I suspect this won't last forever as more founders notice that salary matching reduces their runway while not increasing the commitment or quality of employees.

I suspect this won't last forever as more founders notice that salary matching reduces their runway while not increasing the commitment or quality of employees. Never underestimate the power of underpaying but deeply investing personally in your employees at a startup. Many people will produce better work at 70-80k with serious facetime with the CEO and complete control over product or business strategies. People appreciate agency over their work a lot more than many assume.