Hi all! I am the first BDR at a startup and about to be promoted to the 1st AE. How much comp should I ask for a founding AE role without any closing exp?
God123
Founding Account Executive Comp
8
Lots of variables at play, what would your quota be, length of sales cycle, complexity of the sale, arr on average deal'
I would look at repvue on your competitors and compare where that they pay the sdrs. so you know if they typically pay more/less than your current company
I would look at repvue on your competitors and compare where that they pay the sdrs. so you know if they typically pay more/less than your current company
I agree, lots of variables. You would probably need to share more.
What's your pay now?
110 OTE
55/55 split?
Yes
@God123 Savages are trying to help you, but more context is needed.
You might want to provide it.
You might want to provide it.
I would ask for whatever the average is for your location and industry. They can pay you to do the job or find someone else that they are willing to pay to do the job.
I've done this a couple of times but I've always asked for points on the deal. Made some loot by getting that signed off.
Whatโs points on the deal mean
Contract value is 100K. The net revenue being made from this deal is 50K. You ask for 50% of the net revenue on signed deals (points on the deal). You just made 25K.
I've been a founding ae. It's super unpredictable to fully understand actuals on OTE, because it's really unknown. Having past experience at the company as a BDR helps you on that front. Granted, I came in with 3+ years ent sales prior to that founding ae role.
And it really depends on a lot of factors, specifically funding and the companies near-term goals. You gotta "manage upwards".
For my ex. company was in Irvine, CA, comp was 85k/85k, but the actuals on closed won was a fugazzi at the seed stage.
Hope you can use that as a jumping off point, there's some great content already on this chat from @ChumpChange with points , but I'd caveat it with @TennisandSales as well. Do not spurn your founder's on it and think about it from their perspective and your company long-term goals.
And it really depends on a lot of factors, specifically funding and the companies near-term goals. You gotta "manage upwards".
For my ex. company was in Irvine, CA, comp was 85k/85k, but the actuals on closed won was a fugazzi at the seed stage.
Hope you can use that as a jumping off point, there's some great content already on this chat from @ChumpChange with points , but I'd caveat it with @TennisandSales as well. Do not spurn your founder's on it and think about it from their perspective and your company long-term goals.
Thanks for input! U think itโs fair to ask for 90/90? Iโm based in sf but donโt have closing exp lol. The description does say MM AE. How does your commission work? Should I ask for a quarter ramp period?
What was your quota?
90/90 is pretty fair, especially considering the closing experience. Quarter ramp is most common as well. 3 months scaling down as you scale up.
My quota was 3x higher than what the company had sold in the 3 years of seed stage prior to joining, so probably a terrible benchmark. (learn from my mistakes) I'd look at past numbers, use facts and metrics to forecast 2024-2025. Ideally your gonna align that with company goals, OTE and what y'all need for this next growth phase.
My quota was 3x higher than what the company had sold in the 3 years of seed stage prior to joining, so probably a terrible benchmark. (learn from my mistakes) I'd look at past numbers, use facts and metrics to forecast 2024-2025. Ideally your gonna align that with company goals, OTE and what y'all need for this next growth phase.
i would look at Repvue to see what the comps are.
I would not put too much value in the being the founding AE.
i would look at the average deal size you have (or expect to have) and see if that puts you in the mid market or SMB or Enterprise space.
then use repvue to find companies of similar deal size and similar vertical to see if you can get a comp.
i dont really care about OTE. I care about base pay and commission percentage.
So if you make $55K now i would expect to get a raise and i wouldnt think its crazy to ask for $65K.
the commission % is hard to determine in your role since there is some math that needs to happen based on how much money the company actually makes to know how much they can pay you. but maybe start with 10%?
i
I would not put too much value in the being the founding AE.
i would look at the average deal size you have (or expect to have) and see if that puts you in the mid market or SMB or Enterprise space.
then use repvue to find companies of similar deal size and similar vertical to see if you can get a comp.
i dont really care about OTE. I care about base pay and commission percentage.
So if you make $55K now i would expect to get a raise and i wouldnt think its crazy to ask for $65K.
the commission % is hard to determine in your role since there is some math that needs to happen based on how much money the company actually makes to know how much they can pay you. but maybe start with 10%?
i
Hypothetically this is would be a midmarket-Ent role should I ask for 125k base and 250k ote even though I donโt have experience
no. i dont think asking them to double your salary is reasonable with your level of experience.
What would the average deal size be?
What would the average deal size be?
10-50k
U think 80/80 or 90/90 is a fair ask?
ok so IMO a 10 - 50K product is not an enterprise level product. you may sell it to big accounts but IMO ent sales is when an ENTIRE organization is using your solution and this is not normally the case at that price point.
the problem you face is that the company doesnt know how successful it will be.
If i was the CEO I would not give you more than a 10K raise until I see what the results are.
Thats what i suggest you do. ask for a raise to $65k and work on a quota and tell him that if you hit that quota you want to talk about a bigger raise going forward.
That way you can show results and give the CEO more confidence in you.
the problem you face is that the company doesnt know how successful it will be.
If i was the CEO I would not give you more than a 10K raise until I see what the results are.
Thats what i suggest you do. ask for a raise to $65k and work on a quota and tell him that if you hit that quota you want to talk about a bigger raise going forward.
That way you can show results and give the CEO more confidence in you.
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