"Be generous with benefits" seems like a good policy in general, but should be optimized for employee #1 (and the next few).

I wouldn't feel a need to get excellent healthcare for my first few employees if they have existing good insurance on their own (I plan to keep my $100/mo HSA plan indefinitely), but I value a $10k equipment budget and basically unlimited Amazon book ordering more than they cost to provide, I'd value a place to receive packages during the day, including cases of ammo, far more than the cost to provide that. If you are a tiny startup, don't just do cookie cutter benefits, pick benefits your current and prospective employees would particularly value.

I'm not sure about spending a marginal dollar on benefits vs salary.