Sample report with made-up data. Twenty fictional companies, one of which plays “your company”. No real answers are shown here.

Benchmark report

Founder & Executive Compensation 2026

What founders pay themselves and their senior people, and how equity is shared out — and where your company sits.

Compared with 20 companies· everyone who took part

HQ countryARR bandHeadcountEngineering FTEFunding

The headline numbers

CEO base salary

€102.5k

midpoint, per year

You: €110k

7% above the midpoint

Highest non-founder salary

€123.5k

midpoint, per year

You: €125k

1% above the midpoint

CEO shareholding

41%

midpoint

You: 38%

3 pts below the midpoint

Employee equity pool

midpoint

You: 8%

1 pt below the midpoint

Where you stand, metric by metric

Each bar runs from zero. The shaded part is where the middle half of companies sit.

CEO base salary

per year

Upper middle

Lower quarter: €87k
Midpoint: €102.5k
Upper quarter: €139.8k
You: €110k

Highest non-founder salary

per year

Upper middle

Lower quarter: €108.8k
Midpoint: €123.5k
Upper quarter: €159.8k
You: €125k

Leadership team size

At the midpoint

Lower quarter: 4
Midpoint: 5
Upper quarter: 6.3
You: 5

CEO shareholding

Lower middle

Lower quarter: 27.5%
Midpoint: 41%
Upper quarter: 55.8%
You: 38%

Employee equity pool

Lower middle

Lower quarter: 1.8%
Midpoint: 9%
Upper quarter: 11.3%
You: 8%

Metric	Lower quarter	Midpoint	Upper quarter	You	Your position
CEO base salaryper year	€87k	€102.5k	€139.8k	€110k	Upper middle
Highest non-founder salaryper year	€108.8k	€123.5k	€159.8k	€125k	Upper middle
Leadership team size	4	5	6.3	5	At the midpoint
CEO shareholding	27.5%	41%	55.8%	38%	Lower middle
Employee equity pool	1.8%	9%	11.3%	8%	Lower middle

Middle half of companiesMidpointYour company

Compare groups of companies

The same figure, split by one company characteristic. All bars share one scale, so they can be compared directly.

Figure

Split by

Bootstrapped9 companies

€88k€78k – €95k

Venture backed11 companies · your group

€138k€107.5k – €152.5k

€0€170.8kmidpoint · middle half

Not shown

Angel funded, Private equity, Publicly listed. A group is only shown when it has at least 8 companies and showing it gives nothing away about a smaller one.

Middle half of companiesMidpointYour company

How companies do it

CEO pay beyond base salary

Beyond base salary, which of these form part of the CEO's compensation?

Pension or retirement contributionyou65% · 13 of 20

Performance-linked bonusyou50% · 10 of 20

Dividend or profit distributionfewer than 8 companies

Equity granted after the founding roundfewer than 8 companies

Companies could pick several options, so the shares don't add up to 100%.

Who holds employee equity

Who currently holds or receives employee equity in your company?

Every employee40% · 8 of 20

The leadership teamyoufewer than 8 companies

Selected key individuals outside leadershipyoufewer than 8 companies

No employee equity scheme in placefewer than 8 companies

Companies could pick several options, so the shares don't add up to 100%.

How leadership salaries are set

Which inputs are used when setting leadership salaries?

Runway or affordability constraintsyou60% · 12 of 20

Investor or board inputyou55% · 11 of 20

External salary benchmark data50% · 10 of 20

The individual's previous compensationfewer than 8 companies

Companies could pick several options, so the shares don't add up to 100%.

The midpoint is the median: half of the companies report more, half less. Individual answers are never shown, and nothing is shown for a group of fewer than 8 companies.

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