> It's disappointing to me to see so much disparity between the compensation for C-level and VP-level versus engineering. Without engineering, there would be no product to sell and nothing for investors to invest in. Ideas are nice, but implementation is hard.

It's exactly what you'd expect when programmers are willing to sell their birthright for lentil stew.

Frankly, most C-level executives at a small startups are glorified secretaries taking care of the paperwork for the people who provide most of the actual value. They get paid more because they've played the social game well enough to persuade engineers to work for them instead of the other way around.