87. What are some awesome questions to ask a CEO of a startup during an interview? Ask how she develops talent, how she helps people grow to the next level and be their best. First time managers and CEOs may “fail” this question, that’s OK. But if you get a great and authentic answer, you may see a good snapshot into how you can achieve success and thrive in the organization. 88. Silicon Valley Salaries: What are the details of your compensation packages within your respective organizations? As a VP at Adobe, I was paid a $250,000 base salary and a 40-50% bonus paid at FYE. I believe in pure salary + bonus, I was the lowest paid VP or close to it in the U.S. at least, apparently because I came in through an acquisition. For most VPs, there is also a large equity package associated with that too (primarily RSUs) which could be worth a geometric multiple of that on an annualized basis ... but vesting annually over 5 years, and layered in multiple grants made year after year. So to really make a lot as a VP, you have to stay maybe 8-10 years or longer ... stay just 1-2 years, the equity is not worth that much. As CEO at EchoSign, I started at $120,000 for myself once we were funded. Then I took $0 in cash for a while to stretch our cash to the Series B round, and instead took the equivalent of $120k (grossed up) in equity. Then, once we were at scale, my salary was $160k, with no bonus at first and then a $20k bonus the last year for exceeding plan. SAASTR.COM 86