From my experience working in technology startups, I can say without a doubt that the CEO is focused on getting a product, any product in any state of progress, out the door and that HR thing you speak of is an office held by the beneficiary of nepotism and maintained with loyalty who's sole job is to complete the tasks assigned to them by the CEO, usually in a haphazardly incompetent manner.
For example, I once worked at a firm where the HR person was my direct boss' sister-in-law and was living with one of the [shithead] project managers I had to deal with, who's sister-in-law was the receptionist/marketing genius. Do you think any of those four people had any grease to make demands on whether or not a product should include, or even be based upon conventions that would assist those with disabilities if said inclusion were to set back the shipping timetable? I think not.
tl;dr: CEO's focus on sales and revenue, HR is a rubber stamp/sick day tracker, which can be outsourced.
I know what you point was, and it's clear to many that in a common sense society that would be the case as you've correctly described it, however, my experience has always been one of sales first, people last. Regardless of the company's maturity.
For example, I once worked at a firm where the HR person was my direct boss' sister-in-law and was living with one of the [shithead] project managers I had to deal with, who's sister-in-law was the receptionist/marketing genius. Do you think any of those four people had any grease to make demands on whether or not a product should include, or even be based upon conventions that would assist those with disabilities if said inclusion were to set back the shipping timetable? I think not.
tl;dr: CEO's focus on sales and revenue, HR is a rubber stamp/sick day tracker, which can be outsourced.