Market data
Early sales comp and fill times for Seed through Series D+.
Base and OTE bands by level for founding AE, SDR, and sales leadership, plus how long these seats usually take to fill.
Ranges are illustrative market patterns drawn from public Levels.fyi / Pave / Carta-style benchmarks and common VC-backed hiring practice. They are starting points for offer conversations, not guarantees for any specific hire.
Last updated
Salary bands
Base and OTE by level and stage
Junior through Head for SDR, founding AE / AE, and sales leadership. Switch the role family below.
Quota-carrying sellers: first AE through senior / enterprise.
| Level | Seed | Series A | Series B | Series C | Series D+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mid AE / early AE | $90K–$120K OTE $150K–$220K | $100K–$140K OTE $180K–$260K | $110K–$150K OTE $200K–$300K | $120K–$160K OTE $220K–$320K | $130K–$170K OTE $240K–$350K |
senior Founding / Senior AE | $100K–$140K OTE $160K–$230K | $120K–$160K OTE $220K–$320K | $130K–$175K OTE $250K–$360K | $140K–$185K OTE $270K–$390K | $150K–$200K OTE $290K–$420K |
Base and OTE are illustrative SF / NYC-style baselines for VC-backed startups. Other US metros and remote often run ~10–15% lower on base. Empty cells mean that level is uncommon at that stage.
Time-to-fill
How long early sales seats take to fill
Benchmarks for founding AE and early sales searches, not every corporate sales req.
Vektor typical fill
2–3 weeks
Stress-tested finalists for founding AE and early sales seats.
Traditional agency
6–10 weeks
Common contingency search cycle for sales seats at scale-up firms.
US sales median
~5–7 weeks
Roughly 36–48 days across broader US sales hiring benchmarks.
An open AE or SDR seat is not idle time. It is pipeline that never gets built. Faster fill with the right bar matters more than a cheaper, slower search.
Why this niche
We recruit early sales talent from Seed through Series D+.
That is where a wrong AE or SDR costs runway, not just a line item. Founders are still in the loop, the motion is still forming, and every open week shows up as pipeline that never got built.
We focus on founding AE, early AE, SDR/BDR, and sales leadership seats in that window. Candidates run structured screens and a live mock cold call selling your product before they hit your calendar.
Generalist desks optimize for volume. We optimize for sellers who can open new logos when buyers have never heard of you. That is a different search, and a different bar.
- Seed through Series D+
- Founding AE, early AE, SDR, sales leadership
- Mock cold calls on your product before submission
Speed vs. market
What does an open sales seat cost in pipeline?
Pick a role level and annual quota. We compare our published 2–3 week fill to the published traditional 6–10 week range. Quota is your input. No blend factors.
Our published fill
2–3 weeks
Midpoint 2.5 wks
Traditional range
6–10 wks
Midpoint 8 wks
Pipeline at the seat sooner
~$29K
5.5 wks earlier × weekly quota
Vektor weeks use the midpoint of our published 2–3 week fill (2.5). Market weeks use 8, the midpoint of the published traditional 6–10 week range. Formula: (annual quota ÷ 52) × weeks earlier.
Close that gapOffer calculator
Calibrate a specific offer
Optional tool if you want to dial base, equity, and stage for a concrete seat.
Build the offer
Defaults populate from current market ranges. Adjust anything.
Market: $100K–$140K
Market: 0.08%–0.25%
Typical Series A: ~$80M
Total comp (today's paper view)
$150K
Below market · today: $180K–$260K- Annual base
- $120,000(In market range)
- Annual equity value*
- $30,000(In market range)
- Annual cash bonus
- None
*Today's annual equity value = (% × current post-money) ÷ vesting years. This is paper value today. Use the exit projector below to show candidates what the grant could be worth at outcome.
About this stage
Series A
Typical valuation
~$80M
Team size
15–40 people
Typical raise
$8M–$25M
Scaling the first functions. Candidates expect clearer leveling and still care about equity upside.
Closing this seat? See Vektor placement fees.
Exit scenarios
If the company sells for X, the grant is worth Y.
Candidates ask this. Be ready with a clear answer.
Offer inputs for the story
Use the same equity % and cash you are putting in the offer letter so candidates see a coherent narrative.
How to sell this offer
- Equity at this exit
- $1.50M
- + Cash earned (4 yrs base + bonus)
- $480K
- Total proceeds over 4 yrs
- $1.98M
Reading the numbers: Equity payout assumes the current stake at exit with no future dilution. Most VC-backed companies dilute another 15–30% before exit, so treat these as the optimistic view when talking to candidates.
How to structure the offer
The three ways to value startup equity
The same offer looks very different depending on how equity is valued.
| Method | How it's computed | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Post-money valuation | % × current priced-round valuation. | Most optimistic. Useful when selling upside to a candidate. |
| Discounted expected outcome | % × current valuation × 0.3–0.7 (dilution + execution risk). | The honest planning number for comparing offers side by side. |
| 409A / strike price | % × IRS-blessed common-share value. | Legal lower bound. Almost always too pessimistic for recruiting conversations. |
A worked example
Founding AE at Series A, $80M post-money, 0.15% equity
| Method | Total equity value | Annual (4yr vest) |
|---|---|---|
| Post-money valuation | $120,000 | $30,000 |
| Discounted expected (0.5×) | $60,000 | $15,000 |
| 409A (assume 20% of post) | $24,000 | $6,000 |
All three are technically "the equity value." The honest planning number for competing offers is usually in the middle. Use post-money when you want to show upside.
