About This Survey
In its 6th rendition, the VC Platform Global Community surveyed 600+ individuals for the 2022 VC Platform Global Compensation Survey to better understand compensation, benefits, industry trends, and emerging practices across global venture firms. The survey responses encompass “platform” focused roles. While most roles within this realm can be segmented by area of focus, title, and functional responsibilities, it is important to note that all firms are unique and operate independently.
Through a partnership with Sequoia’s Total Rewards team, VC Platform has done its best to normalize survey responses based on geography, tenure, fund size, fund type, functional role, and various compensation elements. The findings in this report may not align with the standards and practices of every firm. Through the normalization process, VC Platform and Sequoia worked hard to ensure the data and visualizations are meaningful and insightful. This required an intense data-cleaning process, including but not limited to identifying and removing duplicate responses, removing the responses of those that were identified as primarily investment-focused roles, converting global currencies, selectively removing significant outliers within the data set, standardizing geographic locations, removing incomplete responses, and accounting for unique/fill-in-the-blank responses.
While this year’s report is the largest and most accurate yet, you can access our historical reports to identify changes and trends in data:
2021 VC Platform Global Compensation Report
2020 VC Platform Global Compensation Report
2019 VC Platform Global Compensation Report
2018 VC Platform Global Compensation Report
2017 VC Platform Global Compensation Report
Thank You to Our Partner
Tyler SwansonSolutions Manager, Total Rewards
Zack RokosDirector, Total Rewards
Joe LaSorteVice President, Global Benefits
Individuals From 800+ Firms Were Invited to Participate
Representative logos include:
This Report Includes Data From...
601
Respondents
1,500+
VC Platform Community Members
Who Took the Survey?
Respondents
Year-over-year survey participation
Gender Identity
Gender identity breakdown of who responded
Titles
What title best matches your own?
- 17%Associate (105)
2-5 Years of Experience - 26%Manager/Sr. Associate (157)
5-9 Years of Experience - 24%Director (145)
8-13 Years of Experience - 21%Vice President (127)
12-18 Years of Experience - 11%Partner/CxO (67)
15-22 Years of Experience
Primary Role
Count of what is the primary focus of your role
- 11.5%Business Development & Partnership (86)
- 19%Community & Portfolio Support (115)
- 14%Internal Operations (82)
- 4%Investor Relations / Fundraising (26)
- 22%Marketing, Content , & Events (133)
- 14%Talent & Recruiting (82)
- 13%Other (77)
Respondents Firm Information
Mouse over sections of the pie charts to view more information
Firm Assets Under Management
- 116 (19%)Less Than $100M USD
- 115 (19%)$100M - $249M USD
- 84 (14%)$250M- $499M USD
- 73 (12%)$500M - $999M USD
- 116 (19%)$1.0Bn - $2.49Bn USD
- 57 (9%)$2.5Bn - $4.9Bn USD
- 57 (9%)More than $5.0Bn USD
- 77 (13%)Other
Fund Type
- 37 (6%)Corporate Venture Capital Firm
- 19 (3%)Growth Equity Firm
- 10 (2%)Private Equity Firm
- 513 (85%)Venture Capital Firm
- 6 (1%)Other
Investment Stage
- 87 (14%)Pre-Seed
- 411 (68%)Early Stage: Seed → Series B
- 76 (13%)Growth Stage: Series B → Series D
- 20 (3%)Multi Stage
- 6 (1%)Private Equity / Buy Out
Respondents Geography
+35%
+106%
+85%
Compensation Calculator
Filters Selected
- United States
- Manager
- Years of Exp: 14-25+
Current Dataset Profile
--
Survey Participants
--
Avg Total Years of Prof Experience
- 8 (35%)Business Development
- 8 (15%)Business Development
- 8 (25%)Business Development
- 8 (25%)Business Development
- 8 (25%)Business Development
- 8 (25%)Business Development
Cash Compensation
| Market Data Percentiles | ||||||
| 10th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th | ||
| Base Salary | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Bonus | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Total Cash | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
Carry Eligibility
- 8 (35%)Business Development
- 8 (15%)Business Development
- 8 (25%)Business Development
Carry
| Market Data Percentiles | ||||||
| 10th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th | ||
| Total Dollars at Work | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Max Fund Dollars at Work | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Carry % (Max if Mult. Funds) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
Trends & Analysis
Base Salary Compensation Trends by Firm AUM
Base Salary Compensation Trends by Firm Function
Base Salary Compensation Trends by Firm Function
How does my firm’s profile affect my compensation?
"There are endless factors that can impact an individual’s compensation package from their experience, education, region, industry knowledge, etc. But a company’s profile can also have a large effect on salary, bonus, and even an employee’s share of fund profits. Typically, employee salaries tend to be correlated with firm AUM. This is primarily attributed to the increase responsibility and larger scope of role at larger firms. For job role/function comparisons, pay is primarily dictated by the complexity and scarcity of talent for that particular job."
