I'm not sure I understand entirely - it sounds like MVC architecture to me. I'm not sure what layers he's handling, but seems like he's at least abstracting the database away into some simpler calls. As long as he separates everything in a reasonable way, it could even help the stability of his program.
The part I don't quite understand is how it adds any significant amount of "protection" from his code being stolen. Programmers forced to stick to a documented API would be able to reverse engineer it, more or less. If he has a secret algorithm in his secret sauce, it's possible that his workers wouldn't be able to duplicate it, but as he's not a passionate programmer, I have my doubts.
That said, it seems very closed to me, and I would feel a bit nervous working for him. But it's all just a perception from a single blog post, so I could be way off-base.
Thank you for your comment. It's a simple system that doesn't have its power in thousands of lines of code but instead in the combination of components. Right now I am working with freelancers to get me up and running and once I am settled in a location I want to find that team.
In life it is hard though to find people who you truly connect with and can trust. I do know that when you meet them you recognize them straight away. I haven't been able to find these developers yet, most likely because I am in a location where there is almost no startup scene. However I am determined to find them and build an amazing startup as a team with no secrecy.
