Maybe my startup is different than others, but I have to do everything at least some of the time. I can't imagine a startup ceo saying "I refuse to do X".
I can't imagine anyone at a small startup refusing to do something unless it would be seriously detrimental due to their lack of experience on the task at hand. I know the article is geared towards CEOs, but being able to touch so many different areas is one of the best things for anyone to be a part of at a startup, including the customer support aspect. There's so much you can learn.
By the time your startup reaches 50 employees, you will not be doing a bit of everything, but you'll be reading status reports that talk about a bit of everything. Been there, done that.
But yes, staying in touch with customers is one of the best actions a CEO can do.
Couldn't agree more. The bonus reason sums it up best: "It's the right thing to do". This kind of stuff pays off in the long-rug I bet. A few times I have replied to emails from startups and the reply-to is their CEO. I get excited, send off an email, but am disappointed when I see an employee replying to my email which was forward to them by the CEO.
They are at least reasons to monitor the email and to respond to select ones. If your support has a general framework to work upon, they can handle most emails very well. Handling all/most or handling none of the support are both bad options.