Founder Decisions

Equity & cap table · 2026-08-29

VP Sales equity: Seed 0.5–2%, A 0.3–0.8%

How much equity for a VP of Sales? Seed first sales: 0.5–2.0% FD. Series A VP: 0.3–0.8% (Index). Peer Eng/Product/Finance bands; Series B shown separately.

How much equity to give a VP of Sales depends on stage and whether the seat is a bag-carrying first sales hire or a true VP.

A first sales leader at seed is typically 0.5–2.0% fully diluted. A Series A VP sits at 0.3–0.8% on Index’s rule of thumb: engineering and product at the high end, finance, people, and sales at the low end. Sources disagree at Series B sales, so the table shows those bands separately rather than averaging them. Percentages are fully diluted. The table covers Sales plus Eng, Product, Finance, and People so peer grants stay coherent. Not legal, tax, or compensation advice.

Equity by role and stage

RoleSeedSeries ASeries B
VP Sales0.5–2.0%¹0.3–0.8%²0.2–0.7%³
0.5–1.5%⁴
0.1–0.5%⁵
VP Eng1.0%⁶0.3–0.8%⁷0.2–0.7%⁷
VP Product1.0%⁶0.3–0.8%⁷0.2–0.7%⁷
CFO—0.8–1.5%⁸0.8–1.5%⁸
VP Finance—0.3–0.8%⁹0.2–0.7%⁹
Head of People—0.3–0.8%⁹0.2–0.7%⁹

Empty cells mean the source did not publish that number.

VP Sales cash and OTE

Only VP Sales has stage-segmented cash in these sources. Other roles stay blank on purpose.

StageBaseOTESource
Pre-Seed / Seed$140k$180kUltraTalent
Seed / Series A$188,085–$250,458—The CRO Report
Series A$160k$260kUltraTalent
Series A to B$200k$325kUltraTalent
Series A/B$147,024–$183,750—The CRO Report
Series B$220k$385kUltraTalent
Series B/C$164,466–$226,224$328k–$452kThe CRO Report

UltraTalent OTE figures are medians. Pay mix there is 50/50 through Series B; 60/40 is common from Series B through D. The CRO Report reads 50/50 as pipeline confidence and 70/30 as more conservative. Its Series B/C OTE is 2× the disclosed base range (100 postings; 1,501 executive sales roles in the full set, 750 with salary). Seed/Series A base is 57 roles. Series A/B is 154.

Kruze (December 2024) publishes early-employee San Francisco “very senior” sales bases of $120k–$150k, OTE usually 2×. Index 2018 US seed senior ICs: engineering $120k, product and design $100k. Neither is a VP cash band.

The offer is a pool decision

The grant draws on unallocated pool, and that pool has to cover new-hire grants and refreshers through the next round.

Carta (20 August 2026): size the pool from a bottoms-up hiring plan for the next 12–18 months, then sanity-check top-down. Do not default to 10%. Most common pool size is 10–15% of company equity, 10% the most frequent (HSBC Innovation Banking 2026 Term Sheet Guide, cited by Carta). Among startups raising Series A in Q2 2025, median time since seed was 616 days. In 71% of cases the term sheet created or topped up an option pool.

Index: ESOP size is a board-level decision meant to cover talent needs through the next round. Traditionally 10% at seed. In the US, ESOPs typically rise from 10% at seed to 15% at Series A, then toward 20% or even 25% by Series D. Some accelerators (Y Combinator, The Family) advocate 20%, with the seed valuation increased to accommodate it. Index’s own bottom-up Series A hiring scenario needs 12% through Series B; recommended range 10–15%. Index also models 12% at Series A, 14% at Series B, and 16% at Series C for the next generation of successful European startups.

Kruze (29 January 2024): VCs often put the pool increase pre-money, so you take the dilution. Term sheets commonly ask for 10%, 15%, or 20%. Negotiate from a hiring plan for the next 18–24 months, with researched equity for each seat, totaled.

Hypothetical illustration

Not a company. Percentages are from cited bands. The remaining pool is an assumption so you can see the arithmetic.

