You also have to be a total scumbag.
Bullshit. I met a lot of my favorite people in the world working in startups, people I want to stay in contact with for life because they’re good and I enjoy being around them.
There are bad and good people everywhere. I’ve seen new fewer good people at small companies than large or non-tech ones.
I'd argue that most people would easily pivot to "total scumbag" for 250k+ salary. Me included.