1st10 Podcast

By 1st10podcast

Welcome to 1st10 Podcast, where we dive deep into the world of building early engineering teams. Join us as we sit down with engineers, founders, and investors to uncover the strategies, challenges, a... more

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FAQs about 1st10 Podcast:

How many episodes does 1st10 Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 23 episodes available.

1st10 Podcast episodes:

January 24, 2025 Predictions for 2025: What Founders and Engineers Need to Know Before It's Too Late!
On this episode of the 1st10 podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger share 5 predictions for the future of startups and technology as we begin 2025. They discuss the possibility of a financial boom, the transformative role of artificial intelligence, and the concept of American dynamism, which emphasizes innovation and building great things in America.
Tune in to hear them talk about:
5 Predictions for 2025: Particularly, the impact of American dynamism and how it’s set to fuel a fresh wave of innovation in the tech industry. With a renewed optimism in the air, this year will bring incredible advancements in manufacturing, robotics, AI, and more.
M&A Opportunities: Mergers and acquisitions present compelling business opportunities for early startups. Whether it’s about creating liquidity or amplifying your mission, understanding M&As can be a game-changer for your business.
The Future of AI: The evolving landscape of AI jobs and the increasing demand for full-stack and AI engineers could mean a radical shift the nature and the future of work!
Specifically, don't miss the part where Boris & Alexis discuss a possible future where companies might hire AI-agent engineers!

Chapters
00:00 Introductions
02:36 Prediction no. 5 - Boris Makes A Bold Prediction!
05:47 Prediction no. 4 - SaaS is Dead! Long Live SaaS?
10:32 Prediction no. 3 - Do You Wanna Build an AI Agent?
14:04 Prediction no. 2 - More Money, More… Hiring!
20:02 Prediction no. 1 - American Dynamism FTW!
25:25 Alexis and Boris Take Bets
Quotes:
"There's a lot of excitement around where Bitcoin can go with the sentiment of our administration, the sentiment of global powers that be with regards to its capability." - Boris Epstein (05:21)
"2025 is going to be the year of productivity, I think, for everybody! Like, build an agent to do everything for you!" - Alexis Munger (11:51)
"I think that we're gonna see a lot more teams spring up in Europe, South America, Canada." - Alexis Munger (14:46)

Follow:
Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast
Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7e8ec9af-f38c-4cd9-8c68-1c1dd4516b 27/1st10-podcast
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1st10-podcast/id1760411207
Podcast: https://www.1st10.com/podcast
RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast

Links:
Music by Roman Senyk from Pixabay
Producer: Shrikant Joshi
...more
28min
January 17, 2025Tough Truths of Early-Stage Hiring: 6 Lessons From 2024
On the first episode of the second season of the 1st10 podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger share valuable insights on the critical lessons they learned during the past year helping early-stage startups build early engineering teams. They discuss the challenges of attracting talent, the importance of recruiting skills for founders, and the realities of hiring full stack engineers. Boris and Alexis explore a diverse array of topics such as the need for passion in candidates and the evolving landscape of startup hiring, providing valuable insights for founders and hiring managers alike.

On today's episode, Boris and Alexis discuss:
Why Attracting Talent is So Challenging - Founders often underestimate the complexities involved in attracting top talent, which goes beyond just posting job descriptions.

How Much The Recruiting Ability of Founders Matters - It is essential for founders to invest in improving these abilities.

The Myth of the Full Stack Engineer - Startups might - just might - be better off hiring specialists…

Good Talent is NOT on LinkedIn - The world has changed and so have the social media habits of young talented engineers…

The Ultimate Matchmaker - As important as technical skills are for the right hire, there is something equally important a candidate MUST have to be the perfect hire!
Don't miss the part where Boris talks about why candidates shouldn't be reluctant to leave big companies!

Chapters
00:00 - Introductions
02:11 - Lesson no. 6 - The Hardest Thing You Will Do as a Founder…
07:09 - Lesson no. 5 - How Good is the Founder?!
09:45 - Lesson no. 4 - What Does “Full Stack Engineer” Even Mean?!
17:15 - Lesson no. 3 - Where DO You Look for Good Talent?
19:50 - Lesson no. 2 - “Can I please, uh, NOT?”
25:06 - Lesson no. 1 - The MOST Important Thing Needed For The PERFECT Hire!
32:05 - Recap and conclusion
...more
36min
October 02, 2024#10, Tigran Sloyan, CodeSignal Founder: Looking Beyond The Resume To Decode The Startup Talent Dilemma
On this milestone tenth episode of the 1st10 Podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger interview the founder and CEO of CodeSignal, Tigran Sloyan. They discuss Tigran's journey from Armenia, to MIT, to founding CodeSignal. Tigran also shares some incredible insights on identifying great early engineers for startups, and his perspectives on the recruiting industry.
On today's episode, XYZ talks about:
Helping Kids To Learn Better - "The current funnel, the way it's designed, it doesn't cater to the different learning-styles. And it just sort of fails everybody involved because you try to cater to everyone while in the process failing everyone." - Tigran Sloyan (11:12)

