Private company M&A activity is up. Is your company prepared? Find out in 2 charts.
Global M&A hit a historic milestone in Q1 2026. According to PitchBook, “total deal value reaching an estimated $1.6 trillion—a new quarterly record—up 50.6% YoY despite a backdrop of trade policy uncertainty, geopolitical tension, and AI-driven disruption risk.” North America led the way, and “liquidity remains abundant with buyers and sellers finding terms.” With M&A […]
CVC Compensation Panel Webinar: Market Update
What’s the latest with CVC Compensation? Unpack the latest industry trends and insights with J.Thelander Consulting, Cooley and TDK Ventures. Paragraph with a swirl here.
Internships Are Harder to Land Than Ever. Do You Know Your Worth?
In a recent Wall Street Journal Article published last month, they touched on how “internships are more crucial than ever – and even harder to find.” Internship postings are down 16% this year, according to early-career job platform Handshake. Competition is up sharply — the average internship posting drew 109 applicants during the 2024–25 academic […]
Investment Firm Compensation: Why AUM Alone Isn’t Enough
We just wrapped an investment firm consulting project where we looked at the firm’s compensation by both total AUM and size of most recent fund. We found the data to be interesting, so we’re sharing some of the analysis with you in this month’s digest. One of the most influential ways to customize investment firm compensation is […]
The State of Compensation for US Private Biotech Companies
According to PitchBook, “Biopharma companies’ willingness to go public appears to be making a tentative reversal after a long drought…The real drive behind this resurgence, according to investors, is the M&A market.” We looked at our YoY biotech compensation data and used a preview of data from our upcoming US Private Biotech Compensation Report to see […]
Startup Tech Compensation Trends: IT Manager Pay Has Nearly Doubled. Software Engineer Pay Hasn’t.
Last week, Katherine Bindley from The Wall Street Journal published an article on “The Tech Jobs That Are Safe From AI.” She reported that senior IT and computer science job postings are up YoY – while entry level postings are down – which motivated us to look whether the same was true for compensation at […]
Pay Transparency Is Exposing a Bigger Problem: Private Companies Can’t Explain Why They Pay What They Pay
In a Fortune article published this week on the pay gap and pay transparency, the takeaway wasn’t that companies aren’t sharing pay — it’s that they can’t explain it. Private companies with fewer than 200 employees need a salary structure with total cash and equity ranges. And sure, having a job architecture and salary structure […]
One in three investment firms gift vertical slices of carry into trusts. Is yours one of them?
Carried interest is one of the most powerful levers in venture capital and private equity compensation. In our recent webinar with GetDynasty.com, we discussed putting part of your carried interest (and committed capital) into vertical trusts. Here’s what the data says, and what you need to know before you act. When it comes to gifting […]
Craftsmanship, Entrepreneurship & Building Something That Lasts with David Stine & Stephanie Abbajay
In this episode of CapLander, Jody and Morgan discuss the spirit of entrepreneurship and leadership with David Stine and Stephanie Abbajay of David Stine Furniture– while digging into the realities of what it’s like working with your spouse. David shares how he left a successful law career and turned his woodworking hobby into a pursuit […]
The Founder’s Guide to Talent, Capital & Compensation
A strong startup compensation strategy isn’t just a financing exercise — it’s how founders attract the leaders who turn science into value. In this webinar, J. Thelander Consulting founder and CEO Jody Thelander was joined by Chris Garabedian, Joanna & Ellen of JM Search, who co-lead the firm’s biopharma practice, to discuss how founders, boards, […]