I have done that and it's a great management strategy. You can hire world class developers and talent if you just treat them as peers and don't jack your own compensation up to astronomical levels. It's like a "cheat" to win at management. People will also be less likely to quit and much more likely to join you at your next role.

> what's stopping you from raising a seed round for your new company

Knowing what’s true and being able to convince some investors, who are not universally omniscient and reasonable and open to conversation from people they don’t already know, are different things.