The dev was probably the CTO for several years. When Dane stepped down from the CEO position he asked Rajesh if he wanted to take over.

Dane used this process over ten times. Paperless Pipeline is probably the most successful example and semi-documented.

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I think if you offer an appealing opportunity, you don't have to offer the most money. There are many other things you can offer (as outlined in that PDF).

Recently I almost took a project for 40% of my normal rate. Fortunately things worked out and I negotiated 80% of my rate, even though I should probably increase my rate.

It's $150k in 2024 dollars assuming 40 hours/week, which I would consider pretty decent for a minimum - a bit above median depending on who you ask.

The document itself I agree has some parts which are a bit over-the-top but that's probably the case for all hiring advice. When you list the qualities of the perfect candidate out on paper it's guaranteed to look ridiculous.

I found another example where Dane used this hiring strategy:

https://web.archive.org/web/20131208173349/http://thefoundat...