The boot strapped startups I've seen that have had this holier than thou attitude that they are somehow selecting the best engineers by only having a tiny team have always had the absolute worst tech, the worst engineering, the worst leadership and usually also the worst processes that I've ever encountered.
Seems like this book is mainly about the author stumbling around due to lack of fundamental understanding and skills. It is awesome that he has been able to get stuff to work despite being a beginner. No amount of experience hacking things together will result in any true real progress, until he learns the basics he will be stuck in beginner trial & error mode each time he gets stuck.
It costs less to take the time to learn or pay a competent professional, than it does to stumble around in the dark. Taking the time to build the core competencies needed to solve simple stuff is more impressive than getting something to work despite not knowing what is going on.
I've worked with several startup clients over the past year. It is a mixed bag like anywhere in life there are some jerks, some unethical, some selfish, and some overly self important arrogant types.Treating workers, clients, your customers, or anyone badly is not good for business and gets a company nowhere over the long term. Of course, there are companies that can have success in spite of having abusive, unethical leadership, but over the longterm no one wants to work with crappy people for long.
I worked for an abusive, arrogant, child for over two years. I learned much from witnessing his bad behavior and the negative effect it has on anyone that works with him or around him. Despite what a pain it was to deal with this nutcase, in the end I came to pity and feel sorry for him. He is a sad, miserable, petty, mentally ill, child that lashes out at everyone, and essentially spends more time trying to figure out ways to screw his clients and workers out of money than offer anything of value himself. Screwing people and being a jerk is no way to go thru life. These types need mental help.
Turns out this type of behavior hasn't exactly made him a successful business leader. It has simply enabled him to piggyback on others hard-work, shiest his workers, startup clients (and in turn their investors). So in a way he has had a measure of success at screwing people out of money. But over the longterm no one respects him and no one wants to work with him (clients included). By any measure this type is not successful in business or in life, yet crappy greedy mid 40 types behave this way because they no other way and they would rather try to screw a few sheckles out of their clients & colleagues than figure out ways to offer something of value.
Don't let these fools get you down they are a dime a dozen, narcissistic talentless bozo's apparently grow on trees out here in LA. It is a learning lesson to deal with one of these types, as you learn what not to do, how not to act, and how to avoid being sucked into the crappy vortex that is working with these types.
