[nkurz]

I'm not sure. They sound happy and optimistic, whereas you sound cynical and jaded. Perhaps they have different goals. And while the solution to the secretary problem is well worth the understanding, I'm not sure how applicable it is:

  1. There is a single secretarial position to fill.
  2. There are n applicants for the position, and 
     the value of n is known.
  3. The applicants, if seen altogether, can be ranked
     from best to worst unambiguously.
  4. The applicants are interviewed sequentially in random
     order, with each order being equally likely.
  5. Immediately after an interview, the interviewed 
     applicant is either accepted or rejected, and the
     decision is irrevocable.
  6. The decision to accept or reject an applicant can be
     based only on the relative ranks of the applicants 
     interviewed so far.
  7. The objective is to select the best applicant with the
     highest possible probability.

Is this really how you do your hiring? I won't argue with 1 through 6, but I find that 7 doesn't factor in the danger of a really bad fit. So I always take the second to last candidate to cut my losses. :)

[GuiA]

>They sound happy and optimistic, whereas you sound cynical and jaded.

Well of course, they're founders so they have to be happy and optimistic, and as an engineer in SV I get people like them wanting to recruit me every day so I have to be cynical and jaded :)

I think the secretary problem applies very much. Ultimately, they're looking with people that a) have relevant skills and b) will fit in the culture.

If, as they claim, they tried all conventional methods of hiring over the past few months (and they have actually met a significant number of people and not just two guys at a random meetup), then they are probably unrealistic in their expectations. Ultimately, past your first or second engineer, you're looking for someone to get shit done, not someone to braid your hair with.