Yes, considering the current userbase Steemit has, just spending few millions to run servers alone was insane and resulted in a huge, constant, negative pressure on Steem prices since that was the ONLY revenue source for Steemit inc for a long time. No matter how good the product is, that kind of activity from the founders themselves will drive the price down, especially if they aren't making people feel confident about the future of the system through their own actions. If there would be enough demand to support high Steem prices, then sure, few millions in expenses wouldn't be bad for Steemit Inc, but in these early days, it's crucial to have some upward momentum in price discovery, as that will attract big investors and more users. Currently we're ranked at #63 coinmarketcap, that's very bad spot to be in and it'll get even worse if we manage to fall out of top 100 since what we need is exposure. 

I don't think Ned had any previous experience of being CEO, nor did he himself build Steem, Dan did and he left to build EOS. It took a lot of time and effort from community to convince him to just hire professional and save this sinking ship. And the difference has been like night and day ever since. We're actually seeing some sensible additions to Steemit, we're seeing improved communications and that means a lot in a ecosystem like Steem.