It's typical for startups to allot between 10-20% of the company's equity to an "employee stock option pool" A pie chart showing the typical equity division at an early-stage startup. Founders typically keep 75%, with investors and employees getting 15% and 10%, respectively.
As a rule of thumb, a non-founder CEO joining an early-stage startup (that has been running less than a year) would receive 7-10% equity. Other C-level execs would receive 1-5% equity that vests over time (usually 4 years).
The most common type of equity compensation, restricted stock units (RSUs), are offered when a company has a stable valuation or goes public. Similar to stock options, they vest over time, but you don't have to buy them. Therefore, RSUs have less risk while enticing employees to stick around for their assets to vest.
Calculating Startup Equity Compensation On average, startups are reserving a 13% to 20% equity pool for employees. This is important for startups to consider before they pursue series funding or other investments, in which they may be offering percentages of equity to investors.
Founders typically give up 20-40% of their company's equity in a seed or series A financing. But this number could be much higher (or lower) depending on a number of factors that we will discuss shortly. “How much equity should we sell to investors for our seed or series A round?”
In summary, 1% equity can be a good offer if the startup has strong potential, your role is significant, and the overall compensation package is competitive. However, it could also be seen as low depending on the context. It's essential to assess all these factors before making a decision.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $154,500 and as low as $30,000, the majority of Startup Ceo salaries currently range between $54,500 (25th percentile) to $100,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $132,000 annually across the United States.
In summary, 1% equity can be a good offer if the startup has strong potential, your role is significant, and the overall compensation package is competitive. However, it could also be seen as low depending on the context. It's essential to assess all these factors before making a decision.
In summary, while there's no one-size-fits-all answer, early employees should aim for equity that reflects their contribution and the stage of the company, typically ranging from 0.1% to 5% depending on various factors.
Founders typically give up 20-40% of their company's equity in a seed or series A financing. But this number could be much higher (or lower) depending on a number of factors that we will discuss shortly. “How much equity should we sell to investors for our seed or series A round?”