Sure, it "really does pay" so long as you can run a company lean into hypergrowth. Recall the number one reason startups fail is they run out of cash.
But many startups run out of cash while still growing. It's more like dying from exhaustion while running faster and faster, not a frequent outcome.
Is it that or is it because a lot of start ups always want to "grow" at all cost? It is be possible to have a small-medium scale business and organically growing it out, but obviously if you take investor money, they want max return in shortest amount of time possible.