The single best question to answer in a final-round offer call: "If we exit at the current valuation in 4 years, what is this equity actually worth net of likely dilution?"
Full reference tables
Comp ranges by function
Sales first, with engineering and ops as secondary reference.
| Role | Stage | Base (USD) | Equity (%) | Realistic total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDR / BDR | Seed | $55K–$75K | 0.05%–0.15% | $90K–$130K |
| SDR / BDR | Series A | $60K–$80K | 0.03%–0.10% | $100K–$145K |
| SDR / BDR | Series B | $65K–$85K | 0.02%–0.06% | $110K–$160K |
| Account Executive | Seed | $90K–$120K | 0.15%–0.40% | $150K–$220K |
| Account Executive | Series A | $100K–$140K | 0.08%–0.25% | $180K–$260K |
| Account Executive | Series B | $110K–$150K | 0.04%–0.12% | $200K–$300K |
| Senior / Enterprise AE | Series A | $120K–$160K | 0.10%–0.25% | $220K–$320K |
| Senior / Enterprise AE | Series B | $130K–$175K | 0.05%–0.15% | $250K–$360K |
| Senior / Enterprise AE | Series C | $140K–$185K | 0.03%–0.10% | $270K–$390K |
| Senior / Enterprise AE | Series D+ | $150K–$200K | 0.02%–0.08% | $290K–$420K |
| Sales Manager | Series A | $140K–$180K | 0.15%–0.35% | $220K–$320K |
| Sales Manager | Series B | $150K–$200K | 0.08%–0.20% | $250K–$360K |
| VP Sales / Head of Sales | Series A | $180K–$230K | 0.40%–1.00% | $280K–$420K |
| VP Sales / Head of Sales | Series B | $200K–$260K | 0.25%–0.70% | $320K–$480K |
| VP Sales / Head of Sales | Series C | $220K–$280K | 0.15%–0.45% | $360K–$520K |
| VP Sales / Head of Sales | Series D+ | $240K–$310K | 0.10%–0.35% | $390K–$560K |
SF / NYC baseline. Other US metros and remote often compress base ~10–15%.
Common pitfalls
Offer mistakes we see founders make
01
Matching FAANG cash at Seed equity
A Seed offer that pays Big Tech base while granting Pre-seed/Seed equity burns cash without an upside story. At early stage, equity should do meaningful work in the package.
02
Ignoring geo and remote bands
SF/NYC baselines do not travel 1:1. Remote and secondary metros often compress base 10–15%. Publishing one national number creates renegotiation risk.
03
Under-equitizing the bottleneck seat
The founding AE who unlocks the next 18 months of revenue is not a mid-band hire. If the seat is existential, price the grant accordingly.
04
No refresh grant plan
A 4-year grant hits zero in year 5. Without a defined refresh policy, you lose senior people exactly when they are most valuable.
05
Selling post-money as if it were cash
Candidates compare your paper equity to liquid RSUs. Discount the equity when you narrate the offer, or you lose trust in the final call.
06
Forgetting exercise cost and tax
ISO/NSO grants can require real cash to exercise. Senior candidates will ask. Have a plain-English answer ready.
FAQ
Startup comp & equity FAQ
Illustrative working ranges: founding AE at Seed 0.15%–0.40%; AE at Series A 0.08%–0.25%; senior/enterprise AE at Series A–B 0.10%–0.25%; VP Sales at Series B 0.25%–0.70%. Engineering bands remain in the calculator as secondary reference. Use the builder above to place a specific grant inside its band.
Stage-dependent. At Seed, equity has the most asymmetric upside for sellers who can afford it, and OTE structure matters as much as base. By Series C, packages skew toward cash and clearer refresh grants. If the candidate has heavy financial obligations, optimize base + OTE first.
Each priced round often issues ~15–25% new equity. A 0.5% Seed grant can land near ~0.26% after Series C without refreshes. Be honest: show today's paper value and a diluted scenario. Strong candidates prefer clarity over inflated headlines.
Do not compare post-money paper dollars 1:1 with liquid RSUs. Use a discounted expected outcome (often ~0.3×–0.7× of post-money) for planning, and keep post-money for upside storytelling.
Most early-stage startups grant ISOs (tax-advantaged, AMT risk). NSOs are simpler for some contractors/advisors. Later-stage and pre-IPO companies often move toward RSUs. Match the instrument to stage and candidate sophistication.
Use this page to set a coherent band before you open a founding AE or early sales seat. Use Vektor when you need sourcing, mock-call vetting, and a partner who can close competitive sellers against that band, especially for post-raise GTM spikes (Hiring Partner).
Ready to open an early sales seat?
We help Seed through Series D+ teams hire founding AEs and early sales talent against these bands.
Data is illustrative; not financial advice. Pricing