Executive Compensation & Negotiation — Pavilion

Enrolling now · Executive Members only

Compensation is where risk becomes real.

Three weeks with Sam Jacobs on what you're worth, what an offer is actually worth, and how to close the gap between the two.

Starts Thursday, October 8Runs through October 22, 2026
Thursdays · 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ETThree live sessions, 90 minutes each
Open to Executive MembersIn-seat GTM executives: Directors, VPs, and CXOs

Raise your hand

Tell us what you're negotiating. We'll follow up with the full session detail and set up time to talk through whether this cohort is the right one for you.

Already a Pavilion member? Enroll in the Member Hub.

The market you're negotiating in.

Two numbers worth knowing before you sit down.

19%

drop in median CXO OTE from 2024 to 2025.

77%

of executives received equity or stock options in 2025.

Down from 82% the year before.

Figures from Pavilion's 2025 GTM Compensation Report.

What you walk out with.

Things you use in the next conversation, not a framework you file away.

A number you can defend

Your market value by role, scope, company stage, and risk, with comparables behind it.

An offer you can model

Cash, equity, downside protection, and opportunity cost weighted together instead of read off the headline.

The equity questions to ask

Vesting, acceleration, exercise windows, dilution, preference stack. And what it means when nobody will answer.

The cash terms most people never ask for

Guarantees, ramps, milestones, signing bonuses, severance and downside protection.

A posture for the room

When to push, when to pause, and when the math says walk.

Peers with the same stakes

Executives negotiating the same terms, comparing notes off the record.

The offer arrives once. You live with it for four years.

High-stakes calls, incomplete information
Performance doesn't convert to leverage on its own
Upside gets framed optimistically

What members say.

From operators who've been in the room.

Three things this fixes.

The gaps that cost strong executives real money.

Market value

  • What you're worth by role, scope, stage, and risk
  • Comparables that hold up when they get questioned
  • The common ways executives underprice themselves

The total package

  • How companies actually think about cash constraints
  • Base, bonus, and commission matched to real risk
  • Guarantees, ramps, milestones, severance terms

Equity, with clear eyes

  • Vesting, acceleration, post-departure exercise windows
  • Dilution, preference stacks, and exit mechanics
  • Probability-weighted outcomes over headline valuation

Why Sam rebuilt this one.

Sam has spent his career watching strong executives under-earn. Not for lack of results. For lack of a framework, the language, and a read on what the other side is optimizing for.

He rebuilt this course around the part that costs the most: assessing an opportunity honestly, then negotiating it from strength instead of gratitude.

Raise your hand
SJ
Sam JacobsFounder & CEO, Pavilion. Lives in Barcelona with humans, dogs, cats, and in-laws.

Three sessions, each built around a decision that costs money to get wrong.

Ninety minutes a week, built for executive calendars.

Thursdays · 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET · October 8 – October 22, 2026

Session order and topics may shift.

SessionDateTopicInstructor
S1 Thu Oct 8 Fundamentals of executive career managementWhat you're worth, who's across the table and what they're optimizing for, and where the walk-away line sits. Evaluate opportunities on expected value, not narrative. Sam JacobsFounder & CEO, PavilionGuest: Russell Mikowski, CEO, SurePeople
S2 Thu Oct 15 Cash compensation and the total packageHow companies think about cash, how the mix should scale with stage and scope, and the levers most executives never ask for: guarantees, ramps, milestones, signing bonuses, severance. Sam JacobsFounder & CEO, Pavilion
S3 Thu Oct 22 Equity, ownership, and realistic upsideVesting, acceleration, exercise windows, dilution, preference stacks, exit scenarios. What a company should show you when defending equity value, and what it means when they won't. Sam JacobsFounder & CEO, Pavilion

Who's in the room.

The discussion works because everyone in it is carrying similar scope and similar risk.

The seat

Executive Members

In-seat GTM executives. Directors, VPs, and CXOs, plus Heads of Sales, Marketing, Revenue, and RevOps.

The moment

Why now

Negotiating a new role, discussing a promotion or expanded scope, or ascending to a title where cash, equity, and long-term upside are all being redefined.

3 weeks, live
90-min sessions
Designed by Sam Jacobs
Executive Members only

Before you raise your hand.

Is this about getting paid more?
It's about making better decisions. Better outcomes usually follow. The work is understanding risk, leverage, and what an opportunity is actually worth, so that over time your compensation tracks the performance and the responsibility you're carrying.
Do I need an offer on the table?
No. The frameworks are worth the most before the conversation starts. The course is also built for promotions, expanded scope, and the internal comp discussions that come with a new title.
How much time does this take?
Ninety minutes a week for three weeks. Thursdays at 11:00 AM ET, October 8 through October 22. Built to be respectful of an executive calendar.
Why is this limited to Executive Members?
The course runs on shared context and peer discussion. Membership keeps the room aligned on experience and stakes, which is the reason the conversation goes anywhere useful.
I'm already a Pavilion member.
Enroll directly in the Member Hub.

Know what you're worth before someone else prices it.

Three sessions, one room of executives, starting October 8. Raise your hand and we'll talk through whether this one's yours.

Raise your hand
Executive Compensation & Negotiation3 sessions · Thursdays 11:00 AM ET · starts Oct 8
Raise your hand