Report

Founder Salary Report 2024

Presented by
Founder Salary Report 2023 promo graphic

How much should you be paying yourself?

We launched the first Founder Salary Report in 2021 to answer a common question from our clients: how much should I be paying myself? Investors have good aggregate data about this, but founders don’t… until now.

This report will give you a sense of what your peers are doing, along with key differences from 2023, and what the trends are for companies like yours. We know you’ll enjoy this report, and we hope it’s a useful guide in discussing founder compensation with your co-founders and your board.

A big thank you to the over 1,000 startup founders that participated in this survey — this is a unique snapshot of real-world data from across the globe.

Overview

Annual Salaries

For founders who take a salary, both median and average (mean) salaries increased when compared to 2023, 15% and 17% respectively. Though salaries increased, the incidence of founders who are taking no salary at all also increased, up 33% from 7% of respondents in 2023 to 9% in 2024.

Founder Salary Report 2024 bar chart
$132K
median salary
$142K
average salary
37%
of founders pay themselves less than $100K annually

Funding

Average funding amounts decreased slightly from last year to $11.3M vs. $12M in 2023’s report. The median amount increased from $2.5M in 2023 to $4M this year. The incidence of founders bootstrapping their startups also decreased 10% from 11.5% of respondents in 2023 compared to 10.3% this year.

Founder Salary Report 2024 bar chart
Note: ?
$4M
median funding
$11.3M
average funding
19%
of founders have reported funding between $1M to $3M

Salaries by Funding Level

This section looks at how much founders are paying themselves, relative to the amount of funding that their company has raised. While our responses came from a wide spectrum of funding amounts, most respondents had raised $100K and $8M in funding.

Bootstrapped vs. VC-Backed Salaries Breakdown

Founders who are VC-backed are more likely to have higher salaries compared to their bootstrapped counterparts. Of the founders who paid themselves between $100K and $200K annually, 93% of them were VC-backed while only 7% were bootstrapped.

Nearly 57% of bootstrapped founders pay themselves between $1-$100K annually and 57% of VC-backed founders pay themselves between $50K and $150K a year.

$0
29%
7%
$1-$49K
14%
8%
$50K-$99K
14%
18%
$100K-$149K
22%
23%
$150K-$199K
9%
23%
$200K-$249K
5%
10%
$250K-$299K
3%
6%
$300K+
3%
4%

*Bootstrapped companies were defined as those with no funding, while VC-backed salaries are defined as those with some investor capital.

Breakdown of Salaries by Funding Level*

Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
SF Bay Area
$750K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
Other US
$10
Median Salary
$135K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
NYC Area
$601K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
SF Bay Area
$24
Median Salary
$90K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
Other US
$288K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
SF Bay Area
$92
Median Salary
$125K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
SF Bay Area
$515K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
SF Bay Area
$1
Median Salary
$124K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
Other US
$390K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
SF Bay Area
$1
Median Salary
$150K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
SF Bay Area
$544K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
NYC Area
$554
Median Salary
$194K

Salaries by Company Size

This section looks at how much founders are paying themselves, relative to the number of full-time employees (FTEs) at their company.

Our results here skewed toward smaller companies, with 57% of respondents employing 5 people or fewer and just 6% of respondents employing more than 25 FTEs. We used the number of FTEs to approximate both size and complexity. As businesses grow, their needs become more complex, and their employee count tends to grow as well.

Breakdown of Salaries by Full-Time Employees

Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
NYC Area
$590K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
Other US
$1
Median Salary
$100K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
Other US
$600K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
Other US
$1
Median Salary
$139K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
SF Bay Area
$390K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
Other US
$10
Median Salary
$166K
Lowest Salary
$0K
Highest Salary
Other US
$416K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
NYC Area
$60K
Median Salary
$200K
Lowest Salary
$4K
Highest Salary
SF Bay Area
$750K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
SF Bay Area
$4K
Median Salary
$165K

Salaries by Geography

Here we look at how much founders are paying themselves in specific locations. By examining salaries in the context of their geography, we attempt to control for cost-of-living differences that might distort the overall averages.

Median Salaries by Location

US states illustration
$135K
SF Bay Area
$145K
Other US
$150K
Boston Area
$138K
NYC Area
$119K
Texas Area

Breakdown of Salaries by Geography

Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$345K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$10
Median Salary
$135K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$750K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$2
Median Salary
$138K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$375K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$46K
Median Salary
$150K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$270K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$1K
Median Salary
$119K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$601K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$1
Median Salary
$145K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$450K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$92
Median Salary
$122K

Deep Dives by Geography

Geography plays a major role in a startup's overall finances and salaries. In this section, we'll provide further context by looking at funding and company sizes by geography. In previous years we have looked at companies that are primarily remote, but interestingly, this year, there were too few “Remote first” responses for a remote deep dive. Below we look at salaries for companies in the NYC area, SF Bay Area, and the rest of the US.

