The startup COO salary guide

We recently posted a guide to what startups should think about when hiring a COO, but what should startups budget for this role?

As with any startup C-suite position, there are many variables. Not least of which is the company’s growth stage.

Our latest salary survey showed a significant difference in the average COO salary between Seed-stage startups and Series A. Thereafter, the increases were smaller but still clear.

However, funding stage is just one factor that influences COO compensation. For example, when we restricted our sample to COOs at software/SaaS companies, the average Series B salary rose to £211K.

Basic salary

Indeed, we found a broad range of basic salaries across the COOs in our dataset. From £100K at the very lowest end, to approaching £300K at the top.

Here’s how this breaks down into quartiles:

Low	Low-Med	Med-High	High
£100K - £135K	£135K - £166K	£166K - £205K	£205K - £288K

Of the COOs in the lowest quartile:

• 64% are in their first senior leadership role

• 80% have less than 10 years of senior leadership experience

• 82% work for startups whose last funding round was Seed or Series A

• 67% work for startups with a headcount <30 people

  
  

Of the COOs in the highest quartile:

• 81% have over 10 years of senior leadership experience

• 79% are based in London or South-East England

• 56% work for software/SaaS companies

• 100% work for startups whose last funding round was Series B or later

  
  

Rewards + incentives

 

The vast majority (>95%) of COOs in our survey have share options/equity as part of their package. The average equity held by COOs is 1.4% of the company - which aligns with our on-the-ground experience.

Over 50% also have some form of bonus, although we found this proportion increases with the growth stage of the company.

In Seed and Series A startups, 35% of COOs have a bonus, compared with 83% post-Series B.

Across the whole cohort, the average bonus amount is 21% of salary.

Attracting a COO

 

When interpreting this salary data, it’s important to bear in mind that these benchmarks represent what COOs are earning in their current roles.

If you’re hiring a COO, it is likely that candidates will need some kind of uplift on their current package.

We asked the COOs in our survey about their compensation priorities when considering a new role. Almost 60% said that an improved basic salary was either non-negotiable or a high priority.

Through our search work, we know that the majority of successful offers provide the candidate with a 10-30% increase on their current basic.

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Further insights

For more on startup C-suite compensation, please download our latest salary report here.

If you'd like further insights on hiring a COO, we'd love to hear from you. Please drop us a line: contact@upscalepartners.com