This is one of those posts that brings out comments about things being over architected for the business. My mind definitely went there.
But, at some point, companies that want to keep talented tech people need to let them go build what they want to build. Maybe those things are over-architected for what the company needs right now, but it's tough to say if that's a bigger risk than losing talented tech people.
No, that’s definitely the kind of talent you don’t want to have. Engineers too naive to realize they’ve over-engineered something are a cancer in an org. You end up with home-grown complex solutions to problems that nobody but the original team can grok.
I think this points at a fundamental question that creeps up in lots of different ways around our discussions of Silicon Valley. A founder needs to ask themselves: Is your business really a software company. I'd suggest that actually, the technical complexity of HelloFresh's core business is about as complex as the mail order business Pryce Pryce-Jones set up in 1861 to sell mail order Welsh flannel. Which begs the question why you're paying rockstar software engineers at all.
Obviously part of the answer is "Because I need a tech unicorn valuation". But maybe your marketing to investors shouldn't be what you're actually basing your hiring decisions on.
But, at some point, companies that want to keep talented tech people need to let them go build what they want to build. Maybe those things are over-architected for what the company needs right now, but it's tough to say if that's a bigger risk than losing talented tech people.