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Compensation

Content Maintainers
Megan Pittman
Olivia Davis
Jessica Nguyen

Compensation Principles

Compensation Philosophy

Equity Operations

Compensation Principles​

Below are our compensation principles which we reference when making all compensation decisions.

The Why​

Our compensation philosophy has been arrived at over the course of many years, countless hours of conversation, and lots of on-the-ground lessons. Here are the three concerns that motivate our compensation philosophy.

  1. Compensation impacts real people and has a real moral dimension. As such, our philosophy must be built from a foundation of our values.
  2. Compensation directly impacts our ability to attract and retain the best talent and therefore compete in the market.
  3. Compensation is the single largest cost to our business. Our comp philosophy must position us to create a long-term viable, healthy, valuable business.

Our Compensation Principles​

  1. Values are more important than success; we work to operate within the frameworks of our pay programs and policies, even if that causes real near-term pain.
  2. Transparency always wins, and we will be as transparent as possible.
    1. Our employees are empowered to understand how their total rewards are determined and measured against the external market. Everyone at dbt Labs will have access to their compensation range. We comply with all global pay transparency laws on external job postings.
    2. Our compensation policies are transparent and made readily available to all employees.
    3. We never disclose a single individual’s compensation for privacy reasons but do not dissuade individuals from discussing it.
  3. We are a global compnay.
    1. We treat all compensation ranges at a company level using the same methodologies across all countries.
    2. This practice and decision becomes increasingly important as we scale and grow, especially when evaluating our overall Total Rewards Strategy, which is a blend of monetary and nonmonetary rewards.
    3. Countries have a variety of differences in government provided healthcare, pension plan requirements, and costs of labor; this means each country has nuances that we work hard to consider when creating total rewards offerings.
  4. Our compensation ranges are updated twice a year based on reputable external market data sources that appropriately reflect our workforce (roles, levels, geos).
  5. We strive for a globally consistent and scalable compensation philosophy.

Our Compensation Philosophy​

  • Base Pay: For each country, our compensation bands are centered around the 60th percentile of public and private technology companies.
    • We actively monitor all pay programs to ensure underrepresented groups are paid at the same rate as others in the same role / level / country.
  • Range Spread: Minimums and maximums of the salary range are calculated consistently across all roles and levels, set at 17.5% above and below the midpoint pay rate.
  • Equity Awards: New hire equity grant ranges are centered around the 75th percentile of the market for public technology companies. We believe that employee ownership is a way for employees to share in the success of the company. We offer equity for all full-time positions where legally able.
    • Equity is administered in the form of ISOs for US-based team members and NSOs for all non-US team members.
    • Our equity ranges are differentiated by function (4 groupings) and country (4 groupings) to ensure alignment with global market benchmarks.
  • Benefits: We strive to offer benefit packages that provide our team members with strong medical coverage regardless of their location or care needs.
    • Countries have a variety of differences in government provided healthcare, pension plan requirements, and costs of labor; this means each country has nuances that we work hard to consider when creating total rewards offerings.

Pay Day​

Payroll schedules vary by country. Employees can learn more about their pay schedules: here.

A Guide to Equity​

This guide is meant to help you understand the piece of dbt Labs that you’re going to own! Please note that while we hope this guide is a helpful overview, the governing terms and conditions are contained in your dbt Labs, Inc. 2019 Equity Incentive Plan (the "2019 Equity Plan") and your stock option agreement, all of which you are advised to read in full detail.

For an equity program deep dive, please vist this Notion Page

Our Philosophy on Equity​

We want all employees to act with the financial interests of the company in mind. There is no better way to align incentives in this way than to give everyone a financial stake in the company. Granting ownership in a company via a stock option is common practice in high-growth businesses for exactly this reason.

We do not, however, see equity as a way to "bridge the gap" to below-market cash compensation. This is fairly standard practice at early-stage businesses (seed and prior)—because companies at this stage are extremely cash-poor, they offer employees minimal cash-based compensation and instead offer very large option grants to "make up the difference" with equity. dbt Labs is at a stage where we pay top market rates in the cash component of our compensation packages, and so we encourage employees to think of equity upside as an amazing potential outcome but not a primary reason to take a job here.

💡 All startups are risky, and the value of any particular option grant (at dbt Labs or elsewhere!) could go to zero. Our compensation principles ensure that employees are well-compensated (via the cash and other components of their package) even in such a scenario.

Taxes​

Tax law is complex and you are strongly encouraged to consult a tax attorney or tax advisor who is familiar with startup stock options before making any decisions. More detailed information regarding Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) and Non-Qualified Stock Options (NSOs) tax implications can be found in our equity toolkit.

Option Plan Administration​

All option grants must be approved by the Board of Directors. Grants are typically approved on a monthly basis unless a company is going through a financing round or waiting on a 409A valuation.

How to Set Up Your Option Plan Account​

Learn how to set up your option plan account, adminstered through Carta, here.

How to Exercise Your Options​

"Exercising your options" means that you are purchasing the shares guaranteed by your options. Options can only be exercised if they are vested.

Learn how to exercise your options here.

Questions​

For questions on our compensation philosophy and practice, please reach out to the Total Rewards team.