The hardest people for founders to hire are so called C-level executives
It blows my mind the degree to which1. C-level execs are given massive compensation, with the justification that a good one is well worth the price.AND2. There's no good objective way to measure C-level performance.That alone should make people deeply suspicious about these compensation packages. On top of that, the best person for a given CXO job often just so happens to be a golfing buddy and/or have outside business dealings with half the board.I'm not surprised by ambitous execs grabbing what they can, it's what they do after all, but I am pretty disturbed by how many people outside of those elite cliques will carry water for them and pretend like the C-level hiring market is some sort of efficient meritocracy.