Startup founder salaries are on the up across Europe, after a tricky few years of cost-cutting and hawkishly watching the bottom line.
Founder salaries at almost all funding stages increased in 2024 in comparison to 2023, and bonuses bounced back big-time at later-stage and bootstrapped startups, according to a new report from VC firm Creandum.
They’ve not grown equally across countries, however: French founders have seen the biggest salary bumps, putting the average French founder salary above that of their UK peers for the first time in a while.
The best remunerated founder took home a huge €739k in salary and bonus in 2024; the worst, a measly €12.5k.
Creandum surveyed 688 founders based primarily (but not exclusively) in Europe: 28% were based in the DACH region; 27% in the UK; 16% in the Nordics; and 6% in France. 87% of respondents were male; 7% ran bootstrapped startups; 15% ran fintechs and 56% ran B2B SaaS companies.
So, founders, where do you sit in the pack? Let’s take a look.
Founders at all stages (bar Series A) gave themselves a pay rise in 2024
Founder salaries increased in 2024 at all stages but Series A — with the median salary doubling for bootstrapped founders.
As would be expected, salaries increase as companies progress through funding stages — although the biggest salary jump comes between seed and Series A. The median founder salary at seed in 2024 was €85k; at Series A, it’s 41% higher, at €120k.
At Series B, many founders are bringing in big(ger) bucks — their median salary is €159k — but that comes with diminishing equity. At pre-seed, the median equity held by a founder is 33%; at Series B, it’s just 11%.
Bonuses are back
Bonuses vary hugely across startups. 160 (23%) of the 688 founders surveyed received a bonus in 2024, with the biggest bonus recorded at €680k. 25 founders took home bonuses of more than €100k — and they were exclusively CEO founders.
Bootstrapped founders benefit more from bonuses than pre-seed and seed-stage startups, pushing their total compensation (median salary plus bonus) to €95k, in comparison to €90k at seed in 2024.
At Series B, bonuses are also common, with 45% of Series B founders receiving one (up from 19% in 2023). Amongst bootstrapped founders, 37% received a bonus in 2024, in comparison to 23% in 2023.
But it’s also not uncommon for founders to be paying themselves very little; 17 of the founders surveyed were taking home less than €30k in total compensation, including one CEO of a six-year-old UK-based company with over 50 employees who paid themselves €24k.
“These folks likely fall into two personal scenarios,” says Michelle Coventry, Creandum’s head of talent. “First-time founders straight from university with low personal overheads and second-round founders willing to supplement earnings through savings.
“Most boards will likely suggest adjusting to ‘market rates’, ensuring the founder has a pay cushion, enabling them to focus on the more significant outcome and of building value in their companies without distraction.”
French founder salaries are up 60%
UK founders are now paid less, on average, than those in France, Benelux and the DACH region. CEE founders remain paid by far the worst, with an average salary of €69k.
In 2024, French founders saw salaries rise by 60% overall, reaching an average take-home of €124k while in Benelux salaries jumped 90%, to an average €118k. UK founder salaries averaged at €107k; DACH founder salaries €116k.
CPO founders earn the most
As AI-mania sweeps the continent, founders in product roles took home the highest average salaries, at €116k. That’s a shift from last year, when chief revenue officers and chief commercial officers had the biggest pay packages.
In 2024, CEO founders had the second-highest average salaries, at €109k.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/startup-founder-salaries-europe-2024/
