Thanks for the comment - this was more in response to the recent article as mentioned by seattle_spring but thanks for sharing Dan’s writing, will take a read. In terms of the similar design, I actually optimized for the least amount of HTML / CSS necessary to put readable text on a page, I guess resulting in a similar look.
I agree -- ideally, it shouldn't be about the money. But, everything comes at a cost, and the cost to short cycles with users and more control over your product is quite literally thousands of dollars, endless perks, and a cushion not affordable by most startups. That's the classic early-stage startup dilemma I've experienced -- when left to the decision of good potential hires, I've noticed a disproportionate number not willing to forgo all of that. Big companies are only getting larger and the requirement for startups to outcompete them on everything besides money and perks is higher than ever. At the very least, I think startups should be fully transparent about this instead of waving equity in front of you as though it will be worth anything.
VCs feel the need to constantly remind us that working at a startup is worth our time as a means to fuel the startup workforce. I understand that he was simply sharing an anecdote, but I found the conclusions and headline misleading even verging on dishonest. I've worked at an early stage bay area startup -- hiring progressively got harder and harder because candidates were becoming more aware of the career risks involved and the perks they'd be missing out on at big companies. In almost every case, you're working far more for less with very little structure -- if that's your cup of tea and have an obsession for the product, then go for it. If you're hoping to make $200 million, don't bother.
I agree with you that there really is nothing virtuous about handcrafted HTML, and it's for that same reason that I've spent very little time on it as you can probably tell. Rather, the point of the article is to assert that you don't need another tool, fancy theme or dependency to write and share something online. As for the RSS feed, there is one you can find at https://zainamro.com/feed.xml, which I've also mentioned in the final paragraph. And regarding your point on navigation and search, I've noticed most users naturally find their way around my website without any explicit navigation links. That being said, I have considered adding an "Up" link that takes you to the parent directory which I think may suffice.
I recently came across these math (and some physics) notes by Dexter Chua during his time as an undergraduate at Cambridge. Amazingly, he's transcribed several years of high quality math notes in LaTeX. Since members of this community frequently ask how improving their mathematical understanding, I thought to share this phenomenal resource. It looks like Dexter is now a PhD student at Harvard, and if you wish to reach out and show appreciation, his contact information is listed on the page.
I actually hadn’t seen your comment — I read PG’s essay and was similarly reminded of Chomsky’s view on education and specifically this video. So it was a coincidence in a sense but less so because of PG’s essay.