I've come to expect that code quality has a strong link to success but in sometimes its inversely proportional. What I mean, is that at the Seed/Series A timeframe, I doubt you will see a strong performing company, with a codebase with high quality. I also the odds are against seeing a tech company with billions in revenue (not worth) have a really poor codebase. I can think of plenty of examples where the desire to 'do it right', has cost a company their marketshare.
As much as Netscape vs Microsoft hurt Netscape, the time it took to do NS7 and the quality it shipped with, pushed them back 5-6 years.
As much as Netscape vs Microsoft hurt Netscape, the time it took to do NS7 and the quality it shipped with, pushed them back 5-6 years.