Personality Is Not A Type - "I think most people misunderstand personality as a type, especially since things like Myers-Briggs popularized typing people, which makes it easy for us to think about, but it's always (A) it depends and it's a spectrum." - Tigran Sloyan (20:48)

Be Aware of your Own Biases - "We're biased about many, many, many things because we try to create the shortcuts! And it's part of everyone's growth to be aware of their biases and try to keep them in check in places where it's going to hurt them and their business." - Tigran Sloyan (29:44)

Recruitment is a ‘Matching Problem’ - "You've got to remember that it's a matching problem, right? Not a one-way street. I see so many people show up to interviews and think like, 'If I can only like represent myself in the best light...' And they forget that it's a matching problem, as in you're interviewing them as much as they're interviewing you!" - Tigran Sloyan (33:03)
Do not miss Tigran's advice on recruitment -- for both founders hiring engineers and engineers looking to join -- early stage startups!

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction & Teaser
04:30 - Tigran Sloyan's Journey from Armenia to CodeSignal
11:42 - Attributes of Great Early Engineers
15:46 - Building CodeSignal - Mistakes, Corrections, and Luck
19:15 - Spotting Good Signal in Resumes
23:13 - About CodeSignal and Its Mission
27:18 - Early Stage Hiring - Bias, Weak Signals, and Advice
35:54 - Recruiting & The Importance of Psychology
38:38 - Conclusion
Connect with us
Website: www.1st10.com
Podcast: www.1st10.com/podcast
Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineers
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast

Links:
Tigran Sloyan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tigransloyan
CodeSignal: https://codesignal.com/
Music by ⁠Roman Senyk⁠ from ⁠Pixabay⁠
Producer: Shrikant Joshi
...more
42min
September 27, 2024#9, Andrew Munn, Lindy.ai Software Leader: Insight Into the Risk and Reward of Early Stage Startups
On the ninth episode of the 1st10 Podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger interview Andrew Munn, who's currently a senior engineering manager at Lindy.ai. Andrew shares some wonderful insights from his decade-long career in tech, spanning major companies like Facebook, Uber, and Nextdoor. He discusses his journey from internships at 3 of the 5 FAANG companies, his experiences with different corporate cultures, and his decision to join and later lead engineering teams at different startups.
Here are some of the hidden takeaways from the episode:
Product vs Distribution - "The best apps are inherently viral. They have their own distribution mechanism." (13:30)

Late-stage vs Early Stage - "Maybe late stage companies are the sweet spot for impact because you're big enough to have a real product and so you're actually impacting people's lives out there. But you're not so big that you're just a tiny little cog in a big machine. You can still make big changes." - Andrew Munn (23:17)

Size vs Speed - "Small, high-performing teams will outperform a large mediocre team any day. And that is also the only reason why startups have a chance." - Andrew Munn (32:35)
Don't miss the super-fun segment we designed specially for Andrew, called "Andrew, Why Do You Hate This?!" because it resulted in a mind-blowing revelation about selfies and selfie-cameras!

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
04:46 - Early Career, Internship, and First Job at Facebook
08:35 - Transition to Trove, and Early Startup Experience
15:38 - Moving From Trove to Nextdoor
20:12 - Comparison of Late Stage and Early Stage Companies
24:00 - Reasons For Going Back To Early Stage
32:07 - Building High Performing Teams
34:00 - Advice To Founders And Early Engineers
41:05 - A Fun Segment About Andrew's Pet Peeves
46:04 - Conclusion

Connect with us
Website: www.1st10.com
Podcast: www.1st10.com/podcast
Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineers
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast

Links:
Andrew's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmunn/
Lindy Careers: https://www.lindy.ai/careers
Andrew's X/Twitter Profile: https://x.com/AndrewMunn

