I don't see why you can't do both? Wrap "clever" things in well tested black boxes that can be used in maintainable systems. I guess I don't get the article. "

I don't see why you can't do both? Wrap "clever" things in well tested black boxes that can be used in maintainable systems. I guess I don't get the article. "Clever" ideas for startups don't translate to "clever" solutions in code. Someone can have an idea of something "new" for a startup, but the patterns in code are often the same. In that sense having well designed code can be a plus and doesn't mean sacrifice of the uniqueness of the idea. Even if my startup requires a "clever" algorithm for speed or scale, that can be wrapped in a coherent black box that enables the code using it to be easily readable and maintainable. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding, I'm not sure?