Why would you presume that a startup would offer better wages and conditions for those "below the API"? The first one might, but then the second one would start

Why would you presume that a startup would offer better wages and conditions for those "below the API"? The first one might, but then the second one would start trying to drive costs down in competition. In countries that allow such things there are plenty of private college "startups" and they are almost universally awful. There is more money to be made churning out hordes of poorly trained students than there is in properly training them.