> Most companies and teams have to go the structured approach with whatever local mediocrity they can hire.
Yes most companies fail
When you hire people straight off school or "mid tier" people, you can help them grow to be better and reap the benefits.
If everyone will just hire the "top tier talent", their prices will inflate and the pool of top tier people will never grow.
or something like that.
The only way to figure it out is to hire the ones that seem good and see who blossoms.
Yes, there are some people who shape up for 6 months and then start slacking, but they're definitely not the norm. You should be able to evaluate a person in that time and see if their personality fits the team and whether they are a net positive for the productivity.
And turnover you will have! =)
Note that you just ballooned the cost probably 3-4x compared keeping the team small and strong. And that is how we got to this zombiecorn land we see today.
Also consider this - hiring a large team of bozos is a one-way street. You will likely never be able to hire and retain strong talent ever again. While you can always turn to hiring "mid-tier coders" when the product matures.