Dear anonymous, I don’t have much experience in firing people but I have read and watched quite a number of startup books and videos to understand a reoccurring

Dear anonymous, I don’t have much experience in firing people but I have read and watched quite a number of startup books and videos to understand a reoccurring theme when hiring people, especially for a startup: Make sure they fit, and don’t drag down your company. One huge red flag was how he does not fit the groups culture. His skills might suck but if he was a punching bag for other developers to throw ideas at him and in turn it helped them solve their issue, at least that’s good. From what it sounds like this guy's personality within your company is uncanny to a dead moth. I remember this chapter from Rework from 37signals: http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1430-hire-managers-of-one http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1430-hire-managers-of-one Good luck and tell us what happens.