So far, the only recurrent pattern I've found is this: the best way to recruit great engineering talent, is to include great engineering talent on your founding

So far, the only recurrent pattern I've found is this: the best way to recruit great engineering talent, is to include great engineering talent on your founding team. There are start-ups that begin with marketing/business development folks creating an idea and hiring others to implement it, but usually these places aren't technology companies staffed with top talent -- but are rather shops operating in a niche market, staffed with people who had nowhere else to go (which isn't always a bad thing: it makes these people much more determined to succeed). "Top talent" joining such a company would be in for a disappointment: they'd find themselves both underutilized (not being able to use their talent and skill) and yet overworked (with tedious tasks). (I've underwent this experience myself which had left me rather jaded: I was no longer at all interested in working for/starting start-ups and advised others not to as well. Fortunately realizing this "kinds of start-ups" dichotomy changed my attitude for the better).