Academics is the least important thing to me. It's like having an "A+" certification - it doesn't mean a damn thing in terms of how smart you are or what you are truly capable of.

You're right in that the credential doesn't mean much.

But what the candidate describes having done in academia is enormously expository -- what research did they do? with whom? did they publish? did they attempt substantial development projects? with a group of people? did they have jobs? did they teach?

I know this is sort of frowned upon, but education is an important factor. Perhaps not in how smart someone is, but rather how dedicated they are. Granted, a start up sale or failure can show the same thing.