How much do Founding Account Executives make at startups?
Updated October 28, 2026 · Based on 53 job postings · Methodology
Founding Account Executive roles in the US have a median posted pay of $210k and a median stated OTE of $230k, based on 53 current postings that list pay (all US sales roles: $172k).
Founding Account Executive pay, US postings
| Group | Postings | Median pay | 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 53 | $210k | $262k |
| Senior / Enterprise / Director titles | 8 | $255k | $300k |
| Other titles | 45 | $200k | $260k |
| Remote only | 12 | $215k | $252k |
Highest-paying Founding Account Executive roles open now
Top-paying companies
| Company | Postings | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Sola | 2 | $294k |
| Mercor | 2 | $270k |
| Beam | 4 | $255k |
| Lightfield | 2 | $251k |
| Hex | 2 | $208k |
| Quanta | 2 | $190k |
| Clera | 2 | $190k |
| Featherless AI | 2 | $190k |
| Scalar | 2 | $188k |
| Fyxer | 2 | $95k |
Related: Account Executive pay report · Highest-paying sales jobs
FAQ
Which jobs count as Founding Account Executive?
Title contains 'Founding' (e.g. Founding Account Executive, Founding AE, Founding Sales Lead): usually the first sales hires at an early-stage startup.
Is this base or OTE?
Median posted pay uses the midpoint of each posting's range as published. Where a posting states OTE we report it separately as median OTE; otherwise the figure is usually base salary.
How much more do senior Founding Account Executive roles pay?
Senior, enterprise and director titles have a median of $255k vs $200k for other Founding Account Executive titles.
Cite this: “According to OTE Jobs data, founding Account Executive roles in the US have a median posted pay of $210k and a median stated OTE of $230k, based on 53 current postings that list pay (all US sales roles: $172k).” Source: OTE Jobs (otejobs.com), October 28, 2026. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page.