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NYC Tech Startup Founders: Demographics
A sample of the demographic information for founders of tech startups valued at over $100 million shows that 94% are male, 52% are between 40-49, 72% are Caucasian, 35% have at least a master's level education, and 19% have more than a master’s degree. The approximate average salary for the founders is $590,000 annually.
The Demographics
- Of the tech startup founders in the last ten years whose companies have been valued at $100 million or more, 94% are male, and 6% are female.
- The average age of this group is distributed as follows: 3% are between 20-29, 13% are between 30-39, 52% are between 40-49, 23% are between 50-59 and 10% are over 60.
- The different race distribution in this group is 6% Indian, 22% Israeli Jewish and 72% Caucasian.
- The education of the founders is distributed with 39% having some or complete undergraduate work, 35% have completed Master's Level studies, 13% have doctorates, 6% are M.D.'s, and 6% did not provide their level of education.
- According to the calculations below, the average annual income for a founder of a tech start-up with $100 million valuation is approximately $590,000.
RESEARCH STRATEGY
Research included using a list of all CEOs of startups founded in the last ten years to determine the demographics for gender, age, race, and education. The demographic information was then extracted from each person's biography. The results were logged on the attached spreadsheet, categorized, and the percentages are shown in the key findings. While we have cited the source for each person's biographical information, we have not linked to each individual source, but rather to the spreadsheet with the aggregate data. The attached Google document also provides pie charts for presentation if desired.
AVERAGE INCOME
Raw data was not available for income, so we searched for an industry-standard formula for calculating CEO/founder income. "A variety of factors can influence the salary of a startup CEO, the firm found, including total funding raised, cash in the bank, industry, and the experience of the founder. The report examined payroll data for some 125 seed and venture-backed startups, with the average company in the analysis having raised between $7 million and $8 million in venture and seed financing. A startup's funding impacts the CEO's salary, the report found. Roughly, for every additional $1 million raised, a startup CEO will take home between $4,000 and $5,000 more in annual salary. CEOs at companies that have not recently raised capital will often dramatically reduce their salaries to save money, which the analysis supports."
The calculation of CEO/founder income is:
Amount raised $100 Million
Basic Salary for 8 million valuation $130,000
Addition for each million $5,000
Extra million 92
Addition Salary = 92 * $5000 = $460,000
Average CEO Salary in NYC for $100 million company
130,000 + 460,000 = $590,000