2020 Canadian Venture Capital

Salary Compensation Report

Report Date: December 16, 2020
 Introduction
2020 Canadian VC Salary Compensation Report summarizes a survey of compensation across the
Canadian venture capital industry. This report is meant to open transparency, knowledge and ultimately
improved conversations on compensation. The report is a collaborative effort by the Canadian Women in
VC community and individuals in the venture ecosystem.

We received survey responses from >120 individuals, from across Canada, about their background,
compensation, and career progression. The report has been broken down into two sections (Investment
Roles and Operations Roles) to provide a more accurate perspective on information where appropriate.

Please note, all compensation values are reported in Canadian Dollars.

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 Women in VC is a grassroots organization that gives self-identified Women venture
capitalists across Canada the opportunity to share best practices, network, and
support each others' career development. What began as a bi-monthly dinner series
between 5 women, has grown to a community with 100+ active members.

Our vision is to unify the Canadian venture capital community, equip the next
generation of leaders, cultivate confidence, and enable women to see themselves in a
spectrum of diverse leadership for generations to come.

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 Table of Contents
Foreword Career Progression & Compensation: Operations,
Highlights……………………………………………………………...…...…5
Methodology………………………………………………….……….....…6
Platform & Hybrid Roles
Distribution of Titles…..……………………………………………...22
Sampling: 120 Respondents from Across Canada……..7
Career Progression by Work Experience…..…………….23
Distribution of Salary by Title…..………………………………..24
Comprehensive Salary Views Median Salary by Title & Gender…..………………………….25
Compensation by Investment Stage………………………..…9 Median Salary by Overall Work Experience…..…….....26
Median Salary by Firm Type……………………………………….10 Median Salary by Geography…..……………………………….27
Median Salary by BIPOC Identification…..………………..28
Career Progression & Compensation: Investment Average Bonus by Title and Gender…..…………………...29
Roles
Distribution of Titles……………………………………..…………….12 Additional Compensation Statistics: All Roles
Career Progression by Overall Work Experience…….13 Carry…..……………………………………………………………….……….31
Distribution of Salary by Title……………………….……………14 Vacation & Benefits…..………………………………………………..32
Salary by Quartiles by Title…………………………………..……15 Median Salary by Education…..……………………...………….33
Median Salary by Overall Work Experience……………..16
Median Salary by Geography…………………………………….17
Median Salary by Gender Identity……………………………..18
Median Salary by BIPOC Identity……………………………….19
Average Bonus by Title and Gender…………..…………….20

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 Highlights
75% of all respondents work in investment roles. There was a good distribution of responses across titles, enabling analysis of compensation
progression from Analyst to Partner.

In Investment Roles:
➔ Salaries are comparable across geographies for most junior roles, with the variation increasing with seniority.
➔ Men tend to earn more than women in investment roles, except at the entry level. At the analyst level, women’s salaries are 9% higher,
however men’s salaries are 9% higher on average for mid level roles and 26% higher at the Partner level.
➔ In Analyst to Senior Associate level roles, women on average receive materially lower bonuses than men.
➔ Individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Colour earn 14% - 26% less than their peers, except at the Senior Analyst and
Associate level, where BIPOC individuals have the most representation.

In Operations, Platform & Hybrid Roles:

➔ Similar to investment roles, salary distribution is tighter at more junior roles and widens significantly at more senior roles.
➔ Salary appears to increase more slowly at the junior level, until Principal / VP and Partner, which experience much higher jumps in
compensation.
➔ Division by gender is striking. 87% of respondents in Operations, Platforms & Hybrid roles are women. Despite the prevalence of women in
this sector, they are still underpaid compared to the Men counterparts.
➔ BIPOC representation is lower in operations and / or platform roles as compared to investment roles.
Individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Colour earn 18% - 38% less than their peers.

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 Methodology
Data Cleaning:

● Titles were normalized to fall within the standard VC Roles: Analyst, Associate, Principal, Partner
● Individuals were grouped into geographical regions for the purposes of anonymity. West includes
Vancouver and Calgary, Ontario includes Ottawa, Toronto and Waterloo and East includes Montreal
and Halifax.
● Investing Stages were combined so that Pre-Seed, Seed and Early Stages are under Early Stage and
Growth remained as Growth.
● Individuals were categorized as in an Investment/Financial role or an Operations, Platform & Hybrid
role. A handful of respondents that did not fit into these categories were removed for anonymity.
● In instances where there were limited responses available, we aggregated the information to ensure
anonymity.

