Pilot’s Founder Salary Report 2025: Real Data, No Guesswork

Salaries

Founders pay themselves an average of $98k

For the first time, we asked founders how they chose their salaries. Most pay themselves “What the startup can afford,” followed by a fair market rate and by only pulling out money as needed. An exciting 1.5% say they relied on Pilot’s Founder Salary Report. (Winning.) 

Founders who pay themselves “market rate” earn 79% more.

We also asked founders to write in their responses. Many look to their board and investors for guidance. Some reinvest what they can to fund operations and a small number do not actually see a divide between company finances and their own.

Just over half of all founders believe they’re being paid just right. Just 1 in 33 feel they are paid too much, and those individuals earn twice as much as those who say their pay is too low.

What other factors can determine a founder’s salary? We cover these later in the report, but consider that:

OUR TAKE

Are the salary numbers this year lower than you’d expect? Our take: More founders than in previous years are pouring all they can into operations to ensure their startup’s success. Many more are using their own money—bootstrapping, or not taking outside funding, is up 77% this year—and bootstrapped founders pay themselves far less.

AI TAKEOVER

Mean salaries were down 43% this year

Up until last year, salaries were rising. This year, they declined significantly, both by mean and median. Almost twice as many founders paid themselves less than $100k this year compared to last year.

That said, more founders paid themselves something. Whereas 9% of founders did not pay themselves anything last year, just 5.4% said the same this year.

What can we make of the decline? The story is not clear-cut. Certainly the higher incidence of bootstrapping has reduced the average salary. But whereas one might expect AI startup founders to be lean and pay themselves less, they actually pay themselves much more. And if you would assume those AI startups have fewer employees, you would be wrong—companies in our survey were much less likely to be in the 0-5 employee range, including AI startups.

What is clear is that VC funding was down last year, that founders pay themselves in proportion to their investors’ expectations, and that it has likely depressed pay. Startups are getting by with less and founders are leading the way. 

Next, we examine salary breakdowns by funding, company size, company phase, and geography, one by one.

Salaries by funding

A tale of shrinking term sheets

Funding is down significantly this year. Last year, the median startup in our survey raised $4 million with an average of $11 million. This year, the average was down by one-third and the median down by 8x. This does not necessarily suggest that is their total capitalization—only that it’s how much outside funding they raised. A founder could be using their own money. In fact, many are.

There are 77% more bootstrapped companies in our survey this year, meaning they took no outside funding.

Bootstrapped founders have always paid themselves less than VC-backed founders in our survey. This year, that gulf has grown. Of founders who pay themselves $100-200k, 90% are VC-backed and just 10% are bootstrapped.

Last year, 57% of bootstrapped founders paid themselves $1-100k. This year, 67% did. And whereas last year, 57% of VC-backed founders paid themselves $50-150k. This year, 73% did. 

Salaries by region

SF Bay Area

On average, San Francisco Bay Area salaries are lower than the New York City or Boston areas. Nearly half (45%) are paying themselves less than $100k and 28% are paying themselves $150k or more.

Salaries

Funding

Full-Time Employees

Breakdown of Salaries by Funding Level

Breakdown of Salaries by Full-Time Employees

New York City Area

Half of New Yorkers (48%) pay themselves under $100k and 22% pay themselves $150k or more. Despite this, those who pay themselves more pay themselves a lot more, and New York’s average salary is 34% higher.

Salaries

Funding

Full-Time Employees

Breakdown of Salaries by Funding Level

Breakdown of Salaries by Full-Time Employees

Boston Area

Bostonians have a greater founder salary disparity than San Francisco or New York. Half pay themselves less than $100k (49%) and 30% pay themselves $150k or more.

Salaries

Funding

Full-Time Employees

Breakdown of Salaries by Funding Level

Breakdown of Salaries by Full-Time Employees

Texas Area

Texan salaries are lower than other regions overall, in line with the cost of living. Two-thirds (66%) pay themselves less than $100k and just 9% pay themselves $150k or more.

Salaries

Funding

Full-Time Employees

Breakdown of Salaries by Funding Level

Breakdown of Salaries by Full-Time Employees

Other U.S

Collectively, all other U.S. salaries were the lowest “area” for which we gathered data, but also the region where the sample size was slimmest, hence our grouping. Outside of major startup hubs, 64% of people pay themselves less than $100k and 15% pay themselves $150k or more. 

Salaries

Funding

Full-Time Employees

Breakdown of Salaries by Funding Level

Breakdown of Salaries by Full-Time Employees