A lot of startups are actually obsessed with quality to the point of failing. I've seen that. I've also seen the opposite. There is a lot of variation in the myths founders create that they follow like a religion because they believe it's the one trick they need for success ;-)
You do eventually run out of money. It's so much more important to ship something to customers to get some feedback than it is to get it perfect. It's a very tricky balance to get right though. It has to look and work good enough to not scare potential customers away.
I don't disagree, that's unequivocally true.
As a programmer myself however I know that "I'll get back to it later and fix it" is usually a lie...
Haven't founded a business yet and I think I'll do that eventually but it also seems that "do your market research first and foremost" is an universal rule.
EDIT: As an European I should add that most of us never start a business unless they already have several customers willing to pay lined up in an orderly queue. I feel that too many Americans (probably not only them) start a business based on pure enthusiasm and hand-waving that motivated them during a few business events where people vaguely expressed an interest in their idea.
Seems you are judging from the SV / startup / USA bubble. Most of the world works in VERY different conditions than that.
I mean yeah, bosses whipping their devs for maximum throughput happens everywhere but the combination of factors you describe seems to be specific for USA.