Music by Roman Senyk from Pixabay
Producer: Shrikant Joshi
...more
48min
September 20, 2024#8, Stripe Hiring Secrets, How Stripe Built its Early Team
On the eighth episode of 1st10 Podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger explore how Stripe built its early engineering team. Using their combined two decades' worth of experience in recruiting engineers for various tech companies, Boris and Alexis list the key recruitment principles employed by Stripe. Over the course of the episode, they also highlight some innovative recruitment principles used by Stripe, such as their insistence on hiring top talent, focusing on the person rather than the accolades, and various other hiring techniques that resulted in Stripe having one of the most respected engineering teams in Silicon Valley.
Here are some key takeaways from the episode that you should keep an ear out for:
Referral networks can fail sometimes - "When companies start to scale, (and) they get bigger, I would almost argue that the referral network starts to go down." (8:13)

Collaboration and camaraderie in the workplace - "It doesn't matter how like technically good (you are) if you're a jerk and nobody wants to collaborate with you." (18:34)

Engineers must remember to flip The Sunday Test - "If you're an engineer evaluating a startup, you want to interview not only to pass but you also want to get to know the startup. You want to get to know the team. Are these people who you would enjoy getting to know?"

Importance of trusting instincts - "They're not saying that, you know, this way is better than that way or our way is better than your way. They're saying you as a founder have an instinct around what it takes for you and your team to be successful and trust that instinct." (34:00)
Now, this episode is largely focused on what founders need to do to build their early engineering teams. However, if you are an engineer looking to join an early stage startup, you might want to use the recruitment principles detailed in this episode as a yardstick to gauge the startups you apply to!

Chapters
00:00 - Introductions
04:38 - The Connection Between 1st10 and Stripe
05:51 - Principle 1: Recruiting is like Marketing
11:55 - Leveraging all 4 recruiting channels
16:08 - Principle 2: Recruiting is circumstantial.
19:26 - The Sunday Test
21:29 - Principle 3: The most important engineer you'll hire
22:30 - Hiring Strategies to Find the Perfect Engineer
33:59 - It's not rocket-science!
35:05 - Summary and conclusion

Connect with us
Website: www.1st10.com
Podcast: www.1st10.com/podcast
Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineers
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast

Links:
How Stripe Built One of Silicon Valley’s Best Engineering Teams: (⁠Archived⁠) ⁠https://review.firstround.com/how-stripe-built-one-of-silicon-valleys-best-engineering-teams/⁠

Producer: Shrikant Joshi
Music by ⁠Roman Senyk⁠ from ⁠Pixabay⁠
...more
39min
September 13, 2024 #7, Kurtis Nusbaum, Sr Staff Engineer: Journey from Uber to Early Stage
On the seventh episode of the 1st10 Podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger talk to Kurtis Nusbaum of Chronosphere. Kurtis is an experienced software engineer who recently transitioned from Uber to an early-stage startup. He shared some wonderful insights from his recent job search experience, emphasizing the importance of personal connections in career decisions. In this free-wheeling chat with Boris and Alexis, Kurtis discusses his journey from starting UDJ, to joining Facebook, then moving to Uber, and now to Chronosphere, highlighting the significance of personal connections, company culture, and team dynamics in his decision-making process.
Here’s a short list of some key takeaways from the episode
Importance of Personal connections - "You're gonna be spending a lot of time with them. You better not just like that person. You better really connect and jive with that person." (17:55)
Cold outreach is NOT always spam - "Don't just ignore all of that cold outreach. If something does seem interesting, it might be worth at least a 30-minute conversation." (15:57)
Building relationships with good people - “You really need to make sure like, ‘Do I like these people?’ [...] It's really, really important to make sure that that box is checked.” (23:48)
Take-Home vs Leet-code - I really don't like the, like, leet-code style of interview-questions…(31:56)
Don’t miss the rapidfire question segment - it actually ended up being not so rapidfire.
Chapters
00:00 Introductions
00:48 Kurtis on College, his startup UDJ, Facebook, and Uber
11:42 Chasing Cool People Instead of Cool Projects
18:14 Identifying Points of Connection With Cool People
22:13 Advice for Founders & Engineers
28:54 Observations on Job-Market and AI Opportunities
31:29 Some Fun Rapidfire Questions!
37:31 Sidetrack: Reflecting on Interview Follow-ups
40:44 Kurtis' Concluding Thoughts
Connect with us
Website: www.1st10.com
Podcast: www.1st10.com/podcast
Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineers
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast
Links:
Blog: https://knusbaum.org
Blog Post about Job Search: https://www.knusbaum.org/posts/job-search
Crane Presentation I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQPTlrff8iU
Music by Roman Senyk from Pixabay
Producer: Shrikant Joshi
...more
44min
September 06, 2024#6, Hiring Trends in Building Early Engineering Teams
In this podcast episode, Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger discuss some recent trends in hiring for early-stage startups. The episode goes into details on a wide-variety of incredibly useful topics such as the rise of AI and how it impacts full-stack roles, interesting changes in interview processes and workplace preferences. Boris and Alexis also touch on some controversial topics such as diversity considerations at early-stage startups. Overall, the episode is a must-listen for founders and early engineers who are heavily invested in the current state of the tech job market.

