depends on your level of skill and the school you came out of too. if you're reading news.ycombinator, please don't shortchange yourself and accept $60k, which btw, just happens to be exactly what I did when I got out. my current company offers $100k for friggin QA positions if you know C++/C (i.e. you're actually capable of being a developer). of course, my company is not a startup anymore, so adjust your figures appropriately.

what I've seen is that anything goes for a startup. it depends a lot on how well funded they are and how in tune with the establishment the founder(s) are. but if you ask me, you should really not be assessing a startup based on salary. doing a startup is a passion. why would you do one otherwise? if salary is important to you, then just stick with the small company doling out $100k for a QA position sort of gig.

Okay, that's one question answered, but there are eight others.