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 Once a startup secures its seed funding, a common dilemma arises: how much should the founders and initial employees be paid?

Kruze Consulting, a CPA firm specializing in venture-backed startups, analyzed payroll data from over 450 seed-stage companies and shared their findings with TechCrunch. Unlike surveys, this data is derived from actual payroll records.

Unsurprisingly, technical roles in engineering and product development often earn more than the CEO. Interestingly, those with the title COO or operations tend to command even higher salaries, on average. This raises eyebrows since a COO role at the seed stage might suggest an additional co-founder without a clearly defined role, which can be a concern for early-stage investors focused on budget efficiency.

Here are the average founder salaries based on Kruze’s analysis:

CEO: $132,000

CTO: $134,000

COO/Operations: $135,000

CPO/Product: $149,000

These figures aren’t exceptionally high, especially in areas like the Bay Area. For instance, senior engineers joining seed-stage startups in the Bay Area typically earn $180,000 to $235,000, while in other regions, their salaries range from $160,000 to $210,000. Entry-level engineers in San Francisco earn between $75,000 and $105,000, on average.

Founders often see significant salary increases with subsequent funding rounds. By Series A, founder executive salaries average $183,000, and by Series B, they rise to $218,000.

For non-founder roles, here are the starting salary ranges for initial hires:

Engineering (midlevel): $100,000–$145,000 (Bay Area); $90,000–$130,000 (other tech hubs)

Sales (midlevel): $80,000–$110,000 (Bay Area); $70,000–$100,000 (other regions)

Product roles: $130,000–$185,000 (Bay Area); $110,000–$175,000 (other regions)

Marketing (midlevel): $100,000–$175,000 (Bay Area); $80,000–$145,000 (other regions)

Equity compensation is another key benefit for startup employees. Data from Carta, which analyzed over 8,000 equity grants, reveals the typical equity allocation for the first five hires, generally vested over four years:

First hire: 0.5%–4% equity (median: 1.49%)

Second hire: 0.3%–2% equity (median: 0.85%)

Third hire: 0.21%–1.2% equity (median: 0.50%)

Fourth hire: 0.18%–1% equity (median: 0.44%)

Fifth hire: 0.13%–0.8% equity (median: 0.34%)

These compensation trends highlight how startups balance competitive salaries and equity incentives to attract and retain talent in their early stages.