Write your levels down once
Describe the tracks and levels for each department and the roles on each level. Keep the framework in draft while you shape it, then publish it to the whole company.
For startups
A career framework for startups, without an HR team
Give your first hires a visible path, your first managers a structure for career conversations, and yourself a fair way to decide promotions — before anyone in HR exists.
Free plan · No credit card required
Sounds familiar?
Where growing startups get stuck
Your best engineer is suddenly a manager
You asked the strongest person on the team to lead it. Nobody told them what a good 1:1 looks like, or how to judge whether someone is growing.
Promotions happen in the founder's head
Titles and raises are decided case by case, often right after someone hints they might leave. The rest of the team cannot see how the decision was made.
People keep asking how to grow here
Without levels, the honest answer is “it depends” — on who asks, and on whom they ask. Two people with the same question get two different answers, and both notice.
Early hires and new hires don't add up
The first ten people got their titles when the company was tiny; everyone you hire now gets compared to them. Without a shared bar, someone always feels it is unfair.
How LadderKit helps
What a startup actually needs — and nothing more
The few pieces that make careers visible at 20 or 50 people, in one place.
Give first-time managers a check-in to run
Every check-in follows the same path — self-assessment, manager review, shared, completed — so a new manager has a structure for the conversation instead of a blank page.
Take promotions out of the founder's head
A manager proposes a new role with the reasoning, someone above them decides, and the change takes effect on the agreed date. Every decision has a written case behind it.
Turn “how do I grow?” into next steps
After a check-in, agree a few growth actions — each with a deadline, and linked to a skill where it fits — and pick them up again in the next conversation.
In practice
How a startup can roll it out
Your first framework, at around 30 people
- Week 1The founder or CTO drafts one framework for engineering: three or four levels and five or six skills. It stays in draft.
- Week 2The founder makes two team leads editors of the draft. They check where each of their people would land and fix the wording wherever they disagree. Then it is published and everyone is assigned a role.
- Week 3Everyone assesses themselves against their level in a check-in, and their manager adds a view in the same check-in.
- After thatEach person leaves with two or three growth actions, and the framework is revisited once the first round of check-ins is done.
The first promotion under the new rules
- Write the caseA manager proposes a move to the next role, with an effective date and examples of work the person already does at that level.
- DecideThe founder approves it, rejects it or asks for more detail. The person does not see the proposal while it is being decided.
- ApplyOn the effective date the person's role changes in LadderKit, and the case stays on record as a reference for the next one.
Templates
Templates startups usually start from
Pick the roles you already have and cut each ladder down to the levels you really need.
Engineering
Software Engineer
Five levels from Junior to Principal, across six competencies from shipping code to growing the team.
- 5 levels
- 6 competencies
Engineering
Engineering Manager
Four levels from Engineering Manager to VP of Engineering, across six management competencies.
- 4 levels
- 6 competencies
Product
Product Manager
Five levels from Associate PM to Head of Product, across six competencies from discovery to product strategy.
- 5 levels
- 6 competencies
Design
Product Designer
Five levels from Junior Designer to Head of Design, across six competencies from research to design systems.
- 5 levels
- 6 competencies
Pricing
Pricing that fits a startup
You can start on the Free plan — up to 10 people and 1 career framework — without a credit card.
Paid plans are one flat monthly price for the whole company, starting at €149 a month for up to 35 people. It is not a fee per person, so the next hire does not change the bill until you outgrow the plan.
Free
€0/month
For small teams putting career levels in writing for the first time.
- Up to 10 people
- 1 career framework
- Every core feature
Starter
€149/month
For growing teams ready to formalise their career paths.
- Up to 35 people
- Up to 5 career frameworks
- Every core feature
- Slack notifications
- Option to require Google or Microsoft sign-in
Most popular
Growth
€299/month
For scaling companies with several teams and departments.
- Up to 80 people
- Up to 10 career frameworks
- Every core feature
- Slack notifications
- Option to require Google or Microsoft sign-in
Scale
€499/month
For larger organisations that need room to grow.
- Unlimited people
- Unlimited career frameworks
- Every core feature
- Slack notifications
- Option to require Google or Microsoft sign-in
Every core feature is on every plan. Paid plans add Slack notifications and the option to require Google or Microsoft sign-in; otherwise you pay for plan size — people and career frameworks.
FAQ
Common questions
When should a startup introduce levels?
Usually somewhere between 15 and 30 people, or as soon as you have a second manager. Before that, everyone sees everyone's work; after it, decisions start to differ from team to team, and people notice.
How many levels does a startup need?
Three or four per track is plenty for a company under 60 people. You can add a level later; taking one away is much harder, because someone already holds that title.
How do we support people who have just become managers?
Give them a structure: the same check-in for every report, a framework to assess against, and a few growth actions to follow up on. The engineering manager template shows what the role looks like as it grows.
What do we do about the titles our early hires already have?
Place each person on the level that matches the work they do today, and talk to them before you publish. Keeping a title while making the level clear is often easier than changing either overnight.
Does a startup need formal performance reviews?
Not in the corporate sense. Regular check-ins against the framework, each with a written summary, give you the same information with less ceremony — and make promotion decisions easier to explain.
Further reading
- Career ladders
How to build a career ladder: a step-by-step guide
A practical, seven-step method for companies of 20 to 200 people: tracks, levels, competencies, expectations, calibration and rollout — with a worked example and the mistakes to avoid.
Updated 1 October 2026
- Career ladders
How many levels should a career ladder have?
Four to six levels per track covers most companies of 20 to 200 people. How to pick the number for yours, the signs you have too few or too many, and how to add a level later.
Updated 1 October 2026
Set up careers before you need an HR team
Start free, write your first framework in draft, and run your first check-ins this month.
Free plan · No credit card required