Hard disagree. This makes the assumption that this person can not put on any other hats, which would make me question how they got into a startup in the first p

Hard disagree. This makes the assumption that this person can not put on any other hats, which would make me question how they got into a startup in the first place. I can see your point in the case where the person does nothing already, leaves, and it has no impact. But in the top-comment where this happens specifically _because_ the person deprecated themselves then that person has definitely shown how valuable they are. If they can do that well you know they'll fit in anywhere. You should definitely fight to find a place for them when they come back.