In the fast-paced world of Web3 and Blockchain, Immutable stands out as a trailblazer, creating new gaming economies. Leading the company’s People function is Ami Patel, whose unconventional journey — from teaching to leading People teams — offers unique insights into compensation and culture building in startups. With a foundation in education and organisational behaviour, coupled with experience at the likes of Amex and tech giant Canva, Ami’s expertise lies in solving complex people challenges with creativity and precision. Here’s what Ami had to say about designing and implementing a compensation strategy for a rapidly scaling tech startup.

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Can you start by introducing yourself and sharing what Immutable does?  

I’m Ami and I’m the Head of People at Immutable, a Sydney-based Web3 gaming company. We’ve built a Blockchain platform that allows gamers to own in-game assets, creating a new economy in gaming that prioritises user ownership and fun. It's an exciting mission in a fast-evolving space, and I’m thrilled to be part of it.

What does your role as Head of People at Immutable cover?

My role spans everything within the People function, except for talent acquisition. This includes rewards and compensation, learning and leadership development, engagement and culture, People Operations, and partnering with teams to drive our People Strategy. It’s unpredictable day-to-day, but that’s what makes it exciting!  

You had no prior experience with compensation design before Immutable. How did you approach that learning curve?

I leaned heavily on my network and external resources. I reached out to peers, researched extensively, and consulted tools like Radford and Pave, which offer reliable compensation data. I also focused on listening — speaking with employees, People Partners, and leadership to understand challenges and priorities. Combining those insights with data helped craft a compensation roadmap that aligned with our goals.  

What was Immutable’s compensation landscape when you joined?

When I joined, compensation practices were foundational — there were basic salary bands without formal levelling or a structured philosophy. We built a comprehensive program, focusing on fair salaries, transparent pay practices, and tying compensation to our culture of high performance.

How does Immutable approach performance and pay-for-performance?

We take a "pay-for-talent" approach. Instead of performance ratings, we focus on hiring and compensating top talent at high market percentiles, ensuring pay isn't a distraction. We prioritise clear, candid feedback and support intrinsic motivators like mastery and purpose. Raises are based on role benchmarks and consistent expectations, keeping the process simple and equitable.

How do you ensure transparency in your compensation practices?

Transparency is crucial. We share our compensation principles and process openly through Town Halls, manager sessions, and Q&As. For each comp review cycle, we create an "under the hood" explainer video that shows employees how decisions were made. It builds trust and demystifies a typically opaque topic.

How do you handle compensation for niche or emerging roles, like Web3?

For unique roles, we blend art and science to create fair and competitive compensation. We rely on core data sources like Radford and Pave, each serving a different purpose. Radford provides a wealth of data, particularly useful for verifying compensation practices with larger, more established companies. However, since Radford’s data is typically drawn from bigger firms, it can sometimes be less applicable to our niche. Which is why we also look to Pave, which focuses on companies that are more similar to Immutable — pre-IPO and in high-growth stages. 

For emerging roles, where market data may be limited, we complement external benchmarks with real-time insights from our talent acquisition team, who track trends and candidate expectations. We also work with compensation consultants to identify parallels with more established roles, such as finance or product, and add premiums when necessary to reflect the rarity and market demand for these skills. It’s about balancing creativity with data-driven insights to ensure we remain competitive while staying true to our values and growth stage.

What’s your biggest lesson from creating Immutable’s compensation strategy?

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Most compensation challenges aren’t unique—other companies have faced them too. Leverage networks, consult external experts, and focus on creating fair, clear systems that align with your culture. Compensation design is both art and science—it’s a fascinating puzzle to solve. 

You can find Ami on LinkedIn here.

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