Salary By Year

I got started with my career a bit late due to my wandering ways in my early twenties.  I had a lot of fun and learned a lot but graduating college at 26 is not the most conventional of paths.  Let’s go through my salary break-down over the first 11 years out of college.  It’s weird I can already tell you my next 3 years with some amount of certainty (always some risk) due to the exit of my startup and the contractual nature of my employment on a going forward basis.  Note this does not include payment for the company, this is just my salary and bonus story.

2009 : $52K  I started fresh out of Engineering School at  Big Co. #1

2010 : $55K I came out the management training program at a Big Co. #1 with a small raise!

2011 : $0.00 I realized the pay was all for shit, and I quit to start a company right at the beginning of the year.

2012 :  $27K I did some consulting work on the side, worked on the startup full-time.

2013 : $35K I was able to pick up some pay from the startup.  We were extremely broke at the end of that year… it was rough.  My wife was sick with her 2nd pregnancy and also earned very little that year.

2014 : $65K I was able to get a normal salary all year from the startup.

2015 : $70K Small raise here as the startup is going well, but I want to watch the cash.

2016 : $125K Big Co. #2 (not related to previous Big Co.) buys the startup, so the last 4 months of the year will be at high salary.

2017 : $200K + $170K Potential Bonus.

2018 : $200K + 170K Potential Bonus.

2019 : $200K + 170K Potential Bonus.

10 responses to “Salary By Year”

  1. FounderStartUpJourney Avatar
    FounderStartUpJourney

    How did you decide on what kind of startup you would create?

    By the way, I love your blog! I look forward to coming back and reading more of your posts.

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    1. startupnetworth Avatar
      startupnetworth

      Hi, thanks for commenting. Deciding what kind of startup to create is a fun and exciting process. The company actually changed a lot in the first two years and was not the same as I originally thought it would be… however it was in the same general space. I think its about seeing something wrong with the way things work and being really interested in fixing that. Some people will say you should have first hand experience with the problem or have some personal story as to why you are so passionate about it… for me it was not like that really… I’m pretty nerdy so I can get excited about fixing a lot of different problems. It was about finding something to work on that also had a customers ready and willing to pay a tiny company for the solution.

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  2. jim Avatar
    jim

    so ” Big company”who you work for buys YOUR company? why did salary jump so much in 2017?

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    1. startupnetworth Avatar
      startupnetworth

      Jim, Good question. When a founder of a startup is working for their own startup, its generally accepted that you are working well below your “market rate” salary. For example, if I were to quit and go work for Google or Facebook, I would be paid much more money in the marketplace than I get from my own startup. I don’t take much salary from my startup as I want to build value and the cash is so important to do that. I am paying many of my employees more than myself in order to conserve my cash and build value in my equity. Now, once I sell the company as I am now doing to a larger company, I no longer have the same reason to take a low salary. So what is happening is pretty typical, the new company now has to pay me market salary in order to continue building value for them instead of for myself. I hope that helps.

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    2. startupnetworth Avatar
      startupnetworth

      Jim, I editted the post to read “Big Co. 1” and “Big Co. 2” as I think that was confusing. I worked in the beginning of my career for a Big Co., then started a company, then later a completely different Big Co. is buying my startup. So the two weren’t related.

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  3. Cody Avatar
    Cody

    Congratulations on your upcoming exit. I am excited to follow this blog and learn more about your story. I have a strong interest in the startup space.

    Thank you for posting your salary over the years. It is inspiring to see your progression and the sacrifice you put in for which you will now reap the benefits. I also had a bit of a late start, graduating at 25. I tried to make up for lost time by going straight to grad school, graduating with my MBA at 27.

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    1. startupnetworth Avatar
      startupnetworth

      Cody, more letters usually equates to more money. I’ve thought about getting a MBA myself, but at this point I think my track record carries more weight anyway, so it’s kind of not worth it. I do want to know the information, so I’m thinking about taking some MOOC’s or something around finance especially. Also negotiation would be a fun class.

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      1. Cody Avatar
        Cody

        I completely agree that at your stage, with your experience and track record, it would be unnecessary to get an MBA. In all honesty, I question the (market) value of mine being that I did not graduate from a top tier school. You can never undervalue education; however, formal, institutional education is not the only way. Ever heard of the school of hard knocks?

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  4. Bohdan Avatar
    Bohdan

    Hi, What’s the name of the company you started and sold?

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    1. founderfinances Avatar
      founderfinances

      Hi, this is an anonymous blog!

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