[danieltillett]

Sort of, but ef is acting like a pre-accelerator. The money (1100 pounds a month) for three months is not really serious either.

My idea was more go out and hire all the great people (they are not that hard to find, just hire), pay them well (none of this 50% of the market wage in return for 0.0002% of the company), and put them to work with the minimium of outside friction. If you went to hire talent with an offer of good pay, total freedom in business direction, minimal VC politics, and solid financial support you would be able to put together some amazing teams. On top of this you could give up listening to crazy pitches from spotty 22 year olds.

[mildbow]

Identifying the great people to hire is the problem.

Note also that the definition of great is a function of (atleast) timing and domain knowledge as well as raw ability.

[danieltillett]

It is not that hard to identify the great people to hire if you are hiring people with a proven track record. I agree it is hard to identify which people with potential will be a success (ie the new graduates), but if you widen your search you should be able to identify those people who have actually built something great.