What you mean with pay to compete? The goal of Signal to exist is to offer a privacy oriented chat app. Non-profit companies serve a propose, and people not aligned with that, shouldn't be working there in the first place. If you join a non-profit to make money, you are doing it wrong.
> talented leaders.
In Bay Area? I'm quite sure you get great people all around the World, or in USA, by much less.
It's also how and why long ago they tried to outsource a lot of engineering. They still do try. But that's not an easy transition either.
We are talking about C*, Engineer Manager, getting almost 700k/year. Not developers.
What is the problem of managers of a non-profit company earning around 700k/year and the company is writing blog posts complaining that the the company operation is too expensive? I think if you read it aloud, you will understand it.
But sure. What do you think is a fair salary or totalccomp for a founder and CEO of a popular, privacy focused app?
From a company living from donations... It is illusion (probably a California thing), to think that you are going to compete salary wise with FAANG. The time will tell (well their complaining about money, is already hinting it)...
I don't even work at a FAANG and I was making almost as much as the director there who lists 200k or so total comp. Probably with 20 years less experience to boot. I don't live in SF either; High CoL area but not SF.
That's why I asked you what's a "reasonable" salary. I'm wondering what your POV here is in terms of compensation.