Very valuable advise!

When I hired my first employees, I focussed too much on compensation. I ran the numbers and offered as much as I could afford.

I was really disappointed when great candidates declined my offers, and went with other companies that didn't even pay more (I asked).

Now I understand that I just failed to excite them. You really need to tell people how awesome the work is, good engineers will always have many options. And also understand that what excites you may not be what excites the candidate, so starting with asking about what the candidate is looking for is a really good idea.