Co-founder Salary Overview
Co-Founders at SaaS companies share responsibility for founding, building, and scaling the business alongside their co-founders. They typically divide ownership of key functions — one may focus on product and technology while another owns go-to-market — and work directly with early hires including the CFO, COO, and Managing Director as the company scales.
Co-Founder compensation is unique — base salary is often deliberately low in the early stages, with equity representing the dominant component of total compensation. As the company matures, Co-Founders frequently formalize into executive roles such as CEO or CTO, with compensation benchmarked against the executive market. View all SaaS salary benchmarks.
Detailed Co-founder Compensation Breakdown
Percentile Band | Average Base Salary | # of salaries |
|---|---|---|
| Top 25% | $221,481 | 27 salaries |
| Middle 50% | $120,386 | 57 salaries |
| Bottom 25% | $21,328 | 23 salaries |
What Drives Higher Co-Founder Pay?
Company stage and ARR — base rises sharply after Series A
Investor expectations and board-set compensation policies
Domain expertise and prior successful founding experience
Functional ownership — technical co-founders sometimes command a premium
Co-Founder Compensation Structure
Base salary is a small fraction of total comp at early stage (20–40%)
Founder equity (15–35% at seed) is the primary long-term value driver
Board-approved salary increases tied to funding milestones
Performance bonuses become relevant only after Series B+
