Startups don’t fail because they can’t raise — they fail because they can’t retain. And few things erode trust faster than a broken compensation system.
Matt McFarlane has spent his career helping scaling tech companies solve that problem. With experience leading compensation strategy at global players like Oyster and now as the founder of FNDN, he’s helped companies in 70+ countries turn pay from an afterthought into a growth lever.
In this conversation, he breaks down what most founders get wrong about comp, why pay transparency is a mindset shift, and how structure beats sentiment every time.
Highlights
- From Numbers to Narrative: Reframing Compensation as a Design Problem
- How to Make Compensation a Growth Lever — Not Just a Cost Line
- Why Transparency Isn’t a Spreadsheet — It’s a System
- What People Leaders in APAC Are Talking About Now
- Structure Before Scale: Balancing Equity, Growth, and Discipline
- Closing Reflection: Systems that Scale with Trust
From Numbers to Narrative: Reframing Compensation as a Design Problem
Q: You’ve helped startups align compensation with scale across 70+ countries. What’s the first principle you teach founders when they ask, “How much should we pay them?”
A: The first principle is this: compensation is a design problem.
When founders ask, “How much should we pay?”, they’re usually hoping for a number — but what they actually need is a framework. Before price comes philosophy. Pay decisions should express your company’s values and operating model, not just reflect market benchmarks.
Start with business clarity: What are your goals? What skills do you need to get there? A Series A SaaS startup and a bootstrapped services company will answer those differently — and your compensation approach should reflect that.
If you jump straight into benchmarking without aligning on strategy, you end up with a spreadsheet — not a system. So my advice is: be intentional before you’re numerical. Compensation should follow strategy, not sentiment.
How to Make Compensation a Growth Lever — Not Just a Cost Line
Q: From Oyster to FNDN, you’ve proven that compensation can drive both savings and growth. What are the key components of a comp strategy that actually support business objectives?
A: The best compensation strategies do three things:
- Signal performance expectations clearly
- Scale with the complexity of the business
- Build trust through consistency
It’s not about paying the most — it’s about paying with purpose. A strong framework helps managers make fair, predictable decisions that align with both employee needs and business outcomes.
At FNDN, we anchor our approach on two elements:
- Clarity — People understand how pay is determined
- Consistency — The company follows through on its principles
Together, these create trust, which is essential in a space that historically lacks it. When compensation design aligns with company goals and culture, it becomes a strategic lever, not just an operational burden.
Why Transparency Isn’t a Spreadsheet — It’s a System
Q: Transparency is trending — but tricky. How should startups approach pay transparency without overwhelming teams or creating internal noise?
A: The biggest misconception is thinking transparency just means publishing everyone’s salary. It doesn’t.
True pay transparency means people understand the “why” behind the “what.” It starts by sharing your compensation principles — how you define fairness, how decisions are made, and how benchmarking works.
For early-stage startups, full transparency too early can cause chaos — especially if the systems aren’t ready. But structured transparency, where you clearly explain how compensation works, is powerful. It builds trust and avoids confusion.
Start with education before publication. Because transparency without context is noise — but with context, it becomes culture.
What People Leaders in APAC Are Talking About Now
Q: The Startup People Summit has quickly become a go-to for People leaders. What emerging themes are you hearing from attendees that signal where the People function is headed in APAC?
A: There are two big themes that are coming through loud and clear:
- AI and automation — There’s real interest in practical applications, beyond the hype. People leaders want tools that respect privacy and fairness, and there’s still a long way to go in terms of maturity here.
- Product-led thinking for People functions — Teams are beginning to adopt product design principles: really understanding their “customers” (employees), identifying real needs, and delivering an experience that people want to subscribe to year after year.
These shifts tell me that the People function in APAC is evolving fast — becoming more technical, more strategic, and more focused on experience by design.
Structure Before Scale: Balancing Equity, Growth, and Discipline
Q: You’ve helped companies reduce costs and win talent. What’s your approach to balancing pay equity, market competitiveness, and budget discipline in fast-scaling environments?
A: You balance those forces by understanding that equity isn’t about equality — it’s about governance.
The common tension is: how do we reward performance, retain talent, and stay within budget? The answer is structure before scale. Define your salary bands, governance rules, and decision rights before things get chaotic.
That way, you avoid the panic pay rises, cowboy hires, and comp creep that kill both trust and fiscal discipline. When your pay framework is strong, leaders feel confident making fast, fair decisions — without breaking alignment.
Equity, competitiveness, and control aren’t trade-offs. They’re the outcome of disciplined design.
Closing Reflection: Systems that Scale with Trust
For Matt McFarlane, building compensation frameworks is about more than numbers — it’s about helping companies design intentional, trusted systems that grow with them.
That philosophy is what led him to launch the Startup People Summit, now a leading platform for Heads of People across APAC. It’s a sign that the region is ready for deeper, more technical conversations around compensation and workforce strategy.
He also built the FNDN Series — a growing platform that brings together founders, HR leaders, and compensation experts to elevate how startups talk about pay. With thousands engaging across the series, it’s become a trusted resource for those looking to scale with clarity, fairness, and strategic intent. Because at the end of the day, Matt’s message is clear: good compensation isn’t just good math — it’s good leadership.
Highlights
- From Numbers to Narrative: Reframing Compensation as a Design Problem
- How to Make Compensation a Growth Lever — Not Just a Cost Line
- Why Transparency Isn’t a Spreadsheet — It’s a System
- What People Leaders in APAC Are Talking About Now
- Structure Before Scale: Balancing Equity, Growth, and Discipline
- Closing Reflection: Systems that Scale with Trust
Read the Chinese article here.
