FTA: "The end result was mediocre product reviews and slow sales. But man, was my code beautiful."
The author is missing the point. Features and user experience drive sales not architecture or beautiful code. Sound architecture and clean code provides a basis for ongoing development. Simple once only app then be a cowboy and hack it together, want a product with an ongoing development cycle then care is needed when building the foundations. "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure" - Benjamin Franklin.