Sorry if founders already raised a huge valuation, why didn't they hire more devs?
I'm sure what can be done with 996 style slave labor with 3 devs can be done with 6 devs working 9 to 5. It's not like they couldn't afford the salaries (and you mentioned they weren't paying that much anyways).
because they are cheap ass people. Pivoted 3 times since 2021 to the latest hype, currently building another generic AI app. They still have 5-6 years of runway left with current burn-rate.
If they go all out in 12 months, they would actually be considered a winner/failure. Purgatory is comfortable.
I'm sure what can be done with 996 style slave labor with 3 devs can be done with 6 devs working 9 to 5. It's not like they couldn't afford the salaries (and you mentioned they weren't paying that much anyways).