The MVP Compensation Range Playbook: Build Your Salary Structure in One Afternoon

Founders and Heads of People in SaaS startups:

Stop overthinking your first compensation ranges.

One of the bigger misconceptions held by seed-to-Series B leaders is that you need "perfect" data to build your first salary structure.

You don't. You need Guardrails.

Without ranges, every offer is a negotiation against yourself. With ranges, every offer is a strategic decision.

Here is the "MVP" (Minimum Viable Pay) Playbook to build your first set of ranges in 60 minutes:

1. The Anchor (The 50th Percentile): Pick a data source (Radford, Pave, Option Impact). Find the median for the role. That is your North Star.

   1. The Range (+/- 20%) A salary range isn't a single number; it’s a spectrum of proficiency.

   2. Math: $160k Midpoint = $128k (Lower) to $192k (Upper).
      

2. Why: This gives you room to hire someone "green" or retain a high-performer without forcing a promotion.
   

3. The Jump (The Leveling): Ensure there is a 15% to 20% gap between levels. Too small? Title inflation. Too big? Promotions feel impossible.

The Golden Rule: 

"Version 1" is infinitely better than "Version None."

"Version None" breeds pay inequity and bias.

"Version 1" gives you a baseline to iterate on.

Want the Excel Calculator?

I built a simple spreadsheet designed for Founders and Heads of People to do this math instantly.

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