- HR Management
- Engineering
- Soft Skills
- See All
