Determining Founder Salary for Early Stage Startups

There is a condition that will always be experienced by new startup founders, especially for those who have just managed to book their first funding, both in terms of pre seed or seed funding. The condition in question is when the founder has to determine his own destiny in the startup that was founded, about determining how much salary he should get every month.

It seems trivial, but it sometimes makes you confused, because as a founder, you usually think about making the best use of your investment for growth. But on the other hand he also needs to meet his daily needs, in the end the founder still has to pay his own salary, negotiate with himself to determine it.

But don't worry, generally after a startup is growing rapidly and has a board of directors, those worries will disappear. The reason is that at that point the salary of the founder as an executive has been determined by top-level management in business based on strategic calculations. For the initial stage, all still have to think about themselves.

The worst thing to do is determine immeasurably the salary he earns himself. Some others follow the trend of existing data, but sometimes they can't be the main benchmark, because each business has a different culture and capability. Yinon Weiss as Founder & CEO of CarDash –a startup seed stages Silicon Valley origin—tell the experience best at determining his own salary.

Setting a lower limit: ensuring it doesn't interfere with productivity

What founders really need for early stage startups is hard work and thought. Do not let the concentration on these two things interfere with personal financial matters, especially for those who are already married. At least the lower limit point must be able to meet daily needs, so that while working, worries about other things are not disturbed.

This lower limit is about the minimum value that should be accepted. The conditions must be able to meet the most basic needs for everyday life. There is no fixed size, startup founders with different circumstances should be able to identify their needs here.

Setting the upper limit: making sure not to overdo it

There's nothing wrong with paying yourself as a founder with too much nominal, but back to the initial spirit of building a business, wouldn't the money transferred to the account not be better played up to the maximum for business development? Every rupiah invested is the founder's motivation to turn it into a bigger profit. If the founder is not sure about it, from the start should not choose to run a startup.

Basically, the determination of the upper and lower limits was to make the nominal issued more measurable. The principle is that when a founder gets the right salary from the business he builds, his needs are fulfilled. Some founders even say that when his salary was low enough at the beginning, he became more aware of the sacrifices, and motivated him to be more successful.

Ultimately there is a critical question that needs to be answered: when founders pay less and put more money into their startup capital, will it increase the chances of success? If the answer is yes, then fight. This belief will bring startups happier founders better. Because as a founder, his decision is not only the best for himself, but also for the business he founded.