Who cares who writes the essay? If you aren't reading the content without regard to who wrote it, yes, it will be less credible. You're using a system of author

Who cares who writes the essay? If you aren't reading the content without regard to who wrote it, yes, it will be less credible. You're using a system of authority / ad hominem, and those two sides of the same coin are not a good barometer for truth. Who cares that he made money on it? If you want to really get into this discussion, anyone who writes about startups has a vested interest in advocating them -- that way their work is relevant instead of confusing ("let me tell you about how bad this thing you weren't going to do is" doesn't make sense to write). This whole line of thinking leads no where.