I don't agree with your conclusions, but that didn't stop me from upvoting your comment. You touch on all sorts of important issues management should consider while deciding whether to adopt an oddball programming language or technology as the basis of its business. I write this as a CTO that chose Clojure as the basis for our now-acquired and fully-metabolized-by-the-buyer startup.
You better make sure the person who is advocating for the oddball technology…
* Is going to stick around; even cofounders sometimes bail or get caught.
* Understands the opportunity costs i.e. what is being given up by not using boring tech.
* Has used the tech on the ground and not just in a comp sci lab or to implement a to-do app.
* Will be able to grow i.e. recruit additional members to the team as the needs of the business grow.
* Really is a 10X programmer -- assuming they exist.
* Can sell the decision (in a way that doesn't consume undue positive karma) to VCs, customers, acquirers, etc.
In my situation, Clojure worked for us because I'd already spent years writing Clojure (and Scheme and Lisp) code and I understood the problem domain (I was the head of product at the time) and I had made a personal commitment to the CEO to stick around for at least two years and I managed to not get arrested or do anything awkwardly disgraceful. We also got lucky in that Clojure had a bit of a moment as a smart person's programming language in the mid two thousand teens.
If I weren't hands-on, I probably wouldn't have advocated for Clojure and instead would have opted for something mainstream for backend infrastructure at the time e.g. Java, Node.js, Python.
You better make sure the person who is advocating for the oddball technology…
* Is going to stick around; even cofounders sometimes bail or get caught.
* Understands the opportunity costs i.e. what is being given up by not using boring tech.
* Has used the tech on the ground and not just in a comp sci lab or to implement a to-do app.
* Will be able to grow i.e. recruit additional members to the team as the needs of the business grow.
* Really is a 10X programmer -- assuming they exist.
* Can sell the decision (in a way that doesn't consume undue positive karma) to VCs, customers, acquirers, etc.
In my situation, Clojure worked for us because I'd already spent years writing Clojure (and Scheme and Lisp) code and I understood the problem domain (I was the head of product at the time) and I had made a personal commitment to the CEO to stick around for at least two years and I managed to not get arrested or do anything awkwardly disgraceful. We also got lucky in that Clojure had a bit of a moment as a smart person's programming language in the mid two thousand teens.
If I weren't hands-on, I probably wouldn't have advocated for Clojure and instead would have opted for something mainstream for backend infrastructure at the time e.g. Java, Node.js, Python.