Here’s a handy list of some key takeaways from the episode, timestamped for easy access:
Rise Of New Computing Platforms And Paradigms - "You know what's strange? We don't really get that many requests for hiring for mobile anymore." (04:18)

More Project-Based And Work-Trial Interviews - "I've probably seen a fair amount of solid engineers that got passed on with, because they just sucked at leet-code" (12:42)

Lack Of Emphasis On Diversity - "Our guess is that as these startups get later-stage, it's going to hit them like a ton of bricks" (26:40)

Re-Evaluating The Perception Of Career Gaps - "If someone took a two-year break, would that be considered too long?" (32:35)
Chapters
Don’t miss the part where Alexis explains the revelation that led her to re-evaluate her stance on career-gaps!
00:00 Introductions
02:30 Trend no. 1 - “Is it just a buzzword? Or is it WAY more than that?”
10:31 Trend no. 2 - “Leetcode or take-homes - which is the best way to evaluate candidates?”
18:31 Trend no. 3 - “Who exactly wants to return to office - the employees or the company?”
23:12 Trend no. 4 - “If you are considering a DEI hire, you might want to listen to this…”
27:16 Trend no. 5 - “Resignations or Layoffs - which of the two was greater in 2023-24?”
33:50 Brief recap of trends discussed

Connect with us
Website: www.1st10.com
Podcast: www.1st10.com/podcast
Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineers
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast

Music by Roman Senyk from Pixabay
Producer: Shrikant Joshi
...more
37min
August 30, 2024#5, Join The Perfect Early Startup, 7 Tips for Engineers Considering Early Startups
On today's episode of the 1st10 Podcast, Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger discuss 7 important tips for engineers considering a move to early-stage startups. Today's episode is full of insights accumulated by Boris and Alexis over their years of experience recruiting engineers for various tech companies. With insights ranging from equity and compensation expectations to what *exactly* to look at different interview stages, to assessing the fit between you and a potential startup - this episode has it all!

Here are some important takeaways from the episode:
Setting Expectations Early - "Most people go to work for early startups to earn a base to maintain their living, but they want that early equity because that early equity is what's going to create the upside." (03:43)

Personal Risk Tolerance - "You can't have the mindset of, I go in, I work from 9-to-5 and I shut my computer." (05:48)

Embrace a growth mindset - "Don't worry about which seat you're in, just get on the rocketship," (12:30)

How to Attract Founders - "If you're a founder [...] looking to build your founding engineering team, I think you want people around you [...] that have strong opinions on how something should work." (17:08)

Focus On The Fit - "You should be interviewing that company as much as they're interviewing you" (19:59)
And, if you feel something isn't quite right, well, Alexis reveals a safe-space where you can be utterly candid! Listen to the episode to find out where that is!

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
02:24 Tip no. 7 - "Do you know how much you are worth?"
05:44 Tip no. 6 - "Are you sure about what you want"
11:04 Tip no. 5 - "Are you worrying about something you shouldn't?"
13:26 Tip no. 4 - "Do you know what you are getting into?"
18:07 Tip no. 3 - "What kind of a chord does this strike?"
20:30 Tip no. 2 - "Are you sure everything is on the up-and-up?"
22:40 Tip no. 1 - "Are you sure you are asking the right questions?"
30:09 Quick recap and conclusion

Connect with us
Website: www.1st10.com
Podcast: www.1st10.com/podcast
Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineers
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast