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 Sampling: 120 Respondents from Across Canada
Gender Identity Identify as BIPOC Primary Office Location

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79 27

West: Vancouver and Calgary

Ontario: Ottawa, Toronto and Waterloo
East: Montreal and Halifax

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 Comprehensive Salary Views

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 Compensation by Investment Stage
Salary (Median) Bonus (Average) Carry (Average)

Early Stage Growth Stage Early Stage Growth Stage Early Stage Growth Stage

Analyst $72,500 $75,000 16.2% 17.9% 0.55% 1.00%

Senior Analyst $80,850 $87,250 12.0% 15.0% 0.50% --

Associate $110,000 $95,000 21.0% 18.4% 1.02% 0.86%

Senior Associate $100,000 $100,500 16.9% 24.2% 0.86% 0.25%

Manager $73,000 $90,000 17.0% -- -- --

Principal / VP $132,000 $143,500 25.1% 28.0% 5.90% 4.25%

Partner $185,000 $200,000 29.5% 20.0% 5.60% 1.98%

Note: Figures aggregated across Investment and Operations / Platform roles.

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 Median Salary by Firm Type
Venture Debt /
Accelerator Corporate Family Office Government Institutional
Lending

Analyst -- $80,000 -- $66,750 $75,000 $84,000

Senior Analyst -- -- -- $83,750 $83,925 $75,000

Associate -- $117,500 -- $90,125 $110,000 $80,000

Senior Associate $117,500 -- $82,500 $119,000 $113,000 $75,000

Manager -- $94,500 -- -- $83,000 $67,500

Principal / VP $103,750 $130,000 $91,500 $142,500 $150,000 --

Partner -- $152,500 -- $110,000 $212,500 --

Note: Figures aggregated across Investment and Operations / Platform roles.

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 Career Progression & Compensation:
Investment Roles

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 Distribution of Titles
Highlights
75% of all respondents work in
investment roles.

There was a good distribution of

responses across titles, enabling
analysis of compensation
progression from Analyst to
Partner.

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 Career Progression By Overall Work Experience
0 - 3 years 3 - 5 years 5 - 10 years 10 - 20 years 20+ years Highlights

Analyst 67% 14% 19% -- -- Titles track linearly with overall

work experience, indicating the
Senior Analyst 50% 50% -- -- --
preferred experience required
for a given role.
Associate 19% 48% 24% 10% --
The widest spectrum of
experience is evident for
Senior Associate -- 18% 64% 18% -- Associates.

Principal / VP -- 16% 56% 28% --

Partner -- -- 13% 63% 25%

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 Distribution of Salary by Title
Highlights
Salary distribution is tight at
more junior levels and widens
significantly at more senior
levels.

Note: Histogram of salary by title. For example, the first bucket shows the number of individuals reporting a
salary x where $50,000 ≤ x < $70,000. Titles have been grouped for anonymity. One high-value outlier was
removed in the Principal / VP / Partner category.
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 Salary Quartiles By Title
Highlights
25% 50% 75%
As indicated with the salary
distribution chart, salary bands
Analyst $70,000 $75,000 $85,000
widen with seniority, with
Partners and Principals / VPs
Senior Analyst $77,500 $80,000 $80,425 having the most variation in
salary.
Associate $100,000 $110,000 $120,000

Senior Associate $100,000 $118,000 $127,500

Principal / VP $105,000 $140,000 $170,000

Partner $153,750 $232,500 $242,500

Note: Breakdown of salary by quartile. 50% indicates the median salary for each title.
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 Median Salary By Overall Work Experience
Highlights
25% 50% 75%
Salary increases linearly across
experience bands, except at 20+
0 - 3 years $70,000 $75,500 $88,156 years of experience, where
salary doubles.
3 - 5 years $80,000 $100,000 $110,000

5 - 10 years $100,000 $120,000 $157,500

10 - 20 years $130,000 $150,000 $172,500

20+ years $280,000 $320,000 $360,000

Note: Breakdown of salary by quartile. 50% indicates the median salary for each level of work
experience.
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 Median Salary By Geography
Highlights
Salaries are comparable across
geographies for most junior
roles, with the variation
increasing with seniority.

