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I am employed at a biotech firm which is on the cusp of raising a new round of venture funding. My current salary is 160k due to a raise I received at the completion of the previous funding round on the basis of excellent performance. I am contemplating asking for a raise to 250k, which is very substantial (+56%). Based on the factors I enumerate below, does this appear justified?

  • My equity will be fully vested come January 2021; hence 'by default' I will experience a reduction in overall compensation at the current status quo. This could nominally be a very substantial reduction depending on the overall valuation of the company. I have not included the value of that equity in my salary above (160k), but it is a very large number of shares since I am an early employee.
  • I have transitioned laterally into a new role with higher impact. In that role, I am successfully managing a preclinical discovery project and can definitively make the claim that I 'saved' the project from failure. I am also assisting in the management of multiple clinical projects and have excelled in that role.
  • I have managed a subordinate and multiple consultants productively. These management relationships were formed subsequent to my prior raise.
  • I am an early employee (pre-Series A) with a good relationship with the CEO.

I have concerns about:

  • Whether or not it will be viewed as inappropriate if I potentially make a higher salary than other employees who rank above me, either directly or indirectly. For example, suppose I ended up making a higher salary than my direct manager; perhaps that could be awkward, if he knew. I don't know how much he makes, so it's difficult to evaluate this directly.
  • Whether or not the demand is unreasonable in general even for an exceptional employee.
Marcus Emilsson
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  • When were you given your last raise? – DarkCygnus Sep 17 '20 at 06:23
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    @DarkCygnus My last raise was in January 2019. Since I know I am well paid relative to other employees, I make a practice of asking for raises only at the completion of funding rounds. – Marcus Emilsson Sep 17 '20 at 06:24
  • by how much (%) was your last raise? – DarkCygnus Sep 17 '20 at 06:25
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    @DarkCygnus It was from 120k to 160k (33.3%). It was offered to me directly (actually preempting any request on my part), and I did not negotiate. – Marcus Emilsson Sep 17 '20 at 06:26
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    Does this answer your question? How should I properly approach my boss if I'm feeling underpaid? – gnat Sep 17 '20 at 07:22
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    @gnat Not really, because it lacks the context unique to my specific situation. – Marcus Emilsson Sep 17 '20 at 07:24
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    The whole world is focusing on Covid, if your company product is about Covid vaccine or its treatment, 250k is very reasonable. Otherwise, I would forget it if I were you. – Nobody Sep 17 '20 at 08:04
  • Which currency? – guest Sep 17 '20 at 09:38
  • @JoeStrazzere My plan would be to ask for it, not demand. My last raise was ~33%, and I am 'losing salary' because of the ending of the equity vesting, so that was the basic rationale behind asking for >> 33% increase. – Marcus Emilsson Sep 17 '20 at 16:24
  • I am not sure if you still use Stack Exchange. If you do, please take couple of minutes to read this comment. Salary raise always depends on both the employee and the employer's performance. If your company's performance is good, you would get at least average percentage. If your performance is good, you'll get above average raise. If neither party's performance is good, you'll get your next check from government unemployment agency. – Nobody Feb 08 '21 at 09:41
  • The above comment is meant to say that 250k or +56% is not unheard of provided both your company's and your performance are good. Otherwise, forget it. – Nobody Feb 08 '21 at 11:47

2 Answers2

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I am contemplating asking for a raise to 250k, which is very substantial (+56%). Based on the factors I enumerate below, does this appear justified?

However you see it, a 56% raise is a big number (not impossible, though). Even more considering your previous raise was of 33%.

Given that you are about to finish the venture raising, and that you have gained new roles and responsibilities, it would seem very likely that they will offer you a raise, as you were before.

I suggest you wait until the venture raising is completed before attempting anything. If it were up to me, I would wait a reasonable time before asking for a raise, as I see it's likely they will offer you one without having to ask.

If they don't offer you one in that reasonable time, and you decide to ask for one, it would be "safer" to ask for a 33% raise again. If you decide to ask for more, be prepared to give reasons why you deserve such a significant raise, and also be ready to receive a possible counter offer.

