Our benchmark State of Startup Compensation is live. 1,000,000+ employees, 60,000 startups, here’s what’s happening:
1. Hiring is sluggish, but layoffs haven't risen in startup world yet.
Obviously the layoff story is roiling Big Tech at the moment again (and open question as to whether you believe the AI talking points behind it). But a similar wave has not yet appeared in private startups.
2. Startup employee comp is headed upwards.
Median equity packages are up 13% since January 2024. Salaries are up 5.1% over the same timeframe. That's decent, if not explosive, growth.
3. AI Eng compensation is 𝗳𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴
Equity packages are up 31% for AI Eng on median over the past 18 months and salaries are up 10%. In smaller companies (eg $10M-$50M in valuation), the gains are even starker.
4. Team sizes continue to shrink
The median seed company now employs 5 people. Small teams moving fast is the name of today's game.
5. Option pools haven't changed much, but some companies are doubling down on early employee equity.
If your team is going to stay small, why not compensate your best (and earliest) employees with more ownership? That's a pattern we see across some of the companies born in the last 2 years or so.
Sure, maybe AI is going to take all startup jobs one day. I'm thankful it hasn't done so yet 😁
Full report for anyone wanting to dig deeper: https://lnkd.in/efRQakeN
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