[jeffmould]

I think you are overthinking the situation and looking to justify your feeling that the guy needs to be fired over reassigned. Why tell anyone anything in regards to the prospective hires? If the individual's strength is QA of the product then that is simply what he does. Doesn't matter if he is the founder or not. A good co-founder (or any founder) knows their strengths and weaknesses. More importantly they can own their weaknesses, and know when to bring in others to fill the holes so that the company succeeds. It is no different than a founder giving up the role of CEO to a more experienced and capable person. As the company and product evolves I don't see anything abnormal, or unusual, about a co-founder taking a back seat to other more experienced developers or whatever position it may be.