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A founder called me three months ago.
Her startup was at £2M ARR, growing fast, and ready to hire their first VP of Engineering.
She said: “Helen, I need to hire a VP who’s done this before. Someone who’s scaled engineering teams from 5 to 50+. But Google is offering them £180K. I can only offer £100K.”
“How do I compete?”
I told her: “You don’t compete on salary. You compete on something Google can’t offer.”
Six weeks later, she hired a brilliant VP of Engineering.
He turned down a £180K offer from a well-funded Series B startup to join her company at £100K + equity.
Why?
Because she offered him something more valuable than money.
Let me show you exactly what she did.
THE BRUTAL TRUTH ABOUT HIRING SENIOR LEADERSHIP
If you’re a bootstrapped or early-stage startup trying to hire senior leadership, here’s what you’re up against:
Big Tech offers:
- £150K-£250K base salary
- £50K-£100K bonuses
- Equity worth £100K-£500K
- Unlimited PTO, free meals, gym memberships, etc.
Well-funded startups offer:
- £120K-£180K base salary
- 0.5-2% equity
- Faster career progression than Big Tech
- “Be part of something exciting”
You can offer:
- £80K-£120K base salary (maybe £100K-£140K if you stretch)
- 1-3% equity (but it’s early-stage, high risk)
- Chaos and ambiguity (because you’re figuring it out)
- Long hours and high stress
On paper, you lose every time.
So how do you compete?
You don’t.
You offer something completely different.
WHAT SENIOR LEADERS ACTUALLY WANT (THAT BIG TECH CAN’T OFFER)
Here’s what most founders don’t understand:
The senior leaders you want to hire aren’t optimizing for salary.
If they were, they’d stay at Google forever.
They’re optimizing for something else.
Let me explain.
There are three types of senior leaders:
TYPE 1: CAREER CLIMBERS
- Want: Salary, title, status
- Motivation: Climb the corporate ladder
- Best fit: Big Tech or late-stage startups with clear hierarchy
You DON’T want these people. You can’t afford them, and they won’t thrive in your chaos.
TYPE 2: MERCENARIES
- Want: Maximum comp (cash + equity)
- Motivation: Build wealth quickly
- Best fit: Well-funded startups with big equity upside
You CAN’T compete with these people. They’ll always go wherever pays most.
TYPE 3: BUILDERS
- Want: Ownership, impact, autonomy
- Motivation: Build something meaningful from scratch
- Best fit: Bootstrapped or early-stage startups
These are YOUR people.
They’ve already made money at Big Tech or a late-stage startup.
Now they want:
- To build something from scratch (not optimize something that already works)
- To own decisions (not get approval from 5 layers of management)
- To see direct impact (not be a cog in a machine)
- To work with a small, high-trust team (not navigate politics)
The question is: How do you find these people and convince them to join you?
THE 5-PART STRATEGY TO ATTRACT SENIOR LEADERS WITHOUT BIG SALARIES
I’ve helped 200+ growing companies hire senior leadership over 20 years.
The ones who successfully compete with Big Tech all use this 5-part strategy:
PART 1: REFRAME THE CONVERSATION FROM SALARY TO OPPORTUNITY
Most founders lead with: “We can offer £100K salary plus equity.”
That’s positioning yourself as the cheaper option.
Big Tech wins every time.
Instead, lead with the opportunity:
“We’re at £2M ARR, growing 3X year-over-year. You’d be our first VP of Engineering, which means you’d own the entire technical strategy and build the engineering team from 5 to 50 over the next 18 months. We can’t match Google’s £180K salary, but we can offer £100K + 2% equity + the chance to build something from scratch rather than optimize what’s already built.”
See the difference?
You’re not selling a job. You’re selling ownership of something meaningful.
The right candidates light up at that pitch.
The wrong candidates say “but what about the salary?”
You want the former, not the latter.
HOW TO REFRAME:
Instead of: “We can pay £100K”
Say: “You’d own [specific outcome] with full autonomy”
Instead of: “We’re a small startup”
Say: “You’d be one of the first 20 people to shape what this company becomes”
Instead of: “We can’t match Big Tech salaries”
Say: “We’re optimizing for builders who want ownership over climbers who want salary”
The language matters.
