I raised this issue because I am currently having trouble attracting java engineers, and when I queried the developers in my social network, they raised this potential issue as a source of my problem. From the tenor of most of the comments here, it sounds like there may be a bit of a cultural issue as well as some substantive reasons why java is not more prevalent in startups.

I was computer science major in college, but now I can hack but not code. My main role is product development, so a coding background is helpful. I know enough to attract good tech talent -- which is critical. Good luck!