Growth and momentum are what a startup lives on and you always have to focus on maintaining these.

If someone is choosing between joining McKinsey or your startup it's very unlikely they're going to work out at the startup.

Keep salaries low and equity high. Keep the organization as flat as you can.

You don't need to make the structure complicated, in fact you shouldn't. All you need is for every employee to know who their manager is.

Before 20 or 25 employees, most companies are structured with everyone reporting to the founder. It's totally flat.

There's no way I know, to get through the pain of a startup without belief that the mission really matters.

A related advantage of mission oriented ideas, is that you yourself will be dedicated to them.