[slackingoff2017]

It really depends on the company. If your product is software then the CTO is in charge of your entire company minus ancillary functions and should definitely get a ton of equity.

If your startup sells shoes or something the CTO isn't nearly as important.

[jsjohnst]

Even if your product is software, it doesn't matter at all if nobody knows about it and/or buys it. How do people learn about a product? Marketing teams. How do people buy a product? Sales teams. Neither of which report to a CTO customarily.

As someone who has been a VP of Eng and/or CTO in multiple startups, I'd love+ to say my value was the most important, but the truth is that simply isn't correct. It's a team effort and everyone has to be putting in effort to succeed.

+ - actually, I wouldn't, but you get my point hopefully ;)

[slackingoff2017]

Eh, I don't buy it :). Every company has sales, accounting, marketing. The thing that makes a software company special is their technology.

[meric]

I suppose the task at hand is then to differentiate between whether it is a software company or a company using software.

[zerr]

Don't underestimate selling shoes or something at "web scale" - this is what Amazon does ;)

[slackingoff2017]

And exactly the reason their engineers are treated as a cost center. Logistics and sales are more important than sound engineering.

[UK-AL]

In my area amazon are known pay really well. They push you hard, but is seen as a good place to develop as a developer.