The post is very explicitly coming from a perspective of "we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into". The story begins after the decision to move to microservices was made, and the backstory of the decision isn't dwelt on (beyond allusions to top-down pressure from management).
The important lessons here are on how they recognized the mistake before they had fully committed. Having worked on a team with a similar story, it all rings very true.
I can certainly see how this happens. Points to how poorly all the chatter about microservices obscures important points. This post itself doesn't strongly enough highlight that 12 developers is a full-stop no microservices decision point.
Or to phrase it differently, it's like a horror film where a small/skinny person goes into a dark unknown basement by themselves. Sure there's a story to be had, but the important bits to know come before the decision. I suppose it could be useful how to best defend oneself in a rare situation but avoiding it altogether is better if easy to learn.
The important lessons here are on how they recognized the mistake before they had fully committed. Having worked on a team with a similar story, it all rings very true.