It's not even necessarily up to the founders. In a VC-backed startup, the VCs make the call when it comes to compensation ranges. There is little diversity between companies on how that actually happens. We can pretend that it is a market equilibrium, but the analogy I would rather use is that of the medieval professional guilds, where prices were often rigged for the benefit of those at the top.

I am not claiming that the VCs are evil, or even a necessary evil. I don't think they are evil nor necessary. I think that they may be very inefficient when it comes to providing for a healthy economy that benefits everyone and not just themselves. Hate the game, not the player.

Yeah, but there seems to be an endless supply of startup success story fan employees ready to be exploited.