NYC is tough. You're competing against a lot of finance companies for talent. Developers are used to a higher base salary than $125k and a yearly cash bonus.

NYC is tough. You're competing against a lot of finance companies for talent. Developers are used to a higher base salary than $125k and a yearly cash bonus. People value stock a lot less because it's not part of the typical comp package and they haven't seen the rewards it can generate like they've seen in the Valley. Personally, I doubt companies in the Valley are getting very good developers for $60-$110k salary and 0.5%-1% equity. Why would any smart developer do that when they can go to a later stage VC company that has a lot larger chance of success and get market salary + 0.1% equity.