>> I know what it is to know how things work underneath the high level languages (PHP, JavaScript and Python for me)
I suspect this has helped you more than you seem to know. This knowledge opens doors; gets you jobs you couldn't otherwise get; and makes you a better programmer.
>> In Python (my language of choice for the last 7 years along with JavaScript) I do not really have to care about pointers, stack or heap allocation, how memory gets create or cleaned, etc. I also do not need to know if there is a virtual machine, a garbage collector, etc.
I have seen some horrendous Python code written by people who didn't understand these things. The Python VM "hides" them from you, but they're still relevant for writing fast, correct code as almost every operation in the language ends up using one or more of those "under the hood".
You are perhaps true about me not being aware that the core CS knowledge is helping me all the time. I have always been able to explain technical issues on a whiteboard all the way to the level of protocol or internals. And they have helped me immensely in my work.
I guess since I do not spend a lot of time in CS literature, I have the feeling I do not know much. But I guess I already have an edge at work without noticing it.
I suspect this has helped you more than you seem to know. This knowledge opens doors; gets you jobs you couldn't otherwise get; and makes you a better programmer.
>> In Python (my language of choice for the last 7 years along with JavaScript) I do not really have to care about pointers, stack or heap allocation, how memory gets create or cleaned, etc. I also do not need to know if there is a virtual machine, a garbage collector, etc.
I have seen some horrendous Python code written by people who didn't understand these things. The Python VM "hides" them from you, but they're still relevant for writing fast, correct code as almost every operation in the language ends up using one or more of those "under the hood".
Best of luck with Rust and your startup!