Creandum created this Founder Compensation Calculator to empower data-driven decisions on what founders across Europe should fairly pay themselves at different stages of their funding story. Launched in 2022, the tool now includes responses from more than 1,700 founders across Europe and European founders in the US.
The 2024 Survey Insights
- The 2024 edition surveyed nearly 700 founders—from bootstrapped to Series B—across eight regions including the Baltics, Benelux, CEE, DACH, France, Nordics, Southern Europe, and the UK. Data was standardized in euros to compute median and average salaries and equity by stage and region.
- A key early takeaway: founder salaries generally rise as funding rounds progress. Keeping founder compensation reasonable can extend runway, signal maturity to investors, and align incentives across the team.
Notable Highlights by Region and Stage
- Expected patterns held true: salaries grow from bootstrapped through Series B, with bonuses becoming more common later on.
- However, regional differences matter: the UK historically led in founder pay, but this is shifting—especially as France, Benelux and DACH are seeing catch-up and even overtakes.
Why This Is Valuable for Founders
- It gives you a peer-validated benchmark to answer the “what should I pay myself?” question with confidence.
- Helps open conversations with investors or talent partners grounded in real numbers and informed context.
- Reminds you that being thrifty isn’t just prudent—it’s strategic.
Additional Context from Compensation Reports
- The 2023 report confirmed the need for founder pay clarity, with stagnant salaries in early-stage startups and pay gaps persisting. CROs and CCOs typically out-earn CEOs, and seed-to-Series A remains the steepest pay bump stage.
- The 2025 report finds salaries rising across nearly every stage—with the biggest increases for bootstrapped and pre-seed founders. Total compensation is climbing, especially where bonuses play an outsized role.
- Regional salary shifts are notable: French founders saw ~60 percent increases, Baltics leaps of ~174 percent, and the UK moving to lower pay relative to peers.
- Gender pay gaps are narrowing, though visible disparities remain in later stages. The number of co-founders also continues to be a big equity diluter.
TL;DR for Founders
Creandum’s compensation guide and calculator give you real, recent, regional insights into founder pay and equity. Whether setting your own salary or negotiating with stakeholders, this is a practical tool to anchor those decisions in data, not speculation.
Explore the full topic on https://foundercomp.creandum.com/
