No, because he didn't fit into the team. It might've been the suckiest team on Earth, but the bottom line is that they were not comfortable working with him.
He should've quit on a third day. Since he was not comfortable working there either, I don't really understand what he was hoping to achieve by staying. Improve the code and demonstrate that everyone else there is an imbecile ? That would've never worked, and that's exactly where he was doing.
I suspect that he just didn't have any experience with this sort of a situation, which is not that uncommon. The good thing is that now he does have this experience :)
I'd blame the direct manager, Jola (and not just because something like that happened to me once). The guy from Germany made the big mistake of not hiring the right people in the first place, so he's completely responsible for the mess, but as far as the firing goes, it's her decision. His job was to bring experience, fresh air and make waves - and he was brought in for this purpose by Johann. At the very least Jola should have held a big long exit interview with him, since she knew already that the company was in trouble.
And another comment: I'm from Romania, and I saw several startups just like this one, funded by somebody abroad and managed by a local not in IT. They all were pretty much like the one in the article. I always wondered why they were such big failures. Obviously, the incompetent local manager, but they failed too spectacularly for this to be the only reason. Now I start to think this kind of culture actively rejects competent people. Even if they stay with the company for a while, they're never promoted to a position where they can use their skill.
