When you’re building a healthcare startup, there’s one resource you can’t afford to waste—your people.

Too often, founders lose top talent because they rely on quick fixes instead of designing compensation and incentives that keep employees engaged for the long haul.

In this episode, I sat down with Scott Trumpolt, a compensation consultant with 30+ years of HR experience, including 12 years advising startups and healthcare companies.

We explore how founders can balance equity vs. pay, stay transparent with teams, and build incentive structures that attract talent, retain high performers, and strengthen investor confidence, all while making people feel valued and aligned with the mission.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

🔑 How compensation and engagement together drive retention

🔑 Ways early-stage founders can balance equity, cash, and variable pay

🔑 Why transparency builds trust and loyalty inside small teams

🔑 How tying incentives to milestones strengthens investor confidence

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Why talent needs more than pay to stay

00:01:47 – Why retention matters in early-stage startups

00:03:16 – Scott’s 30-year journey in HR and consulting

00:05:58 – Appreciation as a retention factor

00:08:52 – Equity, variable pay, and survival mode

00:12:25 – Capital Engine: investor readiness support

00:16:51 – Hiring for today’s needs vs. future scalability

00:19:59 – Candidate frustrations: ghosting and misfit hiring

00:23:05 – Keeping people engaged during slow growth phases

00:25:23 – Career architecture as a hiring tool

00:29:51 – Using long-term incentives for senior leaders

00:33:15 – Sabrina’s closing call: apply lessons to your team

00:34:32 – Six key learning points from today’s episode

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