Hello Friends,

I wanted to start this month’s edition by reminding each of you that there’s a wealth of free resources I make available to subscribers, including:

• A list containing 25+ compensation philosophies

• A list of 25+ free compensation benchmarks

• A list of the best compensation benchmark vendors (for tech startups)

• A startup compensation cheat sheet - all the terms you need to know

• A list of all the most people-centric newsletters

All free for you to access. 

If you go here and drop your email, you’ll get a new email containing links to all of them (don’t worry, it won’t double subscribe you).

In other news, after this edition I’m changing the FNDN Series around a bit. 

Many of you will have read my first year recap called “How to Become a HR Consultant”, and suffice to say, I’m aiming to keep things fresh on my content as I continue to turn it into a flywheel that generates more and more engagement from my beloved audience (you).

What this means in practice is that the newsletter is shifting to a shorter, more frequent cadence, and the podcast, too, will go from one hour episodes to quick, 10-15 minute hits that are laser targeted on one specific issue to do with compensation.

Why?

First, I’m a big believer in always striving for better, and testing and iterating is a core tenet of that. Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t. 

Second, one of my goals this year is to see the newsletter and podcast become profitable (or at least break even). It’s an expensive endeavour both in running costs and time. Given I’m not yet at a point where I want to charge for my content, a higher frequency send rate means I have more space to give exposure to brands I know and like — enabling me to bring you more of the content you know and love. It also means I can be more punchy on content. 

Lastly, I also read (and often respond to) all the onboarding surveys I receive for this newsletter, which helps me deeply focus the content I put out. One thing I don’t feel like I’ve had as much of a chance to do yet is drop some written knowledge on tackling the practical aspects of compensation. Something that is regularly requested.

So from here on out, expect weekly emails that cover a cross-section of:

• FNDN Series podcast interview lessons and takeaways

• Resource drops (like the above) when I add them to the ranks

• Webinar announcements (I’m doing more of these and they’re great focused sessions on relevant topics)

• Written content, from me, on how to actually build aspects of a compensation practice (I’m taking requests on this one).

I don’t yet know where this preamble fits, but I’ll find somewhere.

The other thing that has been dominating my time, is that in between running FNDN, being chronically on LinkedIn, and sleeping, I’m running an event…

I’m building a one-day virtual event made especially for the Head of People (or people pro) at startups in the APAC region. It’s called the Startup People Summit, and it will be the playbook for those building and scaling startup people functions. 

I haven’t been super loud about it yet, so you’re among the first to hear about this. It’s exciting. I’m excited. And I hope that, if you’re in the APAC region (or are in a different region and want access to the sessions/community) you’ll take a look and register.

Ok, outside work (which is barely even a thing right now, let’s be honest), this month saw me absolutely demolishing the seventh season of Drive to Survive, a show credited with turbocharging F1 viewership around the world. If you’ve never seen it, I wholeheartedly recommend you do. I never realised what goes into F1 racing (or the politics behind the scenes, which is the juiciest part). These people are the best at what they do (well, except for Lance Stroll… IYKYK) and I find it so incredibly motivating watching them compete. It was the perfect appetiser to the start of the season. It should come as no surprise that my driver is Oscar Piastri 🇦🇺 — who is yours?

I’ve also just finished season 2 of Severance which is just as well because my head was hurting at 10 weeks of mind-bendingly good drama. If you haven’t seen it, do your innie a favour and watch it. Next on my list is The White Lotus, although the removal of the incredible opening music from season 1 & 2 already has me down…

Ok, that’s me for this month. I’ll see you in more frequent editions soon!

Matt

Fair Pay and Transparency Matter

Ensure fair pay with HiBob's Pay Equity Audit Guide. Get a step-by-step process and a free template to identify and close pay gaps.

The Truth About Startup Pay Transparency

with Adam Horne, Co-Founder of Open Org

I recently sat down with Adam Horne, co-founder of OpenOrg, to dig into a topic that’s close to my heart: how transparency can unlock performance, trust, and better compensation practices in startups. Adam brings a founder’s mindset, a deep understanding of People ops, and a no-fluff approach to culture-building. We talked about what’s changing in the world of work, how expectations are shifting, and what leaders can do today to get ahead of the transparency curve — especially around compensation.

Here's what we covered:

• Why transparency is more than a trend, and how it’s fast becoming a business imperative.

• The way expectations around transparency are shifting across generations (spoiler: it's not just Gen Z who care).

• How to approach performance when nobody really knows what “good” looks like.

• The real definition of pay transparency (hint: it doesn’t have to mean everyone knows everyone’s salary).

• How to handle pay equity without going bankrupt, or breaking trust.

• Building simple, sustainable practices that work even for a lean, scrappy team.

My 5 Key Takeaways:

• Clarity builds trust, even without perfect systems. Transparency doesn’t mean having all the answers or the most sophisticated tools. What matters most is giving people visibility into how decisions are made. If you explain your thinking — even if it’s still evolving — you signal respect and show your team that fairness is a priority, not a secret.

• You don’t need to wait until everything is perfect to start. Most companies already have informal or unwritten processes for pay decisions. Simply writing down what you do — whether it’s how you review salaries, decide on promotions, or structure your hiring ranges — can create immediate clarity and reduce noise from repeated questions or misinterpretation.

• Pay transparency without equity does more harm than good. If your compensation framework shines a light on disparities that haven’t been addressed, trust can break down fast. Before going public with pay bands or internal ranges, audit for inequities and create a plan — however gradual — to bring people into alignment. It’s better to be honest about the journey than to avoid it altogether.

• Vague performance systems will always erode fairness. When expectations are unclear, feedback is inconsistent, and managers are left to make gut-based calls, it’s impossible for people to understand how performance links to pay. Instead, focus on role-specific goals, regular check-ins, and shared criteria for success so employees know where they stand, and how to move forward.

• You should be proud, not nervous, if your pay practices were leaked. One of the best litmus tests for fairness is whether your internal logic holds up under scrutiny. If people found out how pay decisions were made tomorrow, would you be confident explaining them? If not, use that discomfort as a guide to strengthen the “why” behind the numbers, not just the what.

You can follow or connect with Adam on LinkedIn here.
Interested in working with Adam, check out OpenOrg’s site here.

Listen, watch or read the full interview here.

Got a specific topic you want me to cover or a guest you’d love to nominate? Hit reply to this email and let me know.

That’s all for this week.

Sure, this is technically the end of the newsletter, but we don’t have to end here! I’d love this to be a two-way chat, so let me know what you found helpful, any successes you’re seeing, or any questions you have for me.

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