There are a lot of shady tricks out there and this list will help you avoid 99.9% of them.

GUIDELINES
1- One link per domain. No more than 3 links from the same Class-C IP address
2- Require One-way links only
3- Links should contain the target keyword/keyword phrase (we will supply the target keyword/keyword phrase) as text in the link anchor text hyperlink
4- Links must be permanent
5- Links must be in text, no graphics
6- Links cannot be from framed pages
7- Links cannot be through a JavaScript
8- Links cannot be through a redirect script
9- Links cannot be on Flash sites or pages
10- Links cannot include a rel=nofollow tag
11- No links using any automated techniques or black-grey hat techniques of blog comment spam, referrer spam or ANY other shady tactic.
12- Page containing link must not be excluded by robots.txt and the anchor text must not contain the rel=nofollow tag.
13- Linked sites must be in production and active . (Developed and not under construction).
14- No sites that require payments
15- No Scraped content, mirror sites, link schemes and sites overrun with contextual ads, popups, intrusive advertising, etc.
16- No link from: guestbook’s, social bookmarking, classifieds, dynamic links, link farms, link-exchange programs, forums, directories, articles submission, Free For All websites, hacker, pharmacy, illegal, pornographic or generally black hat sites.
18- Links must be manually submitted ONLY. No use of Automated software (e.g., Zeus, Arelis or others
19- We reserve the right to cancel any link if not found suitable.
20- Page containing link must be reacheable using normal flow navigation from home page and sitemap (if present)
21- Link page should be from English / German / French language sites only
22- Link page must already be indexed and cached by Google within last 30 days.
23- Links must be on pages with 20 outbound links at most.
24- Links should not be listed, illegal and other offensive websites (porn, gambling, spam, ban, or blacklisted).

I’m not sure I answered his question or aleviated any of his concern but his sentament is common.   The idea that any one thing could be the best version the first time out is a pipe dream.  The idea that a professional baseball player could step to the plate and hit a grand slam on the first swing is a pipe dream as well.  Let’s face it, the first version isn’t always the best (which is normal).  Why not try hundreds of versions and pick the best one?

So in short, there’s nothing wrong with the website, just your process.