Regarding that phrase there is a last line, usually forgotten: "Jack of all trades, master of none, though often times better than a master of one" http://www

Regarding that phrase there is a last line, usually forgotten: "Jack of all trades, master of none, though often times better than a master of one" http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-jack-of-all-trades.htm http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-jack-of-all-trades.htm I don't think it is just provocation. He is talking about <20 person start ups for the most part. The example of a sales person being able to run custom analytics is a good example. At 20 people I don't think it is weird to expect a sales guy to be able to format an HTML email or have an engineer go on a sales call. There needs to be some multiple hat wearing for the venture to succeed.