You’re not apologizing for not being Google.
You’re offering something Google can’t: the chance to build from scratch.
PART 2: DEMONSTRATE TRACTION (PROOF YOU’RE NOT A GAMBLE)
Senior leaders who’ve been in startups before know the risk.
Most early-stage startups fail.
They’re not going to leave a £180K job for a £100K job at a company that might not exist in 18 months.
So you need to prove traction.
What counts as traction:
- Revenue growth (£500K → £2M ARR in 12 months)
- Customer retention (90%+ net revenue retention)
- Product-market fit (clear ICP, repeatable sales process)
- Runway (12+ months without needing to raise more money)
- Team quality (other impressive people have joined and stayed)
What doesn’t count as traction:
- “We’re pre-revenue but about to explode”
- “We just raised £500K”
- “Our TAM is huge”
- “We’re going to be the next Stripe”
Senior leaders can smell BS.
They’ve seen 100 pitchdecks that promise the moon.
They want PROOF:
- Show revenue dashboard (real numbers, real growth)
- Introduce them to customers (let customers tell them why your product is great)
- Share retention data (prove customers stay)
- Walk them through unit economics (prove the business model works)
The conversation:
“Here’s where we are today: £2M ARR, 90% net revenue retention, 3X growth year-over-year. We’re not guessing if this works – we’ve proven it works. Now we need someone to help us scale what’s working from £2M to £10M.”
If you can’t demonstrate traction, you’re not ready to hire senior leadership yet.
Build more proof first.
PART 3: OFFER MEANINGFUL EQUITY (NOT JUST “SOME EQUITY”)
Most founders offer equity as an afterthought:
“We’ll pay £100K plus some equity.”
That’s not compelling.
Senior leaders have seen equity offers before. Most were worthless.
If you want equity to be meaningful, you need to:
A) OFFER A MEANINGFUL PERCENTAGE
For VP-level roles at £1M-£5M ARR:
- Adequate: 0.5-1% (they’ll consider it)
- Compelling: 1-2% (they’ll get excited)
- Exceptional: 2-3% (they’ll jump)
For C-level roles:
- Adequate: 1-2%
- Compelling: 2-4%
- Exceptional: 4-5%
These are guidelines, not rules. Adjust based on:
- Your stage (earlier = more equity)
- Cash salary (lower cash = more equity)
- Role criticality (more critical = more equity)
B) EXPLAIN WHAT THAT EQUITY COULD BE WORTH
Don’t just say “2% equity.”
Say: “2% equity, which would be worth £2M if we exit at £100M (our realistic 5-year target based on comparable companies in our space).”
Show them:
- Realistic exit scenarios (£50M, £100M, £200M)
- Comparable companies in your industry (what they exited for)
- Timeline to liquidity (5-7 years realistic)
Make the equity real, not theoretical.
C) USE FOUNDER-FRIENDLY VESTING
Standard vesting: 4 years, 1-year cliff
Founder-friendly vesting:
- 4 years, but with 25% at year 1 (not month 12)
- Accelerated vesting on exit (so they’re not stuck if you sell)
- Option to buy back equity if they leave early (with founder approval)
The goal: Make the equity feel like ownership, not handcuffs.
PART 4: SELL THE TEAM AND CHEMISTRY (NOT JUST THE ROLE)
Senior leaders don’t join companies.
They join teams.
If you want them to take a £80K pay cut to join you, they need to believe:
- They’ll enjoy working with you
- The team is exceptional
- The chemistry is there
How to sell the team:
A) INTRODUCE THEM TO THE TEAM EARLY
Don’t wait until final round to introduce them to the team.
Introduce them in round 2.
Let them:
- Meet 1-on-1 with key people they’d work with
- Attend a team meeting (even just as an observer)
- Have casual coffee with 2-3 team members
They need to see: “These are people I want to work with.”
B) SHOW TEAM QUALITY, NOT JUST TEAM SIZE
Don’t say: “We’re a team of 15.”
Say: “Our team includes [Name] who built X at [Company], [Name] who was early at [Startup], and [Name] who’s a domain expert in [Field].”
