
Ask HN: Can an early-stage startup hire really good engineers? - 6nomads
Do you think it is possible to attract outstanding engineers to work with you at an early stage? (Meaning you can&#x27;t pay them Silicon Valley salary).
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throwaway903249
I can say as a person who tried to find a startup with good conditions but
eventually accepted offer from one of the FANG companies.

Most of startups I contacted pay peanuts, and they don't compensate for this
with equity. The equity is really stingy. I don't know why the think that
their ideas are so valuable, but people they hire to implement them cost so
little.

Don't behave like this.

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codingslave
You have to give them a ton of equity, like multiple percentage points (or
even 10% if you havent raised money yet). Or you need to source them from
another country, probably Eastern Europe or India. Good engineer capable of
working at FAANG can make 300k easily.

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6nomads
I think building a remote team should be more helpful in this case? Do you
have experience hiring remote developers? Any advice?

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theHedonisticC
There is a niche market consisting of experienced Developers living in
countries with low cost of living, that work remotely for compensation below
US market and above their local market. I used to be one, prior to moving to
the US. I also helped to hire and staff a foreign digital marketing agency
with remote developers. I'd be happy to hop on a call and give you some advice
and share my experiences if you'd like?

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PaulHoule
What kind of "outstanding engineers?"

Some startups need applications programmers, others need systems programmers
or "data scientists", all of which are different markets.

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6nomads
Well, I'm talking more of senior backend and frontend engineers here. No need
for DS yet.

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tmaly
I have a friend who is a seasoned engineer, and he has worked for a few
startups. He lives in the middle of the country, so the cost of living is much
less.

I think you can find outstanding engineers if your willing to offer them the
option to work remotely.

Remote teams have other challenges, but if you have managed them, you will
have no issues.

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alexpetralia
Absolutely. Try a remote team.

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6nomads
I'm thinking about it. Do you have experience hiring a remote team?

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mtmail
I'm a bit assumed to see the company running a "platform where tech startups
hire the best remote engineers and designers. This is why I decided to create
a product for remote community" doesn't have experience with remote teams.

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joeblow9999
you can get great young engineers who are very smart and work hard for early
stage (ie crappy) wages. but you need at least one seasoned expensive grownup
in the room and they will be extremely hard to attract even with competitive
wages because of work hours and stability.

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6nomads
I think hiring young professionals is not the best option for a startup. They
consume a lot of your time and energy and can't be as productive as middle or
senior specialist.

