You pay your employees with capital, which can come from customers, the government, banks, credit card companies or investors.

Most tech startups do not generate a lot of cash in their early stages, which is why they raise capital from investors who purchase equity stake in the company because they believe the company will be valuable down the road. Page views (and more so user signups/engagement) are one metric by which investors make the decision to invest capital.

Guys, this is what modern capitalism is all about.