Impress them with WHO, not HOW MANY.
C) TEST CHEMISTRY EXTENSIVELY
Senior leadership hiring is a two-way fit test.
They need to know they’ll work well with you.
You need to know they’ll fit your culture.
How to test chemistry:
- Paid consulting project (1-2 weeks, £2K-£5K, work together on real problem)
- Multiple informal conversations (coffee, dinner, not just formal interviews)
- Introduce them to board/advisors (let them see how you operate with oversight)
By the time you make an offer, they should feel like they already work with you.
PART 5: OFFER AUTONOMY AND OWNERSHIP (THE THING BIG TECH CAN’T GIVE)
This is your secret weapon.
At Google, a VP of Engineering manages 200 people but owns very little:
- Decisions require approval from 5 layers above them
- Strategy is set by executives
- Projects are determined by OKRs they don’t control
- Impact is incremental improvements to existing systems
At your startup, a VP of Engineering owns everything:
- Full autonomy over technical decisions
- Direct seat at strategic planning (not just executing someone else’s strategy)
- Building the engineering team from scratch (hiring their own people)
- Defining the culture, processes, and ways of working
The conversation:
“At Google, you’d optimize what’s already built. Here, you’d build it from scratch. You’d own the technical strategy, hire your own team, and define how we work. If you want autonomy and ownership over salary and stability, this is the role.”
The right candidates will say: “That’s exactly what I want.”
The wrong candidates will say: “But what if I make the wrong decisions?”
You want people who thrive with ownership, not people who need permission.
HOW TO PROVE YOU’LL GIVE AUTONOMY:
Don’t just say “you’ll have autonomy.”
Show it:
- “Here are the 3 strategic decisions you’d own in your first 90 days”
- “Here’s our decision-making framework: you decide, I support”
- “Here are past examples of team members owning big decisions with full autonomy”
Make it real, not theoretical.
REAL EXAMPLE: HOW ONE FOUNDER HIRED A VP WITHOUT MATCHING SALARY
Let me show you exactly how this works in practice.
THE SITUATION:
Founder: Sarah, CEO of a £2M ARR SaaS company
Role: First VP of Engineering
Budget: £100K salary + 2% equity
Competition: Google offering £180K, Series B startup offering £140K + 1%
THE STRATEGY:
WEEK 1: REFRAME THE OPPORTUNITY
Sarah reached out to candidates with this message:
“We’re at £2M ARR, growing 3X year-over-year with 90% net revenue retention. We’re looking for our first VP of Engineering to build our technical team from 5 to 50 over the next 18 months. This isn’t an optimization role – it’s a build-from-scratch role. If you’re looking for autonomy and ownership over salary and stability, let’s talk.”
She got 8 responses. 5 said “interested but what’s the salary?” 3 said “this sounds exactly like what I want.”
She focused on the 3.
WEEK 2-3: DEMONSTRATE TRACTION
She sent all 3 candidates:
- Revenue dashboard (£500K → £2M ARR in 12 months)
- Customer testimonials (video from 3 key customers)
- Product roadmap (clear priorities for next 18 months)
- Unit economics (prove the business model works)
Two candidates dropped out (“still too early for me”). One stayed excited.
WEEK 4: PAID CONSULTING PROJECT
She hired the remaining candidate for a 1-week paid project (£2,500):
“Help us architect our approach to scaling the engineering team from 5 to 20.”
They worked together daily for a week.
At the end: Both sides knew the chemistry was there.
WEEK 5: SELL THE TEAM
She introduced the candidate to:
- CTO (would report to VP)
- Head of Product (would partner closely)
- 2 senior engineers (would work together)
Everyone said: “We want to work with this person.”
WEEK 6: OFFER
She made the offer:
£100K salary + 2% equity (worth £2M if exit at £100M) + full autonomy over technical strategy and team building.
The VP turned down:
- £180K from Google
- £140K + 1% from Series B startup
Why?
He said: “At Google, I’d be optimizing. Here, I’d be building. That’s worth more to me than £80K.”
THE RESULT:
18 months later:
- He’s built the engineering team from 5 to 35
- Company is at £8M ARR
- His 2% equity is now worth £8M+ (if they exit at £400M valuation)
- He still loves the role
That’s the power of competing on opportunity, not salary.
