      SaaStr · 2024-10-11
      · 600d
    

COO Equity Compensation at $1.5M ARR: When to Hire and How Much to Grant

Jason Lemkin advises that startups at $1.5M ARR should not hire an experienced COO and should grant 0% equity for the role, as the founder should still serve as COO at this stage. The operational complexity justifying a COO typically emerges around $8M-$10M ARR when managing multiple VPs becomes untenable for a single founder.

4 metrics· Cited 0× in the knowledge base ·Open source ↗

Metrics in this report

COO Hiring Threshold (ARR)

$8M-$10M$

typical range

when operational complexity justifies hiring a dedicated COO

Early Stage ARR Reference Point

$1.5M$

example case

startup stage where COO hire is premature

Exception Rate for Early COO Hiring

5%

out of 100 cases

percentage of $1.5M ARR startups where early COO hire is justified

Rocketship Growth Target (12 months)

$10M+$

minimum threshold

ARR target that may justify earlier COO hire for high-growth companies