> you simply don't need a bunch of programmers from the top 1% or even top 10% Having done some recruiting at a startup last year, even getting the top 50% to

> you simply don't need a bunch of programmers from the top 1% or even top 10% Having done some recruiting at a startup last year, even getting the top 50% to reply to an email is a tough proposition. The problem really stems from brand awareness. No one has heard of your startup, so in a sea of "help wanted" postings on Angelist, Stack Overflow or Craigslist or cold emails, it's extremely easy to be ignored. Using novel technology and getting the word out (as Twitter and Jet.com did), can at least get technical awareness within a motivated subset of engineers who are interested in said new stuff -- and of all skill levels. That said, Peter Norvig made a pretty good refutation of your core point[1]. Say your initial site was successfully launched by average engineers. If you're not always trying to hire better than the average employee at your company, your team just gets worse over time. [1] - https://research.googleblog.com/2006/03/hiring-lake-wobegon-strategy.html https://research.googleblog.com/2006/03/hiring-lake-wobegon-... [edit] -- btw, using the new-shiny stuff is not all-or-none. You can still use tried and true tech along the way.