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team-composition-analysis

This skill should be used when the user asks to "plan team structure", "determine hiring needs", "design org chart", "calculate compensation", "plan equity allocation", or requests organizational design and headcount planning for a startup.

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name:team-composition-analysisdescription:This skill should be used when the user asks to "plan teammetadata:version:1.0.0

Team Composition Analysis

Design optimal team structures, hiring plans, compensation strategies, and equity allocation for early-stage startups from pre-seed through Series A.

Use this skill when

  • Working on team composition analysis tasks or workflows

  • Needing guidance, best practices, or checklists for team composition analysis

    • Do not use this skill when

  • The task is unrelated to team composition analysis

  • You need a different domain or tool outside this scope

    • Instructions

  • Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs.

  • Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes.

  • Provide actionable steps and verification.

  • If detailed examples are required, open resources/implementation-playbook.md.

    • Overview

    Build the right team at the right time with appropriate compensation and equity. Plan role-by-role hiring aligned with revenue milestones, budget constraints, and market benchmarks.

    Team Structure by Stage

    Pre-Seed (0-$500K ARR)

    Team Size: 2-5 people

    Core Roles:

  • Founders (2-3): Product, engineering, business

  • First engineer (if needed)

  • Contract roles: Design, marketing

    • Focus: Build and validate product-market fit

    Seed ($500K-$2M ARR)

    Team Size: 5-15 people

    Key Hires:

  • Engineering lead + 2-3 engineers

  • First sales/business development

  • Product manager

  • Marketing/growth lead

    • Focus: Scale product and prove repeatable sales

    Series A ($2M-$10M ARR)

    Team Size: 15-50 people

    Department Build-Out:

  • Engineering (40%): 6-20 people

  • Sales & Marketing (30%): 5-15 people

  • Customer Success (10%): 2-5 people

  • G&A (10%): 2-5 people

  • Product (10%): 2-5 people

    • Focus: Scale revenue and build repeatable processes

    Role-by-Role Planning

    Engineering Team

    Pre-Seed:

  • Founders write code

  • 0-1 contract developers

    • Seed:

  • Engineering Lead (first $150K-$180K)

  • 2-3 Full-Stack Engineers ($120K-$150K)

  • 1 Frontend or Backend Specialist ($130K-$160K)

    • Series A:

  • VP Engineering ($180K-$250K + equity)

  • 2-3 Senior Engineers ($150K-$180K)

  • 3-5 Mid-Level Engineers ($120K-$150K)

  • 1-2 Junior Engineers ($90K-$120K)

  • 1 DevOps/Infrastructure ($140K-$170K)

    • Sales & Marketing

    Pre-Seed:

  • Founders do sales

  • Contract marketing help

    • Seed:

  • First Sales Hire / Head of Sales ($120K-$150K + commission)

  • Marketing/Growth Lead ($100K-$140K)

  • SDR or BDR (if B2B) ($50K-$70K + commission)

    • Series A:

  • VP Sales ($150K-$200K + commission + equity)

  • 3-5 Account Executives ($80K-$120K + commission)

  • 2-3 SDRs/BDRs ($50K-$70K + commission)

  • Marketing Manager ($90K-$130K)

  • Content/Demand Gen ($70K-$100K)

    • Product Team

    Pre-Seed:

  • Founder as product lead

    • Seed:

  • First Product Manager ($120K-$150K)

  • Contract designer

    • Series A:

  • Head of Product ($150K-$180K)

  • 1-2 Product Managers ($120K-$150K)

  • Product Designer ($100K-$140K)

  • UX Researcher (optional) ($90K-$130K)

    • Customer Success

    Pre-Seed:

  • Founders handle support

    • Seed:

  • First CS hire (optional) ($60K-$90K)

    • Series A:

  • CS Manager ($100K-$130K)

  • 2-4 CS Representatives ($60K-$90K)

  • Support Engineer (technical) ($80K-$120K)

