We were recently engaged by a client to conduct a search for a Product Director. Our client is a startup success story – starting as a bootstrapped B2B SaaS business, and over the last decade, growing into a cash flow positive, profitable business with over 300+ employees.
We conducted a targeted search on their behalf, seeking an experienced Product Director who would manage one of their product portfolios in the lead up to a major launch.
To succeed in this role, candidates needed strong Go-To-Market skills and 0-1 experience, along with the ability to rapidly scale a product team.
Here are 4 of the candidates we presented:
The Product Scale-up Expert – $150K base + 20% Bonus + Stock Options
- 7+ years of experience in product leadership within B2B SaaS startups
- Currently the Director of Product at a workforce management startup and was brought in to manage GTM activities and build Development, Release, and Launch processes that could scale
- In the last year, they led 4 new product launches, scaled the team from 5 to 14, and spearheaded the transition to a PLG mindset
- Experience as employee #4 at an AI-based Sales Analytics SaaS company that went from $10k to $500k ARR
- There they built a product team to 15 from scratch
- Bachelor’s of Engineering in Information Technology + MBA
The 0-1 Specialist – $170K + 30% Bonus
- 3+ years of Director-level experience within the B2B SaaS space
- The first product hire at a B2B SaaS startup where they were brought on to stand up 0-1 initiatives and focus on more robust solutions for designing, tracking and analyzing company communications
- Over the next 1.5 years, they scaled a product team to 2 PMs, 2 Designers, and also hired 8 Developers
- Their efforts led to a 40% increase in ARR
- Experience building and launching a B2B product, onboarding enterprise customers, and creating a $2M book of business
- Bachelors of Technology in Computer Science + MBA
The Human Capital Management Veteran – $175K + 20% Bonus + Stock Options
- 6+ years of product experience working at a global Workforce Management SaaS company
- Manages an entire Workforce Management portfolio with over 80k customers and revenues in access of $5B
- Over the last 1.5 years, they established a 3-year roadmap for a $1B business line as well as scaled an SMB product from 300 to 4k+ customers
- Experience leading R&D and new product innovation efforts for a workforce management platform
- Bachelors of Commerce (Finance & Economics)
The Hire
- 3+ years of product leadership experience within B2B SaaS
- Was a Head of Product for B2B employee engagement startup
- Managed a team of 6 (2 Product Managers, 1 Designer, and 2 Data Scientists)
- Over the last 2 years, they were responsible for bringing a product to market and growing it to 60 enterprise customers representing 1.5M end users, and an ARR of $5M
- Experience at Fortune500 FinServs where they held positions in marketing automation, digital strategy, growth marketing, and global customer experience as a Senior Product Manager
- Bachelors of Commerce (Finance & Accounting) + MBA
To attract and land this candidate, our client offered a $195K Base + Stock Options.
As you can see, compensation for these candidates varies significantly based on the length and scope of experience, as well as their ability to thrive in similar environments.
* * * * *
For organizations and job seekers alike, it can be challenging to understand what a particular position should pay. Often, it’s a calculation between salary surveys that lack all context, what a person has earned in the past, and ad hoc conversations with others in the field.
We’re sharing market insights into current compensation packages for key roles in the tech industry. Our recruiters conduct targeted searches on behalf of our clients, seeking out candidates who fit the requirements of the role and diligently qualifying them to present only the very best talent.
These posts are meant to highlight the contextual elements that makeup compensation, and to help our clients and candidates better understand the current market forces that affect earning potential.
Is your organization hiring product leaders to drive growth? Book a consultation with our friendly and knowledgeable team today.