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> Some types of software startups can't be built without a team of engineers where the market-clearing wages are typically more like $500k-1M. What types of so

> Some types of software startups can't be built without a team of engineers where the market-clearing wages are typically more like $500k-1M. What types of software startups have these constraints? And, as suggested in sibling comments, could building a highly technical founding team (e.g. bootstrapping) be a viable alternative to hiring with high wages? There ought to be a sizable subset of highly skilled engineers who have achieved financial independence and would enjoy tackling a challenging problem in a startup.

swiftcoder 7y ago
> There ought to be a sizable subset of highly skilled engineers who have achieved financial independence and would enjoy tackling a challenging problem in a startup. The flip side of this equation is that those same engineers can tackle pretty much any challenging problem they choose, while continuing to take home those massive paycheques from a big tech firm. Big tech operates in almost every part of industry simultaneously - want to work on Blockchain? AI? VR? Shipping and logistics? Silicon design? Drones? A valued engineer at a FAANG can switch between all of those at will without ever even interviewing.
- mooreds 7y ago
  > at will Is it that easy to switch departments/focus? I thought internal transfers, while easier than interviews, were not trivial.
  - swiftcoder 7y ago
    Internal transfers are close to mandatory in many cases. Veterans are strongly encouraged to move every 2-3 years to cross-polinate engineering knowledge and culture. For someone at a senior level (Amazon SDE III/Facebook IC5), an internal transfer is at most a perfunctory whiteboard session, and often just a conversation - you already have passed an interview loop to get into the company, after all, and have an easily-verifiable track record thereafter.
- rhlsthrm 7y ago
  But not all engineers want to work at FAANG, there are some that are entrepreneurial at heart and would love to work on their own idea as a founder/co-founder.
  - someguydave 7y ago
    Why do those engineers even need a cofounder? Why should they share a big chunk of equity with someone without the skills needed to launch?
    - johnsimer 7y ago
      Being a solo founder can be very lonely
- ghostwriter 7y ago
  > those same engineers can tackle pretty much any challenging problem they choose, while continuing to take home those massive paycheques from a big tech firm. but usually not in the way they see it. There's enormous value in having freedom to do things the way you want, without being restricted by corporate culture and/or engineering conventions of a Big Co.

swiftcoder 7y ago

> There ought to be a sizable subset of highly skilled engineers who have achieved financial independence and would enjoy tackling a challenging problem in a startup. The flip side of this equation is that those same engineers can tackle pretty much any challenging problem they choose, while continuing to take home those massive paycheques from a big tech firm. Big tech operates in almost every part of industry simultaneously - want to work on Blockchain? AI? VR? Shipping and logistics? Silicon design? Drones? A valued engineer at a FAANG can switch between all of those at will without ever even interviewing.

mooreds 7y ago
> at will Is it that easy to switch departments/focus? I thought internal transfers, while easier than interviews, were not trivial.
- swiftcoder 7y ago
  Internal transfers are close to mandatory in many cases. Veterans are strongly encouraged to move every 2-3 years to cross-polinate engineering knowledge and culture. For someone at a senior level (Amazon SDE III/Facebook IC5), an internal transfer is at most a perfunctory whiteboard session, and often just a conversation - you already have passed an interview loop to get into the company, after all, and have an easily-verifiable track record thereafter.
rhlsthrm 7y ago
But not all engineers want to work at FAANG, there are some that are entrepreneurial at heart and would love to work on their own idea as a founder/co-founder.
- someguydave 7y ago
  Why do those engineers even need a cofounder? Why should they share a big chunk of equity with someone without the skills needed to launch?
  - johnsimer 7y ago
    Being a solo founder can be very lonely
ghostwriter 7y ago
> those same engineers can tackle pretty much any challenging problem they choose, while continuing to take home those massive paycheques from a big tech firm. but usually not in the way they see it. There's enormous value in having freedom to do things the way you want, without being restricted by corporate culture and/or engineering conventions of a Big Co.