Partner salaries see the most

variation by geography with the
highest salaries in the West,
followed by Ontario and then the
East.

Note: West: Responses from Vancouver & Calgary. Ontario: Responses from Ottawa, Toronto, and
Waterloo. East: Responses from Montreal and Halifax
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 Median Salary By Gender Identity
Highlights
Women Men
Except at the entry level, men
tend to earn more than women
Analyst $80,000 $72,500
in investment roles.

Senior Analyst $80,000 $87,500 At the analyst level, Women

salaries are 9% higher.
Associate $100,000 $110,000
Men salaries are 9% higher on
Senior Associate $110,000 $118,000 average for mid level roles and
26% higher at the Partner level.
Principal / VP $131,000 $145,000

Partner $190,000 $240,000

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 Median Salary By BIPOC Identity
Do you identify as BIPOC? Highlights
Except at the Senior Analyst and
Yes No % Yes
Associate level, where BIPOC
individuals have the most
Analyst $70,000 $80,000 35% representation, individuals who
identify as Black, Indigenous, or
Senior Analyst $83,750 $78,000 50% a Person of Colour earn 14% -
26% less than their peers.
Associate $112,500 $100,000 60%
There’s early evidence to
Senior Associate $100,000 $121,500 45%
suggest salary corrections at the
entry level, however, a longer
time period is required to
Principal / VP $130,000 $150,000 28%
substantiate the results.

Partner $190,000 $240,000 40%

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 Average Bonus by Title and Gender
Highlights
Women Men % With Bonus
In Analyst to Senior Associate
Analyst 15.6% 22.1% level roles, women receive
80% materially lower bonuses on
Senior Analyst 13.0% 15.0% average than men.

Associate 15.6% 23.8% 90.5%

Senior Associate 12.0% 30.0% 81.8%

Principal / VP 33.9% 17.9% 76.0%

Partner 17.0% -- 50.0%

Note: % With Bonus is the portion of respondents reporting receiving a bonus as part of their
compensation. Value for Analyst and Senior Analyst roles aggregated for privacy.
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 Career Progression & Compensation:
Operations, Platform & Hybrid Roles

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 Distribution of Titles
Highlights
25% of all respondents work in
operations and / or platform
roles.

Managers are a unique title to

operations and / or platform
roles and represent a significant
portion of respondents.

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 Career Progression By Work Experience
Highlights
0 - 3 years 3 - 5 years 5 - 10 years 10 - 20 years 20+ years
Titles track upward with overall
Analyst 67% 33% -- -- -- work experience.

Managers are the exception,

Senior Analyst 100% -- -- -- -- where overall work experience
doesn’t hinder entry.
Associate -- 67% 33% -- --

Senior Associate -- 25% 50% 25% --

Manager 29% 29% 29% 13% --

Principal / VP -- -- 50% 25% 25%

Partner -- -- 29% 42% 29%

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 Distribution of Salary by Title
Highlights
Similar to investment roles,
salary distribution is tighter at
more junior roles and widens
significantly at more senior roles.

Note: Histogram of salary by title. For example, the first bucket shows the number of individuals
reporting a salary x where $50,000 ≤ x < $65,000. One high-value outlier removed in the Principal / VP
/ Partner category.
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 Median Salary By Title & Gender
All Women Men Highlights
Analyst $65,000 $65,000 -- Salary appears to increase more
slowly at the junior level, until Principal
Senior Analyst $87,000 $87,000 -- / VP and Partner, which experience
much higher jumps in compensation.
Associate $84,000 $84,000 --
Division by gender is striking. 87% of
Senior Associate $92,500 $85,000 $150,000 respondents in Operations, Platforms
& Hybrid roles are women.
Manager $76,000 $76,000 --
Despite the prevalence of women in
Principal / VP $131,000 $120,000 $132,000 this sector, they are still underpaid
compared to the men counterparts.
Partner $170,000 $170,000 --

