I’m currently working on my MVP with my other co-founders and the assumption is that I would quite my job once we receive our seed round. I’m not sure what the salary amount would be in respective of our burn and even reaching a series A.
My current role is senior eng making low 6 figures given the state of the market.
Our assumption is our seed would be around 3~5 mill and I would be taking the CTO role.
I’m trying to figure out what would be the appropriate salary and the opportunity cost of quitting my full time job?
Pay yourself your middle-line living expenses + 50% and set a 25% target for what bonus/dividend you’ll secure at year end. Remember that people typically markedly underestimate living expenses.
So, this might work out to $75k + $37k base + $30k bonus, for a $142k OTE. The 25% secures your professional growth if the venture performs well under your CTO leadership, and sets a clear expectation of re-invest from GP for other founders, while also allowing that bonus to be re-invested if the venture under performs.