I think this is only true with larger teams. On tasks that are't too large, 2 or 3 great "product smart" developers will beat a team of 6 or 7 with divided responsibilities.
It is also a function of how novel the product is. The ability of a team to think and work at multiple levels is invaluable when evolving along a new idea into a usable product. A product leader, would drive his developer team crazy if he changed his mind as often as is typically needed for a novel product.
Since start-ups begin with small teams and typically work on novel products, it makes sense that the HN crowd would be partial to the product smart generalist team approach.
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I think this is only true with larger teams. On tasks that are't too large, 2 or 3 great "product smart" developers will beat a team of 6 or 7 with divided responsibilities.
It is also a function of how novel the product is. The ability of a team to think and work at multiple levels is invaluable when evolving along a new idea into a usable product. A product leader, would drive his developer team crazy if he changed his mind as often as is typically needed for a novel product.
Since start-ups begin with small teams and typically work on novel products, it makes sense that the HN crowd would be partial to the product smart generalist team approach.