Series A close, 12% ESOP, 8% still unallocated. Next 18 months: VP Eng at 0.8% FDE, VP Sales at 0.5–0.6% FDE, plus IC and director grants. After the 0.8% grant you have 7.2% unallocated. That grant is 10% of the pool you started with. Ask whether 7.2% covers the rest of the plan, and ignore whether 0.8% feels like a VP number.

Run the same check in the executive equity calculator.

Mistakes that show up on the cap table

Title inflation at seed. Index, quoting Seedcamp’s Reshma Sohoni: at seed, role and title inflation is best avoided. Initial executive-level hires typically wait for Series A. Finance, HR, and ops wait for Series B. UltraTalent’s seed row is “first sales hire,” not VP. Paying a seed builder on a Series A VP percentage spends pool you will need when the scaler arrives.

Paying scaler equity to a phase hire. The person who gets you from zero to ten is often not the person who takes ten to fifty. Write the grant for the job in front of you. If you already know they may not be the seat in eighteen months, do not paper over that with a true-VP percentage. Say the phase out loud, keep the band honest, and leave room in the pool for the scaler.¹⁰

Late-stage cash on a seed percentage. UltraTalent’s growth / Series D+ VP Sales cash is $380k–$500k base and $760k–$1M OTE, with 0.10–0.40% equity. Seed first-sales equity is 0.5–2.0% FD. Those numbers describe two different jobs.

Stale 409A. A 409A is valid for 12 months from its effective date, and ends sooner after a material event (Carta, 4 August 2026). Strike must be at least FMV on the grant date. Board-approve the new FMV before you grant.

No double-trigger. US practice for key executives is usually double-trigger acceleration: change of control and termination or demotion (Index). Single-trigger and all-employee acceleration are rare in the US and can impede a sale. Index recommends at most double-trigger partial acceleration, limited to the executive team. UltraTalent: double-trigger is the 2026 market standard for VP Sales.

No refresh. A generous rival offer looks better as options near the end of a four-year vest (Index). Wealthfront’s plan, cited by Index: annual refreshers starting 2.5 years after the original grant, each equal to a quarter of a new-hire grant for that seat. Index: disclose a retention grant at 2.5–3 years, with the new cliff timed to the end of the old grant. UltraTalent: refresh grants every 18–24 months are standard at growth-stage companies.

409A

You generally need an independent 409A before issuing common stock options to US tax residents (Carta). Get one before the first employee or advisor options, after a material event, and at least once every 12 months.

A priced round is a material event. Refresh the 409A, then grant. Validity ends at 12 months or the material event, whichever comes first. Kruze states the same three triggers.

Standalone 409A cost, per Carta: $1,000 to over $10,000 depending on size and complexity. Carta: DLOM on private common is typically 25–35%.

Worked situations

You’re at seed and the candidate wants VP title and 1.5%. UltraTalent and The CRO Report both put seed first-sales equity at 0.5–2.0% FD, so 1.5% is inside the band. Index still flags title inflation. If the motion is founder-led, the CRM is empty, and this person will carry a personal quota, you are hiring a builder. Write the grant as first sales leader, inside 0.5–2.0%, four-year vest, one-year cliff. Hold the VP percentage and VP cash for the person who will later inherit a team.

You’re at Series A with two offers in the same week: VP Eng and VP Finance. Index’s VP band is 0.3–0.8% FDE, product and engineering at the high end, finance and HR smaller. A VP Eng grant at 0.75% and a VP Finance grant at 0.35% can both sit inside that rule of thumb. A true CFO is a different seat: Index’s C-level range is 0.8–1.5%, typical 1%, and at most three true non-founding C-levels. Do not put a VP Finance title on a CFO percentage, or a CFO title on a VP percentage, to close the search.

You’re at Series B and the candidate’s last role was late-stage. UltraTalent Series B VP Sales: $220k base, $385k median OTE, 0.50–1.50% FD (median 0.75%). The CRO Report Series B/C: $164k–$226k average base, OTE typically 2×, typical equity 0.1–0.5%. Index: 0.2–0.7% FDE, sales lower. If the ask is UltraTalent cash and seed-level 1.5%+ equity, you are stacking two stages. Pick the dataset that matches the job, then move cash and equity inside that dataset.

Sources

Public ranges are a starting point. Founders who have made this hire will pressure-test the number in your offer in a FounderNexus session.