Depends on a whole bunch of factors. Location, growth stage, product industry, and funding are the main influencers.
Location - Assuming you're not based somewhere obscure, there'll be endless compensation reports, benchmarks, glassdoor data, etc available as a starting point.
Growth stage - How you compensate people when there are three people in the company is immensely different to when there are 20 people, 120 people, 500 people, etc. Equity is more important at the earlier stages but with everything going on in the world, don't assume equity alone will be sufficient to win people over.
Product industry - Some of this is location specific but different product industries pay different premiums. In the UK for example, FinTech pays more than most areas of tech, gaming pays less than most.
Funding - If you're sitting on a ridiculous amount of funding, then you need to lean into paying as far above average as possible. One thing that doesn't and probably never will change is that the more you pay people, the easier it is to hire. Obviously the less funding you have, the less you have to spend on comp but see my point above in growth stage.
2010 Startup CEO: "I take no salary - I believe in the venture"
2015 Startup CEO: "I pay myself $1/year - just like Steve Jobs. It worked for him, didn't it?"
2020 Startup CEO: "I pay myself the same as our junior staff because I believe in the people. I'm literally the janitor here."
2025+ Startup CEO: "I pay myself $350,000/year which is in line with the going market rate for talented executives such as myself. We just laid everyone off, which should spike the valuation at which point I'll dump all the stock I hold in the company. I'm so smart and talented. You need me."
It depends on the type of talent you want to hire. Typically, it is a good idea to position your compensation at 10–15% above that of other companies competing for the same talent pool are offering.
Location - Assuming you're not based somewhere obscure, there'll be endless compensation reports, benchmarks, glassdoor data, etc available as a starting point.
Growth stage - How you compensate people when there are three people in the company is immensely different to when there are 20 people, 120 people, 500 people, etc. Equity is more important at the earlier stages but with everything going on in the world, don't assume equity alone will be sufficient to win people over.
Product industry - Some of this is location specific but different product industries pay different premiums. In the UK for example, FinTech pays more than most areas of tech, gaming pays less than most.
Funding - If you're sitting on a ridiculous amount of funding, then you need to lean into paying as far above average as possible. One thing that doesn't and probably never will change is that the more you pay people, the easier it is to hire. Obviously the less funding you have, the less you have to spend on comp but see my point above in growth stage.
2015 Startup CEO: "I pay myself $1/year - just like Steve Jobs. It worked for him, didn't it?"
2020 Startup CEO: "I pay myself the same as our junior staff because I believe in the people. I'm literally the janitor here."
2025+ Startup CEO: "I pay myself $350,000/year which is in line with the going market rate for talented executives such as myself. We just laid everyone off, which should spike the valuation at which point I'll dump all the stock I hold in the company. I'm so smart and talented. You need me."