Scientist Compensation at Private Companies: How Cash and Equity Shift by Funding Stage

Scientist compensation at private companies doesn’t just rise with each funding round—the balance between cash and equity can flip as companies grow. As private companies raise more capital, the mix shifts: cash is more available and equity is more of a commodity. Using real-time data from the Thelander Comp Planning Tool, here’s how scientist total cash and non-founder equity move across financing bands.

• At the median, scientist total cash jumps from about $105k to $125k as companies move from the $5-$14.9m total financing band to $15-$29.9m, then stays in a fairly tight range through the $70-$89.9m bucket.

• At the 75th percentile, total cash shows a clearer upward trend across financing bands, rising from ~$116k to a peak in the low $150k range before easing back.
• Non-founder equity is highest in the early financing brackets, then declines through the mid-ranges and climbs back after the $70m mark, at both the median and 75th percentile.

The Thelander platform provides real‑time compensation data on 300+ roles—from the C‑suite to entry‑level employees. To see how your current compensation compares to market, participate in the no-charge Thelander Private Company Compensation Survey today. You’ll unlock data for all the job titles you complete at no cost—the more you give, the more you get. 

New this year: Thelander can now create custom compensation reports for your company, including the ability to select your peer group. Participant list available by request. All compensation data on the platform is published in aggregate only.

Categorised in: Data Drops

This post was written by jthelander