"The problem is, most people in NYC don't understand the value of stock options." The problem is actually the number of times people have been burned. Most of

"The problem is, most people in NYC don't understand the value of stock options." The problem is actually the number of times people have been burned. Most of the really good, senior level tech talent has been through the blender the first time around. Options always seem to get screwed up somehow, and once someone has put in 70 hour weeks with the idea that their equity will blow up one day, it becomes quite a challenge to do that again as anything but a founder (which a lot of people really don't have the desire to do). Combine that with the amount of finance (read: under educated) money in the investment pool, and the people who bring it (ex-bankers) and their relationship to hackers, the value of equity is really usually quite shitty. edit: one other point: Many of the graduates who don't know about the startup scene actually wont be qualified to work in it (those who are into it will mostly be qualified and are a small minority). Generally speaking, you need to really be able to pull your weight in an early stage startup. This is not something most people who have not been hacking on side projects (or working at startups as an intern etc.) for the last 4 years are generally capable of doing. You really need to have had some "real work" experience, and after 4 years of coursework and coffee/xerox internships unfortunately a lot of these kids just don't. We all want to believe the myth of the college kid startup genius, but the simple fact is it usually takes a few years before someone is really capable of the work required in a startup. By that point they already have the golden handcuffs. So I'm not sure it's as simple as academia and startups don't talk, there is a real reason startups aren't recruiting from NYU and Columbia undergrads.