The situation OP described is really not that unbelievable to me. I've met one or two developers who really were "the best in the room" at a smaller company and

The situation OP described is really not that unbelievable to me. I've met one or two developers who really were "the best in the room" at a smaller company and I can imagine them writing something like this. Nobody hated them. The 70/30 balance seems relatively lopsided though.