DarkCygnus
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  • From the standpoint of effective negotiation, I was thinking it would be better to myself propose a high salary then negotiate down rather than waiting for them to propose a salary then negotiate up. What do you think about that? Certainly if I "only" received, say, 230k instead of 250k, I don't think I would be particularly miffed... – Marcus Emilsson Sep 17 '20 at 06:36
  • @MarcusEmilsson we have a highly voted and answered question for that one ;) Does the first person to mention a number in a salary negotiation lose? – DarkCygnus Sep 17 '20 at 06:37
  • Thank you; given the advice there, which seems to suggest that the first to mention a number wins rather than loses, I am wondering why you suggest to 'wait a reasonable time' until they offer me one 'without having to ask'. – Marcus Emilsson Sep 17 '20 at 06:39
  • @MarcusEmilsson read again... the top answer says, quote: "If you answer, then it can only go down. If they answer, then it can only go up. So yes, the first person to mention a number loses." – DarkCygnus Sep 17 '20 at 06:41
  • @MarcusEmilsson furthermore, my suggestion in this answer is to wait for them to offer first. Not only may they even offer more than you were expecting or hoping for, but you won't even have to bother asking for another raise... you were relatively recently given a raise, and asking for one now may give the impression to some people that you may be in only for the money, or perhaps show a bit of greed from your part... we can see that it's more beneficial if they offer the raise first ;) you may end up with more and avoiding any misinterpretation of you being perceived as greedy. – DarkCygnus Sep 17 '20 at 06:43
  • Sorry, you are right about the answers (I was reading one lower down). I do think it is not likely they offer me 250k of their own accord though. Does it seem too soon to ask for a raise given my last one was over 1.5 years ago? I guess I was under the impression a 1-year review cycle was typical. Apologies for the continued questions... this has been on my mind a lot. – Marcus Emilsson Sep 17 '20 at 07:01
  • @MarcusEmilsson Well, then if you think they won't offer such then perhaps that already hints to you that such a raise would be "too much"... It's ok, don't feel bad for asking. However, comments are not for extended discussions, and if you have separate questions you should ask separate posts... I also strongly suggest you browse the questions that have already been asked on this site. Without knowing and with a single query on the Search I was able to find this https://workplace.stackexchange.com/q/113942/73791 ... please, ask separate questions if you have so, but search before asking. – DarkCygnus Sep 17 '20 at 07:08
  • If he asks for 33% again, won't they want to negotiate down? Also, if they themselves offer a raise, won't it be the lowest offer they think they can manage while keeping the employee? – Denis G. Labrecque Sep 19 '20 at 13:21
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Normally employees with significant equity are given revolving golden handcuffs- you get an RSU (or options) package when you sign up, and then around the 1 year anniversary you get a new (smaller) one on top. Then again on the 2 year. Etc. Thus you always have new shares coming due. If this isn't in place on you, either they figured the increase in value of the original grant was very high and you were hooked, or they screwed up.

You're welcome to try to negotiate that big a raise, I wish you luck. You may do better by negotiating a new RSU block though. Its a lot easier for a company to pay a big amount in stock than out of cash flow. It also shows you plan to stick around, as they'll likely put a 3-4 year vest on it.

Short of that it may be time for the next job- its not uncommon in tech to switch employers when the initial large grant is vested, as you've by then been there several years and would get a new grant and a raise at the next company.

Gabe Sechan
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  • "You may do better by negotiating a new RSU block though." I was going to suggest that. OP can use this as a negotiating tactic: ask for a new block, then offer to forgo it in exchange for a raise. – Acccumulation Sep 20 '20 at 19:38
  • I accepted this answer. Instead of negotiating 160 to 250, I instead negotiated 160 to 186, a substantial title promotion, and RSUs vesting over 4 years worth approx. 800k total at the current valuation (pre-IPO). – Marcus Emilsson Mar 10 '21 at 00:57