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What is the Average Startup Product Manager Salary?

Are you looking for the average startup product manager salary?

In today’s world, it’s easier than ever for a savvy entrepreneur to launch a business. But to keep that business afloat, many people must come together to help keep things on track. And that’s where the role of a startup product manager comes into play.

Startup product managers play an essential role in planning, developing, and launching a new business’s products, which is a step that’s crucial to the business’s future success.

Did you know that 1 out of 5 products brought to market fail to meet the needs of modern consumers? Or that, on average, an efficient product manager helps increase a company’s profits by as much as 34.2%?

With facts like these, it’s easy to see why a product manager is a crucial component of any new business’s strategy.

Below, we’re diving into the average salary of a startup product manager and a few other related jobs and how much they earn. But first, let’s take a look at the role and responsibility of a startup product manager.

What Does A Startup Product Manager Do?

A product manager’s role is to plan, develop, and launch products for an organization. This process is known as the practice of product management.

The primary difference between a traditional product manager and a startup product manager is that the latter is in charge of the product management cycle of a brand new company, not one already established.

A startup product manager’s responsibilities include:

  • Studying a startup’s target audience and creating an adequate product strategy.
  • Specifying the functional requirements of the startup’s products.
  • Managing any future feature releases.

A startup product manager is a crucial role that helps create the foundation for a company’s future. In turn, this means there’s a lot of pressure involved in the role of a startup product manager.

If a startup’s products or services fail to meet the stringent needs of its target audience, the company has a rather minimal chance of long-term success.

How Much Does A Startup Product Manager Earn?

According to Glassdoor, as of April 2024 a startup product manager earns an average salary of just over $116,000 per year, which works out to be $2,230 per week or $55 per hour.

However, newer startup product managers taking entry-level positions earn $69,000 per year. In contrast, more experienced startup product managers make as much as $184,000 as their annual salary.

Furthermore, depending on a startup product manager’s strength, skills, performance, and overall success, additional cash compensation, benefits, and other bonuses are available.

The same source goes on to report that the average cash bonus for a startup product manager is $16,000 per year.

Now that we’ve covered the average product manager salary at a startup let’s look at how much an individual earns in other related product management positions.

Startup Associate Product Manager Salary

An associate product manager is an entry-level position, making it ideal for younger product managers with limited experience or those who just graduated from college or university.

On average, an associate product manager earns $82,000 per year.

Startup Senior Product Manager Salary

Once a product manager has five or more years of related work experience, they become eligible for promotion to a senior product manager.

Unlike an associate product manager, a senior product manager’s role involves increased responsibility, such as overseeing multiple product lines or an entire product portfolio for their employer.

A senior product manager’s average salary is $146,000 per year.

Startup Senior Product Marketing Manager Salary

Although it’s similar to the role of a product manager, this role oversees the advertising lifecycle for a startup’s product offerings. This includes all duties related to marketing and promotions, such as keeping an eye on customer engagement, researching product advertising materials and costs, and other promotional marketing analytics.

Glassdoor reports that a senior product marketing manager earns $116,000 per year, ranging between $88,000 and $152,000.

Startup Chief Product Officer (CPO) Salary

A startup’s Chief Product Officer, or CPO, reports to the company’s CEO and oversees the entire product offering for the business. A startup’s CPO is in charge of creating the overall product strategy and ensuring that it remains in line with the business’s overall objectives.

The average annual salary for a CPO is $200,000. However, with additional cash compensation, bonuses, and stock options, the annual salary of a CPO is higher than this.

Startup Vice President Of Product Management Salary

Another upper-level product management career is that of a VP of product management. The role of a VP of product management is to oversee the product vision of a new company and mentor the company’s growing product management team.

This role requires a considerable amount of previous work experience, which means that the salaries for this role are higher than those of a traditional product manager.

The average salary for a VP of product management is $193,000. However, just like the role of a CPO, a VP of product management is also eligible for annual performance bonuses, profit-sharing, and other additional incentives.

Location-Based Salary Information For Startup Product Managers

Now that we’ve covered some of the average salaries for startup product manager roles, it’s crucial to understand that many factors influence how much a startup product manager earns.

Location is one of these factors. On that note, let’s look at how much a startup product manager earns based on their location.

Startup Product Manager Salaries Within The United States

Below, you’ll find the average annual salaries for product managers in a few of the largest cities in the United States.

New York City, NY

In New York City, the average salary for a startup product manager is $130,016 and ranges between $67,140 and $192,892.

Austin, TX

In Austin, the average salary for a startup product manager is $83,019, which ranges between $79,730 and $86,309.

San Jose, CA

In San Jose, the average salary for a startup product manager is $120,332, which ranges between $116,118 and $124,547.

Seattle, WA

In Seattle, the average salary for a startup product manager is $99,887, which ranges between $96,065 and $103,709.

Startup Product Manager Annual Salary In Canada

In Canada, the average salary for a startup product manager is $87,500 CAD per year, ranging between $81,000 and $94,000 CAD.

Startup Product Manager Salary In The United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, a startup product manager earns an annual salary of £49,500, ranging between £36,389 and £63,628 depending on experience, performance, industry, and other factors.

Startup Product Manager Salary In France

In Paris, France, the average salary of a startup product manager is €17,233 per year, which ranges anywhere between €16,425 and €18,041.

Startup Product Manager Salary In Hong Kong

The average annual salary of a startup product manager in Hong Kong is HK $32,323, representing a total range between HK $30,494 and HK $33,153.

Startup Product Manager Salary In India

In India, the average salary of a startup product manager is ₹1,136,695 per year, with a full range of ₹1,095,040 to ₹1,178,351.

Industry And Company-Based Salary Information

Another factor that influences the salary of a startup product manager is the industry or sector that they’re a part of. In other words, sectors that are more competitive and relevant in today’s marketplace offer higher wages than those in less competitive industries.

For instance, startup product managers working in the tech or cybersecurity industries earn more than a startup product manager working in a consumer-based industry.

As an example, a product manager working at Cisco Systems earns an average salary of $167,000 per year, with a range between $80,000 and $219,000 depending on education, skills, experience, and performance. And at the same time, a product manager at Google earns an average salary of $168,000, with a full range between $42,000 and $433,000.

But on the other hand, a product manager working for Amazon, a retail-based company, earns an average salary of $130,000, with a range between $35,000 and $265,000 per year.

Average Startup Product Manager Salary: Key Takeaways 

By now, it’s easy to see that a startup product manager is a crucial role in helping bring their employer’s business products and services to the consumer.

In other words, the role and responsibilities of a startup product manager are essential in a business’s startup process.

On that note, the role of a startup product manager comes with a great deal of performance pressure. But that pressure goes hand-in-hand with higher salaries, cash bonuses, and other financial incentives, such as profit sharing or stock options.

In conclusion, for anybody looking into product management as a potential career path, it’s safe to say that this role represents a great deal of financial incentive. And on top of that, it also offers a whole lot of room to grow in the future.

Josh Fechter
Josh Fechter
Josh Fechter is the co-founder of Product HQ, founder of Technical Writer HQ, and founder and head of product of Squibler. You can connect with him on LinkedIn here.