THE OBJECTIONS I HEAR
“But what if they leave for a higher-paying offer later?”
If you hire Career Climbers or Mercenaries, they will.
If you hire Builders, they won’t.
Builders optimize for ownership and impact, not salary.
Once they’re invested in what they’re building, they stick around.
That’s why chemistry and culture fit matter so much.
“What if I can’t afford even £100K for senior leadership?”
Then you’re not ready to hire senior leadership yet.
Senior leadership at £80K-£100K is already the floor for anyone with 10+ years of experience.
If you can’t afford that, consider:
- Hiring a senior IC (individual contributor) instead of VP (£60K-£80K)
- Offering more equity and less cash (£70K + 3-4%)
- Waiting 6-12 months to build more runway
Don’t hire senior leadership before you’re ready. You’ll just waste their time and yours.
“Can I hire senior leadership remotely to save money?”
Yes, but be careful.
Remote senior leadership can work IF:
- You have strong async communication culture
- You’re comfortable managing remotely
- They have experience working remotely before
Remote senior leadership often fails when:
- Company culture is mostly in-person
- You need them on-site for team building
- They’ve never worked remotely before (it’s a learning curve)
Remote is a multiplier, not a solution.
If you hire the right person, remote works great.
If you hire the wrong person, remote makes it worse.
THE HONEST TIMELINE FOR HIRING SENIOR LEADERSHIP
Here’s the realistic timeline based on 200+ senior leadership placements:
WEEK 1-2: Define the role and opportunity
- What does success look like in 90 days, 6 months, 12 months?
- What autonomy will they have?
- What traction can you demonstrate?
WEEK 3-4: Source candidates
- Tap your network (warm intros always better than cold outreach)
- Reach out to people in communities (not just job posts)
- Focus on Builders, not Career Climbers
WEEK 5-8: Interviews + chemistry testing
- Round 1: Are they interested? (1 hour)
- Round 2: Meet the team (2 hours)
- Round 3: Paid consulting project (1-2 weeks)
WEEK 9-10: Reference checks + offer
- Reference checks focused on chemistry and working style
- Make offer with clear autonomy and equity explanation
WEEK 11-12: Negotiation + acceptance
- Be flexible on start date (they may need 4-8 weeks notice)
- Lock in equity terms clearly
Total: 10-12 weeks from start to signed offer.
Don’t rush this. Senior leadership hires are too critical to get wrong.
Take the time to test chemistry and demonstrate traction properly.
SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
If you’re ready to hire senior leadership but can’t match Big Tech salaries, here’s my honest recommendation:
- STOP COMPETING ON SALARY. Compete on opportunity, autonomy, and ownership.
- FIND BUILDERS, NOT CLIMBERS. Target people who’ve already made money and now want impact.
- DEMONSTRATE TRACTION. Prove your startup isn’t a gamble.
- OFFER MEANINGFUL EQUITY. 1-3% for VPs, 2-5% for C-level, with clear exit scenarios.
- TEST CHEMISTRY EXTENSIVELY. Use paid projects and team interactions before hiring.
The goal isn’t to hire the most impressive CV.
The goal is to hire someone who’s excited about what you’re building and fits your team.
Because senior leaders who join for the opportunity (not the salary) stick around and build great things.
READY TO HIRE SENIOR LEADERSHIP THE RIGHT WAY?
If you’re ready to hire your first VP or C-level executive and want to compete with Big Tech without matching their salaries, here’s what I’d recommend:
Inside, you’ll get:
- Opportunity framing templates (how to position your startup vs. Big Tech)
- Equity scenarios calculator (show candidates what their equity could be worth)
- Chemistry interview questions (test for Builder mindset vs. Climber mindset)
- Paid project frameworks (test senior leadership before hiring)
Let’s talk about your senior leadership hiring needs and figure out how to compete for great candidates when you can’t match Big Tech salaries.
I’ve helped 200+ growing companies hire VPs and C-level executives who chose opportunity over salary.
No sales pitch. Just honest advice about whether we’re the right fit to help you.
