Agreed and good point. But remember in a small and growing business you can look at stock options as part of the compensation. If the newly hired person reall

Agreed and good point. But remember in a small and growing business you can look at stock options as part of the compensation. If the newly hired person really believes the company has a chance, that could make them very happy even with bargain salaries. Also, remember that set up often is harder than maintenance, so even if you expect the bargain talent to leave when the economy picks up later, you can often gain a lot from having them for a while and then replace them by someone less experienced at that point.