If the reason the designer wasn't fired was because he was a close friend of the founder, then we have some small tremors here that may be indicative of a larger problem.
People on HN love the soap opera stuff; it is the flip side of the "startup daydream". Yes, it might be indicative of a larger problem. And yes, over and above that, it might be indicative of a larger problem you can't solve. And yes, over and above that, it might be indicative of a larger company you can't solve that might kill the company. I could go on.
But why bother? It's probably not. The guy's partner: not so great at hiring, and not so great at firing. Firing in particular is very hard to do, and if you already weren't managing the role you need to fire properly (his team wasn't), it's next to impossible. These weaknesses describe 60% of all entrepreneurs, including a small chunk of the successful ones. Work the problem.
Also, when he said his partner is getting divorced... hey, 20-somethings on HN? That's a big deal. Extremely stressful. I'm not saying, "cut the guy slack out of empathy". I'm saying not cutting him slack might be a dumb business move.
