If I had the money, I would hire Zed because I think he would bring a lot more into play for me than just "slugging at code" for me.
I think he's smart enough to contribute strategically to the project and the direction it takes.
I think he's knowledgable enough to teach me and other people in the group things we don't know.
I think he's good enough to bring in other good people when we need to expand.
And I think he'd just be an awesome, fun guy to be around.
Hiring a cog doesn't get me any of that. If I have to pay Zed two-three times what it costs me to hire a cog to get all those skills, I'd consider it a bargain. And I'm guessing he'd be pretty happy at that rate too.
This phrase has appeared multiple times in response to comments on this story, but I think it misses the point entirely. The parent poster has a point at some level, but he delivers it with no tact.
The point is that you need more than money to hire really talented people. It sounds as if Zed left Dropbox because the problems he was solving there weren't the type of problems that he was passionate about solving. The pinhead, middle-manager response to this is to get pissed off and rant against hiring "rockstar" programmers, but that just shows how little they understand about what motivates really talented people.
I can't speak for Zed, but I know a few talented programmers myself. I've brought them in on projects and seen them hit the door in short order. The #1 reason was never money. Great coders are artists. Their greatest work will always be works of inspiration, not portraits they're paid to paint by narcissistic clients.
The bottom line is, if you want to hire talented people, set out to solve interesting problems, or build interesting projects. And don't be upset if the "rockstar" programmer you hired doesn't want to keep doing what you're doing. Go out and find someone who is interested in solving those problems and pay them what they deserve.
I think he's smart enough to contribute strategically to the project and the direction it takes. I think he's knowledgable enough to teach me and other people in the group things we don't know. I think he's good enough to bring in other good people when we need to expand. And I think he'd just be an awesome, fun guy to be around.
Hiring a cog doesn't get me any of that. If I have to pay Zed two-three times what it costs me to hire a cog to get all those skills, I'd consider it a bargain. And I'm guessing he'd be pretty happy at that rate too.