    • G&A (General & Administrative)

    Pre-Seed:

  • Contractors (accounting, legal)

    • Seed:

  • Operations/Office Manager ($70K-$100K)

  • Contract CFO

    • Series A:

  • CFO or Finance Lead ($150K-$200K)

  • Recruiter ($80K-$120K)

  • Office Manager / EA ($60K-$90K)

    • Compensation Strategy

    Base Salary Benchmarks (US, 2024)

    Engineering:

  • Junior: $90K-$120K

  • Mid-Level: $120K-$150K

  • Senior: $150K-$180K

  • Staff/Principal: $180K-$220K

  • Engineering Manager: $160K-$200K

  • VP Engineering: $180K-$250K

    • Sales:

  • SDR/BDR: $50K-$70K base + $50K-$70K commission

  • Account Executive: $80K-$120K base + $80K-$120K commission

  • Sales Manager: $120K-$160K base + $80K-$120K commission

  • VP Sales: $150K-$200K base + $150K-$200K commission

    • Product:

  • Product Manager: $120K-$150K

  • Senior PM: $150K-$180K

  • Head of Product: $150K-$180K

  • VP Product: $180K-$220K

    • Marketing:

  • Marketing Manager: $90K-$130K

  • Content/Demand Gen: $70K-$100K

  • Head of Marketing: $130K-$170K

  • VP Marketing: $150K-$200K

    • Customer Success:

  • CS Representative: $60K-$90K

  • CS Manager: $100K-$130K

  • VP Customer Success: $140K-$180K

    • Total Compensation Formula

    Total Comp = Base Salary × 1.30 (benefits & taxes) + Equity Value

    Fully-Loaded Cost:

  • Base salary

  • Payroll taxes (7.65% FICA)

  • Benefits (health insurance, 401k): $10K-$15K per employee

  • Other (workspace, equipment, software): $5K-$10K per employee

    • Rule of Thumb: Multiply base salary by 1.3-1.4 for fully-loaded cost

    Geographic Adjustments

    San Francisco / New York: +20-30% above benchmarks
    Seattle / Boston / Los Angeles: +10-20%
    Austin / Denver / Chicago: +0-10%
    Remote / Other US Cities: -10-20%
    International: Varies widely by country

    Equity Allocation

    Equity by Role and Stage

    Founders:

  • First founder: 40-60%

  • Second founder: 20-40%

  • Third founder: 10-20%

  • Vesting: 4 years with 1-year cliff

    • Early Employees (Pre-Seed):

  • First engineer: 0.5-2.0%

  • First 5 employees: 0.25-1.0% each

    • Seed Stage Hires:

  • VP/Head level: 0.5-1.5%

  • Senior IC: 0.1-0.5%

  • Mid-level: 0.05-0.25%

  • Junior: 0.01-0.1%

    • Series A Hires:

  • C-level (CTO, CFO): 1.0-3.0%

  • VP level: 0.3-1.0%

  • Director level: 0.1-0.5%

  • Senior IC: 0.05-0.2%

  • Mid-level: 0.01-0.1%

  • Junior: 0.005-0.05%

    • Equity Pool Sizing

    Option Pool by Round:

  • Pre-Seed: 10-15% reserved

  • Seed: 10-15% top-up

  • Series A: 10-15% top-up

  • Series B+: 5-10% per round

    • Pre-Funding Dilution:
    Investors often require option pool creation before investment, diluting founders.

