Is there any distinction made between project management and people management in a startup? The developer manager must manage development first and foremost, it is a bit weird if they are handed project management responsibilities also, which can generally be handled by a less senior person, perhaps one who doesn't even code.
If there are other teams, I would assume we aren't talking about a small startup anymore. But even if we were talking about a small startup with one team working on a product, it makes sense to delegate project management tasks to someone in the team who isn't managing the team.
A developer manager should be able to protect their team from shit work because they know what shit work looks like in the first place. They should also understand the parts at a high enough level to make informed decisions, and they at least know who knows the details so they can get input from the right people when problems arise.
If there are other teams, I would assume we aren't talking about a small startup anymore. But even if we were talking about a small startup with one team working on a product, it makes sense to delegate project management tasks to someone in the team who isn't managing the team.
A developer manager should be able to protect their team from shit work because they know what shit work looks like in the first place. They should also understand the parts at a high enough level to make informed decisions, and they at least know who knows the details so they can get input from the right people when problems arise.