> Launch and get funded. Then no one will care what you're wearing.
Robert Winston has a piece in his book "Human Instinct" where he was looking at the effect of "funding" on his attractiveness to women. Day 1, he turns up in old clothes, in a clapped-out motor car and generally unkempt appearance. Scores about 4-5. Next day, he's back in a flash car, expertly groomed right down to the manicure, and he gets average 9 out of 10. The most telling part was one of the female test subjects saying "Well, I really liked you better yesterday, but I gave you a higher score today."
So, yes, money is not important and it's all-important. Dressing well shows you have it, but so do other things. It's up to you to decide if you care. Personally, I don't.
You and the article are talking about different things. Looking nice doesn't matter much for getting funded. But it does if you want a balanced life outside of your startup.
What are you going to do when your startup is successful and you're rolling in money? If you want to be out in the world, pursuing varied interests (or women), looking nice helps.
Appearance is continuous with reality. Imbalance in your intellectual life, for better or worse, tends to reflect in the way you appear. Looking nice is an indicator that you value social connection with others.
This is never true. The impact of dress on perception is well studied and it is large. If you're not dressing well, you are foolishly giving up an easy edge.
A somewhat overlooked subject is coworker dress as a workplace quality issue. A lot of geeks don't notice dress, but most other people are sensitive to the aesthetic presentation of the people they have to spend many hours a day with. Going to work with very well presented people is a job perk, and having to interact with slobs is undesirable. Realize that even if you don't care about dress, other very competent people you may work with will care. Tacky clothing and pasty physiques can be like second hand smoke.
If you have a pasty physique it means you're not taking enough sun and probably not exercising, and I'd adventure a guess that that makes you a good candidate for cancer.
Launch and get funded. Then no one will care what you're wearing.