Newsletter #41: What Seed-Stage Founders Pay Early Employees

SCALE UP Newsletter #41

Welcome to Scale Up, the smarter way to grow with fractional executives.

In this edition:
💰 Here’s What Seed-Stage Founders Pay Early Employees
🚀 30 Under 30 Venture Capital 2025
🤖 Google’s NotebookLM Leadership Are Leaving To Create Their Own Startup

Let’s dive right in. 👇🏼

Here’s What Seed-Stage Founders Pay Early Employees

After securing seed funding, startup founders often grapple with the recurring question of appropriate compensation for themselves and their initial employees.

A CPA firm specializing in venture-backed startups analyzed average salary ranges across more than 450 seed-stage startups.

Unsurprisingly, technical roles in engineering and product development typically command higher salaries than those of CEOs. Interestingly, COOs tend to receive even higher compensation on average.

techcrunch.com

Key Leaders Behind Google’s Viral NotebookLM Are Leaving To Create Their Own Startup

Three members of Google’s NotebookLM team, including the team lead and a designer, have announced that they are leaving to start a new, secretive startup.

The former team lead shared on LinkedIn that she and her two co-founders felt there was a huge opportunity to create something game-changing in this area.

Right now, the startup has a very basic website that doesn’t provide any details about what they’re doing or even the name of the company.

techcrunch.com

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The Search Startup Trying To Turn The Web Into A Database

New search company called Exa is trying to make web searching way smarter and more organized.

They're using advanced AI technology (the same tech behind those big language models like ChatGPT) to completely redesign how we search the internet. Their big goal? To turn the wild, messy web into something more like a neat, organized directory.

technologyreview.com

The Hidden Art Of Reinventing Yourself - Matthew McConaughey

In this video, Matthew McConaughey talks about how important it is to fully commit to whatever you’re doing. He believes that looking back on both your successes and failures can help you understand yourself better. He highlights the importance of reflecting on your experiences, whether things are going well or not. McConaughey also points out that it’s essential to find a balance between being serious and having fun in life.

30 Under 30 Venture Capital 2025: Meet The Investors Funding A New Generation Of Startup Leaders

From new fund managers to incubation experts, these young venture capitalists are helping to shape the future, one tech startup at a time.

Venture capitalists are mainly known for providing the money that startups need to grow. However, many of this year's Under 30 group are getting more involved and taking a hands-on approach to their investments.

forbes.com

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