Note: Median salary data provided only due to the limited data when splitting by title.
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 Median Salary By Overall Work Experience
Highlights
25% 50% 75%
There are big jumps in salary at
the 5 - 10 year experience level
0 - 3 years $61,250 $65,000 $81,500 and the 20+ year experience
level.
3 - 5 years $76,250 $82,000 $91,875
Although the median salary at 5 -
10 years and 10 - 20 years
5 - 10 years $85,000 $125,000 $132,000 remains the same, the first to
third quartile range at 10 - 20
years is higher, indicating a
10 - 20 years $105,000 $125,000 $182,500 higher salary floor and increased
compensation opportunity at the
20+ years $160,000 $170,000 $170,000
high end.

Note: Breakdown of salary by quartile. 50% indicates the median salary for each level of work
experience.
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 Median Salary By Geography
Highlights
Similar to investment roles,
salary variation across
geography is the highest at the
Partner level, with individuals in
Ontario earning more than those
in the East.

Note: West: Not presented due to low response rate. Ontario: Responses from Ottawa, Toronto, and
Waterloo. East: Responses from Montreal and Halifax.
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 Median Salary By BIPOC Identification
Do you identify as BIPOC?
Highlights
Yes No % Yes BIPOC representation is lower in
operations and / or platform
Analyst -- $65,000 0% roles as compared to investment
roles.
Senior Analyst -- $87,000 0%
Individuals who identify as Black,
Associate $80,000 $104,500 33%
Indigenous, or a Person of
Colour earn 18% - 38% less than
their peers.
Senior Associate $85,000 $100,000 25%

Manager $60,000 $83,000 14%

Principal / VP -- $131,000 17%

Partner $130,000 $170,000 0%

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 Average Bonus by Title and Gender
Highlights
Women Men % With Bonus
Prevalence of a bonus is lower in
Analyst 8.8% -- operations / platform roles as
50% compared to investment roles.
Senior Analyst -- --
Where there is a comparable, it
Associate N.R. -- 66% is evident that men earn a higher
bonus than women.
Senior Associate 17.5% 40% 75%

Manager 17.0% -- 71%

Principal / VP 10.0% 28.3% 100%

Partner 35.4% -- 85%

Note: Mean bonuses reported by gender. % With Bonus is the portion of respondents reporting
receiving a bonus as part of their compensation. Value for Analyst and Senior Analyst roles aggregated
for privacy. Average bonus for Women Associates not reported due to very wide range of responses.
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 Additional Compensation Statistics:
All Roles

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 Carry
Typical Vesting Period*

% Who Receive Highlights

Average Carry 1-4 Years 4-7 Years 10+ Years
Carry
Carry is available to individuals
Analyst 20.8% 0.55% across all titles, scaling in
popularity from Analyst to
Senior Analyst 20.0% 0.50% Partner.

Associate 58.3% 0.99% 46.2% 30.8% 23.1% Analysts and Associates receive
< 1% carry, while Principals, VPs
Senior Associate 46.7% 0.74%
and Partners receive > 5%.

Manager 57.1% N/A**

Principal / VP 65.5% 5.90%

45.8% 41.7% 12.5%
Partner 80.0% 5.15%

Note: Figures aggregated across investment and operations / platform roles.

* Typical Vesting Period indicates the portion of respondents reporting each bucketed vesting period.
** While several managers reported receiving carry, none reported the amount of carry received.
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 Vacation & Benefits

Highlights
Mean vacation is 17 days.

Paid leave does not vary linearly based on title or overall work experience.

A significant group of individuals receive unlimited vacation.

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 Median Salary By Education
Highlights
Further education has
inconsistent effects of salary,
indicating that the industry is
open to individuals irrespective
of their educational background.

Note: Figures aggregated across investment and operations / platform roles.

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We’d like to thank Nabeela Merchant (Relay Ventures) and Snita Balsara (MaRS IAF) of the
Women in Venture Capital Committee. And a special thank you to Ramin Wright (Luge
Capital) for joining forces with the Women in VC group on this initiative.

For More Information on Canadian Women in Venture Capital - please visit:

https://canadianwomeninvc.wixsite.com/home