Is this advice for employees? Or VC's? I've NEVER had to do this for any of the jobs in my 20+ years as a software developer ... but there are some interesting points indeed.
If you are accepting stock options for part of your compensation (and you actually care about what the value of those might be), it's important. Otherwise, no.
What is the difference? Employees invest their time and careers into a company. For career growth, it is much better if your company is also growing. Grow or Die.
The difference is that for a lot of people, a job is just a way to pay the bills and for them, it matters very little what a potential employer's future plans are, beyond knowing that they will still have a job in a year.