I think the point of the essay is not that being earnest is enough to get funded, but rather than being earnest is NOT a disadvantage. There's a goodly chunk o

I think the point of the essay is not that being earnest is enough to get funded, but rather than being earnest is NOT a disadvantage. There's a goodly chunk of the populace, even within tech, who might believe that it is, and I think the point of the essay is to demonstrate that it is not, and in fact it is even an advantage.