We could just as easily be reading a post from "James" about how his time was wasted by some punk who has no clue how much value he would bring to a startup. A

We could just as easily be reading a post from "James" about how his time was wasted by some punk who has no clue how much value he would bring to a startup. And I would consider that equally tacky. He asked for what he wanted - it was not in line with what you wanted to pay. End of story. Not all job interviews end with a hire.