As employee #2 of a now well-funded startup, I would have to agree with this whole heartedly. I wrote a large part of the company's initial product. I can't say that it's translated into nearly the respect, career advancement, and stock options I was sold on. Remember that a startup is as much about business connections as anything - who do you think the VCs are going to credit with success, the guy like them, or the technical founder(s) they barely understand?
