Yeah I got the same weird feeling when I read that headline, but honestly, getting that type of coverage probably helped them considerably. It seems like most successful companies have the right proportion of hard work and luck.
Sure, good coverage helps, but with a good product and good execution, they'll get it from anyone. If the formula is good idea + hard work + good execution + coverage from TC, you can easily replace "coverage from TC" with "coverage from NYTimes", and still be successful. TC didn't cause Mint to be acquired, so they shouldn't pretend they helped.
