I agree with all your points, except for the generalisation on marketers and salespeople. Not all of them are like car salesmen or self proclaimed marketing gur

I agree with all your points, except for the generalisation on marketers and salespeople. Not all of them are like car salesmen or self proclaimed marketing gurus. Some really care about the product they are selling and the people they are selling to. I am a CTO in a startup, and everyday I'm either selling an idea within the company, or selling a product to customers. All this back and forth produces great insights on the software we're developing as well as in the business itself. I wouldn't be able to do this kind of thing if I hand't learned valuable lessons selling surf and skateboard goods on my family business back when I was a teenager. Also, around the same time I started a t-shirt business with a cousin which instantly got me interested in graphic design, and marketing. I did all that while programming on the side as I still do nowadays. Sales is all about serving the customer. Marketing is all about conquering the customer by heart, and message. Both skills are of extreme importance in any business, specially in startups. Instead of bashing, we should embrace these disciplines. After all, we can only profit from them.