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Comparably’s new feature helps tech employees figure out how much equity they should get

Jason Nazar announces his new company, Comparably, on stage at the LAUNCH Festival in 2016.
Image Credit: Ken Yeung/VentureBeat

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Jason Nazar set out to make work better with Comparably, and while he started with people’s salary and benefits, one area that hadn’t been addressed is equity people receive at their company. While this may not seem like a big deal to some, in the technology industry it can be pretty significant in determining whether someone keeps or quits their job, and it can sweeten or sour an offer.

Determining what constitutes fair equity can be a complex process — what is fair can vary based on job titles, the amount raised by the company, and other factors. This is why Comparably today launched a tech equity calculator to help employees understand the current value of their stock grants and how it stacks up against the market.

Comparably Tech Equity Calculator

Unlike its main service, Comparably’s tech equity calculator only needs your department role, job title, and how much your company has raised. The information is all kept anonymous. From there you’ll be presented with general equity ranges. You’ll need to have an account to see a fully detailed breakdown of how employees fall into each range. It works for any company type, no matter whether it’s private or public.

Did you know that if you’re a developer at a company that’s raised between $1 million and $3 million, some of your peers receive more than 0.5 percent equity as part of their compensation package? Some designers in that same type of company may receive more than 0.25 percent equity.

Comparably Tech Equity compensation range

Nazar said that more than 5,000 tech employees have shared verified equity data. Their information has been stripped of any identifiable information and aggregated. He claimed that the equity feature has been among the most requested by Comparably’s users.

The launch of this feature comes two months after Comparably’s launch and is intended to support the company’s mission to provide transparency around compensation and culture. Since its data focuses on the tech industry right now, it’s fitting that equity checks are being addressed. In this day of fast-growing startups and competitive hires, it can be invaluable to have a way to gauge how your total compensation package really compares in the marketplace.

Comparably Tech Equity Compensation Pie Chart

Comparably was started by Nazar, Yammer cofounder George Ishii, DebtMarket cofounder and former Docstoc chief operating officer Mike Sheridan, and InvestedIn cofounder Yadid Ramot.

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