---
title: "How Should You Staff Your Startup in 2023"
description: "Analyze 2023 startup staffing trends: Enterprise Tech 30 data reveals 57% headcount growth, R\u0026D ratios, and hiring patterns across growth stages."
categories: ["benchmarks","data analysis","sales","marketing"]
keywords: ["Theory Ventures","Tomasz Tunguz","startup staffing","venture capital","headcount growth","R\u0026D ratios","sales and marketing staffing","2023 startup trends","enterprise tech staffing","startup hiring patterns"]
ai_summary: "Explore 2023 startup staffing trends, including headcount growth and R\u0026D vs sales ratios across different growth stages."
date: 2023-05-17
lastmod: 2026-07-28
canonical_url: https://www.tomtunguz.com/et30-headcount-analysis/
author: "Tomasz Tunguz"
---

Yesterday, the [Enterprise Tech 30 List](https://www.enterprisetech30.com/) was revealed. Congratulations to all the winners (especially MotherDuck, Hex, & Omni)! 

I analyzed the headcount patterns within these companies to shed light on three questions : 

1. How are these top companies changing their headcount through the downturn?
2. What percent of headcount is in product & engineering?
3. What percent of headcount is in sales & marketing?

![image](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzawgnnlr/image/upload/fc9jmghhabdmhwr1ehxn.png)
The typical company grew headcount by 57%. The mid-stage businesses grew fastest at 88%, next early companies at 62%, & the later companies by 43%. The Giga companies held headcount flat over the past year.

As companies employ thousands, we should expect growth rates to asymptote. It's surprising to see the Giga companies flat - another indication of uncertain market times ahead.

![image](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzawgnnlr/image/upload/lpgn72fbjnhdji4qvmhx.png)

Looking at the data in more granular detail, most companies have grown headcount at similar rates, with a few outliers doubling or more & some shrinking headcount. The larger the business, the lower the growth rate, but the correlation is weak at -0.27. 

![image](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzawgnnlr/image/upload/tgaoqvhairefufq7ofip.png)

R&D, which includes engineering, IT, & product management, dominates early companies' headcount as they build product. 

Once companies grow to about 50-100 employees, other teams blossom to support & market the product. From that point forward, these businesses typically operate with 30% headcount in R&D.

![image](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzawgnnlr/image/upload/udheljjrbcwu91tmy5j0.png)

Sales & Marketing are a different story. Startups operate with a broader variance with commercial teams : Canva & Databricks should paint the ends of the spectrum. 

On average, 20% of headcount is sales & marketing. The correlation with scale is effectively zero, meaning that ratio holds throughout the life of a business, barring the pre-commercialization epoch in a startup's lifespan.

These startups, held in high regard by venture capitalists, should provide some insight for startups as they navigate the macroeconomic environment.