Links:
Producer: Shrikant Joshi
Episode Cover Art via ⁠Pixlr⁠
Music by ⁠Roman Senyk⁠ from ⁠Pixabay⁠
...more
33min
August 23, 2024#4, Jono Spiro, Fractal Software Principal Engineer: Secrets to Hiring the Best Founding Engineers
On the fourth episode of the 1st10 Podcast, we are joined by Jono Spiro, the Principal Software Engineer for Fractal Software. Fractal is a unique venture studio that “provides ambitious entrepreneurs with the support, insights, and capital needed to build generational businesses.” Jono joined us on the show to discuss the concept of founding engineers and early engineering teams in startups. He shared insights from his extensive experience advising Fractal’s 145 portfolio companies on engineering, product development, and team building.
Listen to the whole episode to hear Jono talk about:
Founding engineers - “Find somebody that compliments you as a CTO that's ideally better than you, if possible.” (9:46)

Spotting talent through resumes - “"Reading resumes. It's an art. It's also BS." (12:06)

Take Days Off Regularly - “if you find yourself (burning the midnight oil) all the time, you're doing it wrong.” (20:05)

Consolidating Knowledge - “Pick a place to store your company's knowledge.” (28:56)

Advice for Early Engineers - “Make sure that you're ready to join a startup. You're going to make less money. You will not have job security. You're going to meet some scummy people.” (30:58)
Chapters
02:45 - Jono's Background & History
03:44 - What’s a Founding Engineer?
07:01 - How to Identifying and Hire Early Engineers
20:35 - Building Early Engineering Teams & Fostering Culture
25:40 - Tools for Remote Work & Knowledge Consolidation
29:27 - Advice for Founders & Early Engineers
36:18 - Additional Thoughts on AI, Take-Home Assignments, and other stuff

Connect with us
Website: www.1st10.com
Podcast: www.1st10.com/podcast
Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineers
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast

Links
Fractal Software: www.fractalsoftware.com
Jono Spiro's GitHub: www.github.com/jspiro
Glitch & Tiny Speck: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitch_(video_game)
Game Neverending and Flickr: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr

Producer: Shrikant Joshi
Music by ⁠Roman Senyk⁠ from ⁠Pixabay⁠
...more
41min
August 16, 2024 #3, The Art of Startup Recruiting: 7 Tips to Hire The Best Early-Engineers
On the third episode of 1st10 Podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger draw from their experiences working with startups to come up with SEVEN simple tips for founders looking to build early-engineering teams. These tips cover a wide gamut of all things startup-related - ranging from recruiting, to culture-building, to crafting compelling company narratives.
On today’s episode, Boris and Alexis discuss 7 tips on how to attract and retain top engineering talent for your startup.
Here’s a quick glimpse into some of the key takeaways…
“Recruiting is all momentum-based” - Interviewing multiple candidates in a single day (rather than over several days)allows you to compare and contrast candidates better. (6:15)
“Leverage your network” - Your network is a goldmine for finding top talent. If you can effectively tap into your connections, you will be able to build a strong early-engineering team. (9:36)
“Hire for aptitude” - Problem-solving skills and adaptability are crucial for early-stage success. (13:07)
“Define your culture early” - Culture isn't just a document on the wall. It's the essence of your company. (20:17)
“Craft a compelling story about your company and your product and what your mission is.” - Your startup's story is your secret weapon in attracting top talent. (25:31)
Oh, and you’re gonna LOVE tips 2 and 1 - make sure you listen all the way to the end of the episode!

Chapters
Introduction (00:00 - 03:28)
Tip #7: This is what all your hires will ultimately focus on. (03:32 - 05:42)
Tip #6: Gaining an advantage in THIS aspect is critical for startups. (05:42 - 9:41)
Tip #5: Sometimes the right candidates are really, REALLY close. (9:41 - 13:07)
Tip #4: If you find someone good that you don’t particularly need… (13:07 - 20:23)
Tip #3: Know what you are all about. (20:23 - 25:31)
Tip #2: How to be a superhero from the get-go. (25:31 - 31:33)
Tip #1: The most-obvious truth is also the most-easily-missed... (31:33 - 43:26)

Follow:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13UwWOSV1KrJBJgIdt8bJ7Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7e8ec9af-f38c-4cd9-8c68-1c1dd4516b 27/1st10-podcastApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1st10-podcast/id1760411207
Podcast: https://www.1st10.com/podcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast

Connect with us
Website: www.1st10.com
Podcast: www.1st10.com/podcast
Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineers
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast

Links:Episode
Cover Art via Pixlr
Music by Roman Senyk from Pixabay
Producer: Shrikant Joshi
...more
38min

FAQs about 1st10 Podcast:

How many episodes does 1st10 Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 23 episodes available.