[jacquesm]

God forbid other talented professionals charge rates compared to the value they bring to the table. Just imagine!

Better marketing beats better products most of the time so it's hardly wasted money and in fact may be a better way to spend some of your start-ups $ than to spend it just on development.

[double0jimb0]

Stop the presses! My apologies, I thought we were talking about product companies actually making money, not "talented professionals getting paid their 'value'".

The original comment was about "branding", not marketing, as you appear to have misread.

And don't worry, I understand completely well how many talented professionals actually make money. You are illustrating the point nicely.

[jacquesm]

Branding (and Brand Management) is an important part of a marketing strategy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand_management

And will - when applied properly - definitely help promote the company's sales (contrary to your original comment).