In this episode of the Founder and CEO Podcast, hosts Mike Viscuso and Patrick Morley dive deep into one of the most impactful, and often misunderstood, aspects of startup scaling: company-wide compensation strategy.
Drawing from their real-world experience building and leading teams at Carbon Black, Bit9, and beyond, Mike and Patrick debate the pros and cons of implementing variable compensation for every employee, not just in sales.
Listen as they break down classic models like the 50/50 sales comp split, explore alternatives for engineering and other departments, and discuss the importance of driving alignment through compensation.
Patrick and Mike also share where they agree and where they differ, from favoring big, rallying goals for the entire business to tailoring incentives with individual objectives. They also explore the challenges of OKRs, the "tax" of managing variable comp plans, recruiting implications, and share actionable advice for founders ready to put these strategies into practice.