All companies, not just start-ups, need to look at this and not just sell their programmers, but all their staff, and more importantly explain to all their staff exactly what it is the company does.

I do contract development and it has never ceased to amaze me how many staff at companies really have no idea what the company does, I've worked at pharmaceutical companies where you'd swear people have never even seen a pill, and media and advertising companies where people must never seen an ad.

All companies should develop an introduction pack, whether that is a video, powerpoint or brochure, for new staff. It should explain what the company does, how it does it and why it is good at it. The payback would be immense.