What are the salaries you're hearing? It makes sense that recruiters, who are more likely to be hired by VCs who've invested millions in a start-up, would report higher rates than start-ups without that kind of funding.
As I mentioned in the other comment, I used to live/work in SF. I'd ping you, but I need some contact info!
EDIT: Are you triggit.com? I also know quite a bit about advertising/marketing (CPM, CPA, CPC, PPV, affiliate, incentive, etc.) and I'd love to work with it again.