The idea of working for a larger company (traditional not tech) such as Whole Foods is that you have a place to move up in the company. As such and if you have

The idea of working for a larger company (traditional not tech) such as Whole Foods is that you have a place to move up in the company. As such and if you have ever run or owned a traditional (non tech; non vc funded; 'small business' I have...) where there is no opportunity to move you would realize that the pay is only a small part of what people are looking for. So my point is the 'carrot' with working for a large company is that if you do a good job you might become manager then district manager and so on there is a place to go. Now of course not everyone can be promoted but someone who has ability can. When my Dad came to this country he started off in a factory then moved to manager then started his own business and so on. One other thing. Don't assume the equation will work if you drastically increase pay. If you pay more you have to charge more. If you charge more people will stop shopping. It's a delicate balance for sure.