And that brings us back to the critical point: Of the people who are smart and have 12+ years experience, a significant portion will (A) be wise as to the going rate for good people, and (B) have families so that a below market salary has a clear negative impact on their daily lives.
Is it really worthwhile to choose to avoid hiring ~50% of the best people in the industry at the outset, on a vague fear that personal happiness will doom the startup? Is that a winning recruitment strategy?
It's like hiring the best developers possible - obviously not everyone can hire the best devs, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't try to do it anyway.