Apologies if that came across as a personal attack, just a general comment on the expectations of a very early stage CTO. To be clear I don't think your messaging is off, just that that is one of the reasons tech startups aren't able to hire, ie they don't know how to sell the opportunity.
However, if the OP is accurate it sounds like you/your organization went through at least a period of disorganization.
You deserve a ton of credit for what sounds like a sane approach to technology and including compensation upfront.
I appreciate the clarification! To be clear, I wouldn't say we've had any issues hiring, save a few hiccups on the communication end early on (I'm aware of one other out-of-band incident similar to the OP's story; perhaps the same instance?). I'm fairly confident we've sorted out any issues with the process at this point, and we're now letting everyone know where they stand consistently and in a timely manner.
However, if the OP is accurate it sounds like you/your organization went through at least a period of disorganization.
You deserve a ton of credit for what sounds like a sane approach to technology and including compensation upfront.