The number of people on the planet is limited.
Maybe you work in a venture backed startup and you hire people with a yearly salary of 100k or more.
The rest of the startups from other locations and less funding will choose less talented people with a lower budget salary.
The people you are hiring with great salaries have been educated with great effort and cost and rules previously by someone else.
I work at a bootstrapped startup with two engineers, only one full time (me). I'm paid well below my market rate, but I stick around because the CEO treats me with respect and gives me the flexibility that I need to be productive and happy.
When you don't have money, you can compensate in other ways, like autonomy and work-life balance. You may not get the best of the best, but you'll get loyal employees who appreciate the flexibility you give them.
Alternatively you can try to build a company on the backs of people who you have to micromanage and who will be gone in a year (and if not, only stick around because they have no other options). I'll leave it to you to decide which is more likely to succeed.
