Startup Salary & Equity Database

Combination of private submissions and private benchmarks. Exact submission date is listed under "Date" column. All submissions are vetted for accuracy.

It's your % ownership of the startup. Calculated one of two ways:
• Your total # of shares ÷ Fully diluted outstanding shares x 100 — confirm that it's fully diluted; otherwise, your stake will look higher than it truly is
• Current value of your shares ÷ current company valuation x 100 — value is based on preferred price (what investors paid); updates with each fundraise

Always make sure you have the numerator and the denominator.

Equity % helps you project what you stand to make. For example, if you have a 1% equity stake in a startup valued at $100M, which eventually IPOs at $1B, your stake will be worth 1% * $1B * dilution rate — dilution rate varies, but a rule of thumb is to assume 10-25% per funding round. This means the earlier you join, the more diluted you'll become. But you'll also have a lower strike price and usually a much bigger % to start with.

TLDR: know your comp band, target a percentile in-line with how strongly the company needs your skillset, and counter based on what you care about most (salary, equity, bonus, benefits).

But every situation is different. If you'd like 1:1 support and guaranteed higher comp, we can help.