Lynn Johannson, Advisor, Sustainability and ESG
January 4th, 2024
Lynn Johannson, President of E2 Management Corporation and Catalyst for THE Collaboration
In a care[...]
Founder Salaries: Insights from Europe, U.S., and Canada
Salary Report | Jan 13, 2025
Image: European Median Salaries By Stage 2023 vs 2024 (Creandum Compensation report 3.0)
What Startup Founders Really Earn: Lessons from Creandum and Insights for Canada
Have you ever had the task of determining how much to pay yourself? Well it's a key question that Startup founders face around the globe who must balance the company's growth (and runway) with a founder's personal compensation needs and sustainability. Creamdum recently published their third annual Founder Compensation 2024 report based on responses from nearly 700 founders at various development stages from bootstrap to Series B.
See: The Rise and Implications of a New AI Software Workforce
The report finds that 2024 startups have given themselves a pay increase due to being in a more stable position, post covid pandemic. Some sectors like climate tech and healthtech are thriving but regional differences, gender pay and equity dilution are still key topics. This article breaks down some of the data to serve as practical benchmarks for founders and boards to make informed decisions around compensation.
Creandum’s 2024 Survey of Salaries in Europe
1. Founder Salaries Increased Across Nearly Every Stage
- Bootstraped founder median salaries doubled from €15,000 to €30,000 (that's a significant hike!)
- Pre-seed is up 37% from €35,000 to €48,000.
- Seed increased a bit and is now at €85,000.
- Series A didn't change given slower growth in funding rounds. €120,000
- Series B grew 13% with median salary reaching €159,000 and total compensation with bonuses almost €200,000.
For many early stage company founders their salaries are closely tied to funding milestones.
2. Bonuses Are Back
Performance bonuses help founders stretch their rewards without overextending base salaries.
See: Canada’s $300M AI Funding Targets SMEs for Growth
- Bootstrapped founder bonuses represent 26% of total pay, boosting total compensation by 138%.
- Meanwhile only 5% of pre-seed founders receive bonuses at this stage.
- 24% of Series B founders get bonuses based on their performance targets and milestones.
3. Regional Pay Differences
Founder pay across Europe varies significantly.
- France jumped a whopping 60% from 2023 to €124,000 and are now near the top paid in the region.
- UK founders pay €107,000 which is a decline from last year given shifting regional competitiveness.
- Nordics €100,000 (steadily increasing due to strong tech funding).
- DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) get paid €95,000.
- Southern Europe is €70,000, quite a bit lower due to limited funding pools and lower cost of living.
- Baltic countries (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) highest paid founders in Europe due to Estonia's tech boom and entrepreneurial talent including influx from Russia.
4. Change in Sector Trends
For the past two years, Fintech founders were the highest earners however now in 2024, Climate Tech and Health Tech founders have taken the lead at later stages with large funding increases.
See: Green Fintech 2.0 Shows Progress in the UK
Climate Tech raised €7.7 billion in equity funding as of H1 2024 while Health Tech raised $2 billion in Q3 2024 alone. Both of these sectors require major upfront investments which translate to higher founder pay as these companies mature.
5. Gender Pay Gap is Shrinking but Challenges Remain
- Bootstrap female founders earn just 3% less than male founders.
- At Pre-seed the largest gender pay gap exists with women earning 23% less than men.
- Seed and Series A female founders actually earn MORE than male founders (report does not express exact percentages)
- Series B female founders get paid 13% less than their counterparts.
- One of the major challenges is just representation given that male founders outnumber female founders 6:1
Comparing Europe, the U.S., and Canada
- The U.S. consistently leads globally in founder pay across all stages due to its larger funding ecosystem and higher valuations.
- Europe compensation follows the U.S. but varies widely by region.
- Canada trails Europe and the U.S. with founder pay aligned to smaller funding pools. Founders should push for more funding options and stronger policies to attract investment.
See: What Toronto Can Learn from Tel Aviv’s Start-Up Scene
| Stage | U.S. (USD) | Canada (USD) | Europe (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bootstrap | N/A | $29,600 | $31,579 |
| Pre-Seed | $50,000 | $44,400 | $52,632 |
| Seed | $133,000 | $59,200 | $89,474 |
| Series A | $183,000 | $81,400 | $126,316 |
| Series B | $218,000 | $111,000 | $167,368 |
Notes:
Figures below are all expressed in USD for an apples to apples comparison.
US salaries from Kruze Consulting CEO salary report
Canadian salaries from Talent.com and Glassdoor
European salaries from Creandum's 2024 salary report
Equity Trends You Need to Know
Image from Creandum Compensation 3.0 report
1. One of the biggest drivers of dilution is the number of co-founders in a company, regardless of stage.
- For example, solo founders hold onto about 80% equity during the early years of a startup but that drops to 30% equity by Series B.
- Then compare that with a venture with five co-founders, by the time Series B rolls around individual co-founders retain often less than 7% equity.
- Having said that, multiple co-founders can also bring diverse skill.
2. Founders of bootstrapped companies keep a larger share with a median of 44% equity.
- This is common sense since this type of company trades off slower growth for more control.
3. Equity dilutes with each funding round.
- For example, founders typically still retain about 20-25% equity at Series A but that drops to 10-15% by Series B. The trade off here is ownership versus the need to secure growth capital
Closing Thought
Founders have been through a lot with covid, geopolitical risks, and economic stability. The 2024 Creandum compensation 3.0 report clearly shows key compensation trends including rising startup founder salaries, return of bonus incentives, and regional/sector trends.
See:
UK Banking Competition Remedies, Lessons for Fintech Growth
BoE Report: Open Banking Boosts Productivity, Competition
Higher startup CEO salaries are driven by ecosystem strength. Canadian founders should learn from the U.S. and other regions by addressing funding gaps and advocating for stronger policies that strengthen the local ecosytem, attract investment, attract/retain top talent, and make Canadian companies more competitive on the global stage. Want to learn more? Checkout Creandum’s Compensation Calculator as a valuable resource to help align pay with funding stage and industry trends.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
 |  |  |
Support NCFA by Following us on Twitter!Follow @NCFACanada  |
Related Posts
FINTECH FRIDAY$ (EP.6-Aug 24): Asian Crypto Markets Meet Canadian Talent with Henri Arslanian, Chairman of FinTech Association of HK- An IOSCO report highlights crypto trading issues, but stops short of setting standards
- The Impact of Fintech on Central Bank Governance
- Canadian Women in VC – 3rd Annual Compensation Survey (Deadline Oct 11)
- Globalive’s Lacavera Acquires Wealth One Bank
- CircleUp Raises $22M To Invest In Consumer Brands On Its Crowdfunding Platform
Leave a Reply