[throwaway2037]

> so far I have found no relation between code quality and company earnings.

This! What matters is the market fit and customer experience. You can deliver a lot of value with average programmers working on a shitty code base.

[gmueckl]

I started to joke that in order to have a successful software startup, you need to essentially write the most godawful program code you can get away with. The money is much better spent on a good/aggressive sales strategy.

Elegant technology never wins on its own merits.