Target a total cash‑plus‑equity value that reflects market benchmarks for your role and the company’s growth stage, then structure the package to align risk, upside, and performance metrics.
Step‑by‑step negotiation
1. Benchmark compensation – Use Radford, Levels.fyi, and Carta data to find the 25th‑75th percentile cash salary, RSU grant, and bonus for a VP/Head of Marketing at Series C‑D SaaS firms (e.g., $200‑$260 k base, $150‑$250 k RSU, 20‑30 % target bonus).
2. Define your total‑target‑comp (TTC) – TTC = Base + Target Bonus + Target RSU value. Example: $250 k + $60 k + $200 k = $510 k.
3. Set equity percentage – Calculate RSU % = (Target RSU value ÷ post‑money valuation) × 100. For a $500 M post‑money round, $200 k RSU ≈ 0.04 %.
4. Choose equity vehicle – Prefer RSUs for simplicity; consider Performance Shares if you need vesting tied to revenue milestones.
5. Tie bonus to KPIs – Propose a 20 % target bonus split: 50 % on revenue growth, 30 % on CAC‑payback, 20 % on brand equity score (e.g., G2 rating ≥ 4.5).
6. Negotiate vesting & acceleration – Standard 4‑year vesting with 1‑year cliff; request double‑trigger acceleration (change‑of‑control + termination) for at least 50 % of unvested RSUs.
7. Document everything – Use a side‑letter to capture KPI definitions, measurement tools (e.g., Looker dashboards), and audit rights.
Equity vs. Performance Shares
| Feature | RSUs | Performance Shares |
|--------------------|--------------------------|--------------------|
| Vesting | Time‑based | KPI‑based |
| Liquidity | At IPO or sale | At KPI achievement |
| Tax timing | Upon vesting (ordinary) | Upon payout (ordinary) |
| Complexity | Low | High |
# Compute target RSU % given valuation and desired RSU value
valuation = 500_000_000 # post‑money USD
rsu_value = 200_000
rsu_pct = rsu_value / valuation * 100
print(f"Target RSU %: {rsu_pct:.4f}%")Gotcha: Many founders replace double‑trigger acceleration with a “single‑trigger” clause after a change‑of‑control; confirm the exact language to avoid losing unvested equity.