1st10 Podcast

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1st10 Podcast episodes

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
48 min
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
39 min
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
44 min
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
37 min
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
33 min
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
41 min
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
38 min
August 09, 2024#2 Bobby DeSimone, Pomerium.io Founder: Building an Open and High Performing Startup Culture
On this episode of The 1st10 Podcast, Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger interview Bobby DeSimone, founder and CEO of Pomerium, an early startup building an open-source internal access control and security platform. Bobby shares insights on building and nurturing great engineering cultures, with a focus on remote work, open-source development, recruiting, and maintaining work-life balance. Bobby also spoke about the specific impact of being an open-source product on company culture, transparency, and trust-building in the engineering community.
Don’t miss Bobby’s reflections on starting Pomerium and the learnings and adjustments he has had to make to his life since its inception!
On today's episode, Bobby talks about several topics such as::
Challenges of Remote Work Culture - Discussion about the challenges and benefits of building and nurturing a remote engineering culture at Pomerium. (10:05)

Work-Life Balance and Startup Grind - Insights into work-life balance, flexibility, and the challenges of managing a startup while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. (14:10)

Open Source Culture - The impact of being an open source product on company culture, transparency, and trust-building in the engineering community. (25:34)

Challenges in Building Company Culture - Exploring the challenges of articulating and fostering a culture that brings out the best in the team. (30:24)

Reflections on Starting Pomerium - Reflecting on the learnings and adjustments in starting a company like Pomerium. (32:15)

Advice for Founders Building Early Engineering Teams - Providing advice on selecting passionate and skilled individuals for early engineering teams. (33:38)
Chapters
00:00:00 Introductions & Background
00:10:05 Challenges of Remote Work Culture
00:14:10 Work-Life Balance, Startup Grind, and Navigating Burnout
00:22:00 Recruiting Early Engineers, the
00:25:34 Building Trust and Openness Through The Open Source Culture
00:30:24 Challenges in Building Company Culture & The Importance of Trust
00:33:38 Advice for Founders & Early Engineers
00:36:23 Importance of Early Talent and Team Building

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
41 min
August 02, 2024#1 Prakash Janakiraman, Nextdoor Co-Founder, How to Design an Early Engineering Team
On the first-ever episode of The 1st10 Podcast, Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger interview Prakash Janakiraman, co-founder and former CTO of NextDoor. Prakash shares his experiences in the tech industry, focusing on the founding and growth of Nextdoor, the significance of building a strong and collaborative team, and the challenges of scaling a startup. Prakash emphasizes hiring engineers who align with the company's mission and are willing to learn and adapt. He stresses the importance of communication and collaboration within the team and how the NextDoor interview process focused on technical proficiency, collaboration, and cultural fit.
Don’t miss the valuable advice from Prakash for early founders and engineers at early startups!
On today's episode, Prakash talks about:
The importance of Cultural Fit - Building a successful team starts with prioritizing cultural fit and alignment to the company's mission over purely technical skills. (04:18)

Hiring generalist vs. specialists - In the early stages, generalists who can handle diverse tasks are invaluable, while scaling requires more specialized roles. (09:25)

Iterative Development - Quick iteration cycles and a tight circle of trust during early development stages lead to higher productivity and innovation. (10:49)

Collective Code Ownership - Encouraging collective code ownership ensures flexibility and reduces dependencies, fostering a sense of responsibility across the team. (16:57)

Continuous Learning - Continuous learning and adaptability are key to personal and professional growth in the tech industry. (25:18)
Chapters
00:00 Introductions
02:15 Prakash's Background and Experience
04:27 Essential Ingredients to Building Nextdoor's Early Team
10:16 Challenges and Inflection Points in Team Building
13:58 Specialization and Mentorship in Team Building
17:55 Interview and Evaluation Methods
28:18 Recruiting Strategies & Transition to Management
36:01 Building a High Trust Environment
38:41 In-Person vs. Remote Work Cultures
42:36 Advice for Early Founders and Engineers
53 min
July 29, 2024 Coming soon to your favorite podcast player - 1st10 Podcast!
Yeah, we know this is 30 seconds of silence but, believe me, we have a LOT to say! Follow this podcast and keep an eye out for our first episode featuring Prakash Janakiraman, the co-founder of Nextdoor, which drops in on 2nd August 2024!
1 min

About 1st10 Podcast

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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,…

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About 1st10 Podcast