    Example:

    Pre-money: $10M
    Investors want 15% option pool post-money
    Calculation:
    Post-money: $15M ($10M + $5M investment)
    Option pool: $2.25M (15% × $15M)
    Founders diluted by pool creation before new money

    Organizational Design

    Reporting Structure

    Pre-Seed:

    Founders (flat structure)
    ├── Contractors
    └── First hires (report to founders)

    Seed:

    CEO
    ├── Engineering Lead (2-4 engineers)
    ├── Sales/Growth Lead (1-2 reps)
    ├── Product Manager
    └── Operations

    Series A:

    CEO
    ├── CTO / VP Engineering (6-20 people)
    │   ├── Engineering Manager(s)
    │   └── Individual Contributors
    ├── VP Sales (5-15 people)
    │   ├── Sales Manager
    │   ├── Account Executives
    │   └── SDRs
    ├── Head of Product (2-5 people)
    │   ├── Product Managers
    │   └── Designers
    ├── Head of Customer Success (2-5 people)
    └── CFO / Finance Lead (2-5 people)
        ├── Recruiter
        └── Operations

    Span of Control

    Manager Ratios:

  • First-line managers: 4-8 direct reports

  • Directors: 3-5 direct reports (managers)

  • VPs: 3-5 direct reports (directors)

  • CEO: 5-8 direct reports (executive team)

    • Full-Time vs. Contract

    Use Full-Time for:


  • Core product development

  • Sales (revenue-generating roles)

  • Mission-critical operations

  • Institutional knowledge roles

    • Use Contractors for:


  • Specialized short-term needs (legal, accounting)

  • Variable workload (design, marketing campaigns)

  • Skills outside core competency

  • Testing role before FTE hire

  • Geographic expansion before permanent presence

    • Cost Comparison

    Full-Time:

  • Lower hourly cost

  • Benefits and overhead

  • Long-term commitment

  • Cultural fit matters

    • Contract:

  • Higher hourly rate ($75-$200/hour vs. $40-$100/hour FTE equivalent)

  • No benefits or overhead

  • Flexible engagement

  • Easier to scale up/down

    • Hiring Velocity

    Realistic Timeline

    Role Opening to Hire:

  • Junior: 6-8 weeks

  • Mid-Level: 8-12 weeks

  • Senior: 12-16 weeks

  • Executive: 16-24 weeks

    • Time to Productivity:

  • Junior: 4-6 months

  • Mid-Level: 2-4 months

  • Senior: 1-3 months

  • Executive: 3-6 months

    • Planning Buffer

    Always add 2-3 months buffer to hiring plans.

    Example:
    If need engineer by July 1:

  • Start recruiting: April 1 (12 weeks)

  • Productivity: September 1 (2 months ramp)

    • Budget Planning

    Compensation as % of Revenue

    Early Stage (Seed):

  • Total comp: 120-150% of revenue (burning cash to grow)

  • Engineering: 50-60%

  • Sales: 30-40%

  • Other: 20-30%

    • Growth Stage (Series A):

  • Total comp: 70-100% of revenue

  • Engineering: 35-45%

  • Sales: 25-35%

  • Other: 20-30%

    • Headcount Budget Formula

    Total Comp Budget = Σ (Role Count × Fully-Loaded Cost × % of Year)
    Example:
    3 Engineers × $202K × 100% = $606K
    2 AEs × $230K × 75% (mid-year start) = $345K
    1 PM × $162K × 100% = $162K
    Total: $1.1M

    Additional Resources

    Reference Files


  • references/compensation-benchmarks.md - Detailed salary data by role, level, and location

  • references/equity-calculator.md - Equity sizing formulas and dilution scenarios

    • Example Files


  • examples/seed-stage-hiring-plan.md - Complete hiring plan for seed-stage SaaS company

  • examples/org-chart-evolution.md - Organizational design from 5 to 50 people

    • Quick Start

    To plan team composition:

  • Identify stage - Pre-seed, seed, or Series A

  • Define roles - What functions are needed now

  • Prioritize hires - Critical path for business goals

  • Set compensation - Base salary + equity by level

  • Plan timeline - Account for recruiting and ramp time

  • Calculate budget - Fully-loaded cost × headcount

  • Design org chart - Reporting structure and span of control

  • Allocate equity - Fair allocation that preserves pool

    • For detailed compensation benchmarks and hiring plan templates, see references/ and examples/.

      team-composition-analysis - Agent Skills