"What should I be paying myself?โ is one of the most common questions founders ask, and getting solid data is tough. We surveyed 750 founders worldwide to find the answers you need, including salary ranges, averages, and distributions.
๐ Hi, Product Hunt!
I'm Gillian, founder-in-residence @ Pilot.com, and one of the makers of the Founder Salary Report ๐ธ
Why did we make this?
At Pilot.com, we specialize in accounting, tax, and CFO needs for startups ๐ฆ. After working with 2,000+ customers, we've noticed that the question: โWhat should I be paying myself?" comes up for founders over and over again. ๐ค
We totally get the frustration of not having a clear-cut answer. Investors have good aggregate data on this, but it unfortunately, there just isn't any reliable public data on this topic.
We decided to do something about it. We surveys over 750 founders to capture that elusive data for you. ๐๐ Thereโs no magic number ๐ฑ for what you should be paying yourself, but we hope this report can be a handy reference when discussing comp with your co-founders ๐ฏ and investors ๐ฉโ๐ผ๐ด๏ธ
Weโd love to get your feedback. Weโll be around all day answering questions, so feel free to comment here!
P.S. ๐ Thanks to all the founders who participated in the surveyโthis is quite a rare snapshot of real-world data collected from founders across the globe. โจ๐
P.P.S. ๐คญ As another little offering for the PH community, if you have a startup and youโre looking for help with accounting, tax, or CFO services, the first 100 folks from PH that sign up with Pilot will get 20% off ๐ฐ their first six months of Pilot Core, if you use this link: https://pilot.com/offer/producthunt
Great idea Gillian! I think that founders can plan their budget in that way so they will have enough money for good life without fears "Where to take money".
Report
Looking forward to one day be in a position to need to use this
Great report @gillian_o_brien! Super helpful, glad I could contribute.
Report
Hi @gillian_o_brien,
Loved your Founder Salary Report. Ever think about how Pilot.com appears on various devices? You're ahead of the curve, but responsive design isn't just a nice-to-have; it's essential for broadening your user base.
I'm about to launch **Mobile View**. It lets you:
"View your website on multiple device views simultaneously, in real-time. Enhance your testing experience with immersive device skins as you optimize your responsive designs on-the-fly."
This tool goes beyond aesthetics; it ensures you're fully optimized for your target audience, and it improves the developer experience when developing responsive sites.
Follow me for launch updates, and lets touch base some time.
Best,
Connor
Mobile View
@kobie_jeong The methodology is in the footnotes, but will liste it here as well for anyone curious!
The 2023 Founder Salary Survey was conducted over a twelve-week period starting in May 2023, during which we reached out to founders through our extended networks and elsewhere online. We received a total of 744 responses. Approximately 50% of our responses were from either NYC based-founders or Founders in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Survey questions:
What is your annual salary? (in USD)
What is your job title?
When did you start the company?
What city is your company principally based in?
How many full-time employees does your company currently have?
Are you bootstrapped, or has your company raised money?
If bootstrapped: What is your ballpark ARR/revenue run rate?
If VC-backed: How much money have you raised?
Replies
Remote
Pump
Ploito
Sonnet
AICO
Remote