I'm thinking about comp for a company. I'm looking to make it (I think they call it) "remote-first", because there are some fabulous people on planet earth that don't live in the Bay Area. Also, I have no intention of living in the Bay Area, so it's selfish too.
Question 1: IF I had a goal to pay every new employee 10% above market rate - should I peg that to their locale or to the highest rate market (e.g. the Bay Area)
Question 2: SINCE I intend to grow 2x~3x YoY w/ no VC investment, the VCs are not going to pressure me to have a liquidity event at any particular time. That "uncertainty" means that stock-options are a highly speculative bet on the part of of the employee(s). Would you consider 30% of your base to be adequate to make up for the lack of options that would-or-would-not make in any particular time-frame? If not - what would be a nice kicker (for you)?
I'm not sure anyone except college hires (though we should be skeptical here, too) pick a company for the foosball tables, beer fridges, and intramural bowling teams. Having those things signals to me that I'm probably free to network with a contributor from another team to share some ideas, though.