I think someone else said it here already, but this is an extremely gross oversimplification of the issue. My mantra is that a good startup requires two core s

I think someone else said it here already, but this is an extremely gross oversimplification of the issue. My mantra is that a good startup requires two core skills: building a good product and getting customers to buy your product. The worse you (or your team) are at one, the better you should be in the other. Both take time and energy to learn and do well, and we shouldn't trivialize the effort and skill it takes for either side to do their jobs well. A business guy reading up on code and putting up a site should be encouraged, but if his talents are best spent in front of a customer and closing sales, that's where the bulk of his time should be spent. An great engineer who can put together a decent pitch and has learned how to do Adwords / e-mail campaigns should also be encouraged to learn more, but again how much focus and leverage is it taking away from building the best damn product possible? Let's learn to have a healthy respect for both aspects of the business. If you can do both really well, you are awesome -- most people cannot. Don't be a douche, know that everyone you meet is better than you at something, and have a healthy respect for "the other side". Final note: Not at all defending 'value' of making spreadsheets, powerpoint presentations, and schmoozing, but understand that sometimes enterprise level sales are closed by good powerpoint presentations. Sometimes, new relationships with governments, investors, and customers are built over open bars and playing golf. And sometimes, that excel spreadsheet can be your first MVP to validate a new product (I personally know of a now-successful startup that used an excel file as the first version of their product).