[HELP!] Venture Capital (VC) Salary/Compensation Negotiation
Hi everyone,
Writing from a throwaway account. Thanks to everyone who supports the forum, the advice has been invaluable over the years. I was hoping for the VC community's (or for any other knowledgeable folk's here) help on a situation I'm in.
The short of it:
Opportunity with a new fund <$100M in AUM at the Analyst / Associate level (i.e., post-college, few-years of experience). Being one of the first few people onboard, I have the option to provide input on my compensation structure. Partners are open to traditional / untraditional ways of structuring it.
Question(s):
- What range should I target (salary + bonus)
- How should I think about structuring my compensation and what traditional / untraditional 'levers' can I pull to maximize compensation at the current level and going forward? Just to spitball, some examples could be: some of sort of tie to AUM, carry-option with first/second-fund raised, a cash outlay from a successful fundraise, eventual exits, etc. Open to be tied to any one option or a combination of.
Thanks in advance, really appreciate the advice.
Following
It’s not an easy question.
You’re not going to get a % of AuM (and I wouldn’t ask for it, they’re not going to raise a new fund before 4-5 years).
You have to realise that $100m AuM is very small so they can only pay a limited amount. I would probably ask for $50-60k base salary assume you’re out of college, plus bonus.
Where I would NEGOTIATE HARD, assume you’re not trying to switch in 1 year, is on carries interest. Not uncommon to receive carry if you’re one of the first people to join, so would ask to get a non negligible carry component And of course the right to co invest (some funds provide leverage on co invest but for smal vc first time fund probably not).
I think with $50-60k base + ~$10k + carry (maybe 1-5% depending on how many people are joining), you would be in a good shape.
Dont take my word for granted though as I have limited exp with small VC funds.
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