Bonus Compensation
Bonus as a Percentage of Base Salary
Of Respondents Receive a Bonus
Of Respondents Receive a Bonus
Of Respondants Receive a Bonus
Of Respondants Receive a Bonus
Of Respondants Receive a Bonus
- 18%0-10% of base compensation
- 47%10-20% of base compensation
- 20%20-30% of base compensation
- 13%30-40% of base compensation
- 2%40-50% of base compensation
- 0%50%+ of base compensation
How is Your Bonus Payout Determined?
- 24%0-10% of base compensation
- 40%10-20% of base compensation
- 19%20-30% of base compensation
- 7%30-40% of base compensation
- 2%40-50% of base compensation
- 5%50%+ of base compensation
How is Your Bonus Payout Determined?
- 30%0-10% of base compensation
- 39%10-20% of base compensation
- 23%20-30% of base compensation
- 1%30-40% of base compensation
- 3%40-50% of base compensation
- 4%50%+ of base compensation
How is Your Bonus Payout Determined?
- 8%0-10% of base compensation
- 29%10-20% of base compensation
- 27%20-30% of base compensation
- 12%30-40% of base compensation
- 9%40-50% of base compensation
- 15%50%+ of base compensation
How is Your Bonus Payout Determined?
- 11%0-10% of base compensation
- 7%10-20% of base compensation
- 41%20-30% of base compensation
- 19%30-40% of base compensation
- 7%40-50% of base compensation
- 15%50%+ of base compensation
How is Your Bonus Payout Determined?
Where does a cash bonus fit in my compensation plan?
"An annual cash bonus program is a common way for firms worldwide to recognize employees’ individual performance and award high performers. It is common for employees to have individual-oriented metrics and goals that determine their annual bonus payout. Traditionally, cash bonus programs are prevalent across all titles, but can skew more towards junior level roles, as career and senior level individuals may receive a larger portion of their total compensation from carried interest or profit-sharing."
Carry Trends
Carry Trends by Title
Carry Trends by Title & Firm
Carry Vesting Practices
Vesting Method
- 47%Straight-line/linear vesting with a cliff (120)
- 25%Straight-line/linear vesting with no cliff (63)
- 10%Other (non-linear vesting)
(26) - 18%I’m not sure
(47)
Cliff Vesting Practices
- 35%No Cliff (75)
- 47%12 Months (100)
- 1%18 Months (2)
- 9%24 Months (20)
- 18%36 Months (47)
- 3%Other
(6)
Vesting Schedule
Vesting Method VS. Length
| Straight Line | Non-Linear | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 Years | 100% | 0% | |
| 4 Years | 98% | 2% | |
| 5 Years | 93% | 7% | |
| 6-7 Years | 92% | 8% | |
| 8-9 Years | 77% | 23% | |
| 10 Years | 76% | 24% | |
How does carry allocation adjust with firm growth?
"Carried interest is the most prevalent form of long-term incentive within the venture capital space with profit-sharing coming in second. Naturally, the percent allocated to employees tends to decrease as a firm’s AUM increases. This is because of the increase in dollars tied to the percentage of profits. However, while the percentage allocated decreases, the equivalent dollars at work for a given title tends to be higher at larger firms to reward for the increase in firm responsibility."
How are benefits offerings changing for employees?
"While the provision of employer-sponsored private benefits to supplement national programs continues to grow in most countries (particularly retirement and private medical benefits), employers are looking for creative ways to manage the costs of these plans given the global economic conditions. Implementation of flexible benefits, employee contributions, and improved governance with respect to plan design and competitiveness are among the most popular methods for achieving and maintaining financial efficiency of employer-provided benefits. Also, wellbeing support (physical, mental/emotional, and financial) continues to increase with employers and employees globally."
Remote Work
How many days do you work in your office?
United States
- 36%Fully Remote
(125) - 51%1-3 days per week in the office (178)
- 14%4 - 5 days per week in the office (48)
Europe
- 15%Fully remote
(15) - 55%1- 3 days per week in the office (56)
- 30%4 - 5 days per week in the office (31)
Parental Leave
Does your firm have a parental leave policy?
If Yes, Does It Cover Both Parents or Primary Caregiver?
How Long Does the Primary Caregiver Receive Full Salary?
- 3%2 Months
(4) - 40%3 Months (55)
- 39%4 Months (54)
- 4%5 Months
(6) - 14%6+ Months (20)
How Long Does the Secondary Caregiver Receive Full Salary?
- 28%1 Month (27)
- 27%2 Months (26)
- 27%3 Months (26)
- 13%4 Months (13)
- 2%5 Months (2)
- 4%6+ Months (4)