Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think your examples are even remotely scalable nor do they pay well. Joining a startup at an early stage where you know a founder and can bypass interview steps is notoriously low compensation. Acquisition based hiring isn't a real methodology. That's being a founder of a very successful startup and getting acquired. That's like saying "want a new job? Get your company acquired by a new one."
Start-ups can pay very well, I'm not sure why you would think otherwise? Given a series A can be around the ten million mark, there is more than enough capital to pay competitive rates and still be small enough to have the flexibility to hire out of their network.
Never seen anyone pulling down $500k/yr from a startup with that little capital.