Experienced developers have to weigh-in 150k + great benefits for their families at established tech companies their family can brag about vs mostly unstable jo

Experienced developers have to weigh-in 150k + great benefits for their families at established tech companies their family can brag about vs mostly unstable jobs at thousands of small companies nobody knows about. Experience may also mean they've been burned by promises at least once before. For every early employee at Facebook there are hundreds in the Valley who never saw the upside. If you are looking outside of SV a developer with a family would need a house and housing is expensive - so salary would matter a lot. I am a tech founder too, and all of the above just reminds me this is a race. You have to be better to survive, so pick something that your company offers that is better than the rest. Culture? Team? Product? Mission? An odd perk? A brand reputation? When all else fails, look at Wall Street. Most New York finance jobs are terrible at all non-tangible criteria anyone would have for a job, so they catch smart people with higher salaries and burn through them by the thousands. I've found the best hires are referrals of your best people. If someone you respect is already working for you and they refer someone they respect to you that is a big sign you are doing something right.