The salary diary of a startup founder: 5 things I did to scale my income more than 10 times

Throughout my career, I found myself in positions where just about everyone in the industry raised eyebrows at my efforts. Upon first launching Ladder, I was told by some of the more seasoned marketers that sharing company secrets via our blog was a bad move because readers would steal our great ideas and use them for their own companies. My argument? Putting ourselves out there and helping people — without the expectation of reward or praise — would propel our growth faster than the potential harm of a competitor copying us.

Fast forward four years later: We've produced hundreds of blog posts and gotten 60% of our clients through those alone. Now, many of those same people who told me to protect Ladder's secrets are asking how they can replicate what we've done.

My career has involved plenty of jumping around, from working in a warehouse to running food to hungry tables in the hospitality industry to working at a bar and a cinema during my college days in London.

In retrospect, these jobs bolstered my work ethic, which came in handy as a startup founder. My time as a government intern wasn't enjoyable — I didn't like not having control over whether my recommendations were implemented. However, this helped form my future employment goals: I knew finding a role where I wasn't just doing analysis, but actually putting suggestions into effect, would work best for me.

All of these experiences and jobs have led me to where I am now. While some might have been more immediately relevant to leading a company than others (I don't carry a lot of plates these days), every job taught me something about myself as a person and a leader.

It took applying to more than 100 jobs to finally secure a job that, at the time, was a dream. Then I spent most of my days in that role conducting fruitless cold calls. I didn't love it and, because of that, raised hell for my higher-ups. But it didn't matter: I still had to make my numbers for the day. Looking back on the experience, I'm grateful: It forced me to get better and more tenacious at sales, which I ended up ultimately enjoying once I started running my own business.

However, that less-than-perfect position led me to my next role — the first job I really loved — located in London. Despite working 80 hours a week, I was learning from my colleagues, and my paychecks increased with my skill set. Not every job is going to be "the one," but that doesn't mean it's not worth doing.

The first time I ever passed the two-year mark was at Travelzoo, where I learned the value of longevity. Admittedly, it wasn't from patience on my end; rather, it came from being clearer about my ambition as well as my willingness to work hard in a company that offered plenty of growth opportunities.

Becoming more of a senior employee allowed me to delve into the world of Facebook advertising, amass an email list upward of one million, and shift into a supervisory capacity as a product manager who oversaw four developers.

This type of responsibility increase generally only comes with time and a demonstrated willingness to learn. Put in the hours, learn everything you can, and prepare yourself to be a great candidate when the job of your dreams comes along. If your salary journey resembles mine, take comfort: You don't have to connect all the dots right now. As long as you're learning and pushing your own boundaries, you'll eventually make it happen.

If you judged me by the first half of my salary diary alone, you might not call me a success. But by working hard, no matter the role, following my instincts, and being patient, my salary has rapidly and exponentially increased. Use these tips, and your dedication, time, and energy will yield big results.