^^this. at my startup i focused on hiring smart but very junior/inexperienced programmers. our needs weren't that complicated, i could optimize our stack for

^^this. at my startup i focused on hiring smart but very junior/inexperienced programmers. our needs weren't that complicated, i could optimize our stack for their skill, they were happy to be entering in the exciting field of programming, i was open about "i hope you outgrow this job in 2-3 years and i will help you prep for the next step up even if it's not with us", and we got a ton of value out of them.