SF Bay Area

Salaries

$0
8%
$1-$49K
8%
$50K-$99K
22%
$100K-$149K
20%
$150K-$199K
23%
$200K-$249K
6%
$250K-$299K
8%
$300K+
4%

Funding

$0-$999K
12%
$1M-$2.9M
21%
$3M-$4.9M
13%
$5M-$9.9M
17%
$10M+
36%

Full-Time Employees

0-5 FTEs
42%
6-10 FTEs
23%
11-25 FTEs
35%
26+ FTEs
0%

Breakdown of Salaries by Funding Level

Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$240K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$10
Median Salary
$89K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$275K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$731
Median Salary
$88K
Lowest Salary
$40K
Highest Salary
$250K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$40K
Median Salary
$185K
Lowest Salary
$88K
Highest Salary
$270K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$88K
Median Salary
$150K
Lowest Salary
$554
Highest Salary
$325K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$554
Median Salary
$175K

Breakdown of Salaries by Full-Time Employees

Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$285K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$528
Median Salary
$93K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$345K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$731
Median Salary
$100K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$220K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$10
Median Salary
$130K
Lowest Salary
$120K
Highest Salary
$325K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$120K
Median Salary
$197K

New York City Area

Salaries

$0
7%
$1-$49K
10%
$50K-$99K
12%
$100K-$149K
32%
$150K-$199K
24%
$200K-$249K
6%
$250K-$299K
6%
$300K+
3%

Funding

$0-$2.9M
36%
$3M-$9.9M
42%
$10M+
22%

Full-Time Employees

0-5 FTEs
59%
6-10 FTEs
24%
11-25 FTEs
10%
26+ FTEs
7%

Breakdown of Salaries by Funding Level

Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$750K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$56K
Median Salary
$120K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$515K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$1K
Median Salary
$146K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$289K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$82K
Median Salary
$151K

Breakdown of Salaries by Full-Time Employees

Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$515K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$2
Median Salary
$122K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$277K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$1K
Median Salary
$138K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$286K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$5K
Median Salary
$167K
Lowest Salary
$63K
Highest Salary
$750K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$63K
Median Salary
$197K

Other US

Salaries

$0
6%
$1-$49K
9%
$50K-$99K
15%
$100K-$149K
28%
$150K-$199K
21%
$200K-$249K
10%
$250K-$299K
6%
$300K+
4%

Funding

$0-$999K
19%
$1M-$2.9M
7%
$3M-$4.9M
21%
$5M-$9.9M
17%
$10M+
36%

Full-Time Employees

0-5 FTEs
45%
6-10 FTEs
21%
11-25 FTEs
25%
26+ FTEs
8%

Breakdown of Salaries by Funding Level

Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$601K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$24
Median Salary
$124K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$275K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$4K
Median Salary
$123K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$300K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$23K
Median Salary
$153K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$390K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$1
Median Salary
$153K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$544K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$15K
Median Salary
$200K

Breakdown of Salaries by Full-Time Employees

Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$590K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$24
Median Salary
$100K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$601K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$1
Median Salary
$150K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$390K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$13K
Median Salary
$170K
Lowest Salary
$4K
Highest Salary
$378K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$4K
Median Salary
$194K

AI Founder Salaries

This section looks at how much founders of AI startups are paying themselves, relative to the total set of founder salaries we analyzed.

Surprisingly, median salaries are higher for non-AI startup founders by 8%, $135K vs. $125K. Even our highest reported salary of $750K was a non-AI founder. A more expected result was the geographic location of AI founders—53% reported being based in California.

Salaries

$0
9%
$1-$49K
6%
$50K-$99K
20%
$100K-$149K
26%
$150K-$199K
17%
$200K-$249K
10%
$250K-$299K
6%
$300K+
5%

Funding

$0-$999K
21%
$1M-$2.9M
25%
$3M-$4.9M
11%
$5M-$9.9M
21%
$10M+
22%

Full-Time Employees

0-5 FTEs
50%
6-10 FTEs
28%
11-25 FTEs
19%
26+ FTEs
2%

Breakdown of Salaries by Funding Level

Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$350K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$10
Median Salary
$131K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$275K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$92
Median Salary
$120K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$280K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$50K
Median Salary
$110K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$258K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$50K
Median Salary
$140K
Lowest Salary
$88K
Highest Salary
$461K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$88K
Median Salary
$100K

Breakdown of Salaries by Full-Time Employees

Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$590K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$12
Median Salary
$90K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$544K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$92
Median Salary
$144K
Lowest Salary
$0
Highest Salary
$324K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$10
Median Salary
$170K
Lowest Salary
$160K
Highest Salary
$378K
Lowest Non-Zero Salary
$160K
Median Salary
$258K

Thanks for reading!

We hope this report gives you a good sense of what other founders are doing for salaries, and we hope that it serves as a useful guide in discussing founder compensation with your cofounders and your investors.

We’d like to end with a little bit of a philosophical note: there’s no magic number for what you as a founder should pay yourself. Market comps of course matter, but ultimately the question is a highly personal one: what salary is needed to allow you to focus your efforts on making the business successful?

In particular: if your salary is too low, you’ll spend a bunch of time and energy stressing out how to make your rent payment or how to cover your childcare costs — and all that stress distracts you from making your business successful.

So in short, the correct amount to pay yourself (company funds permitting) is not a specific dollar amount: it’s enough so that you can focus all of your energy on creating a successful company.

We’re wishing you the best of luck with your business!

Methodology
The 2024 Founder Salary Survey was conducted over a two-week period starting in April 2024, during which we reached out to founders through our extended networks and elsewhere online. A total of 1,044 responses were included in this analysis. Approximately 33% of our responses were from either NYC based-founders or Founders in the San Francisco Bay Area.
  • 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?

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