The flaw in this is that even if you rise through the ranks, each promotion usually only gets you a 10% raise at most, 15-20% if you’re really lucky. So your in

The flaw in this is that even if you rise through the ranks, each promotion usually only gets you a 10% raise at most, 15-20% if you’re really lucky. So your initial low comp will continue to haunt you unless you rise to a level where there’s a step change in pay, usually some sort of leadership role. If turnover is low, leadership will often assume people must be fine with their current compensation, since their data indicates the market continues to clear. More than once I’ve seen startups go and do a round of comp adjustments after an uptick in turnover.