Startup Compensation Trends: Five Straight Years of Total Cash Growth

Startup compensation trends continued their upward climb in 2025. This data drop analyzes total cash compensation trends across four key positions – CEOs, CSOs, Engineering Managers and Operation Managers – at startups that have raised between $50 and $109.9 million in total financing. Thelander data shows that total cash increased in 2025 for all four positions at both the median and 75th percentile. It continues the overall trend of increasing total cash since 2021. 

Key Findings for YoY Growth (2024 to 2025): 

At the median, Operations Managers saw the highest percentage of growth from 2024 to 2025 – 16% – outpacing higher-level positions which ranged from 2-5% in growth:

• Operations Manager: +16%
• CSO: +4.6%
• CEO: +4%
• Director Engineering: +1.9% 

At the 75th percentile, Director of Engineering led with 11% growth, followed closely by CSOs at 10.6%:

• Director Engineering: +11%
• CSO: +10.6%
• Operations Manager: +7%
• CEO: +1.7%

Key Takeaways for Five-Year Performance (2021 to 2025): 

• Over the past five years, Operations Manager delivered the largest percentage increase at both percentiles, with 26% growth.

• CSOs ranked second with a 16.9% growth at the median and 21.9% at the 75th percentile. 

Find out how your current compensation compares to real-time market data by filling out the no-cost Thelander Private Company Compensation Survey today. You will receive access to market data for every job title you input data for – the more you give, the more you get. 

Categorised in: Data Drops

This post was written by jthelander