1st10 Podcast

#2 Bobby DeSimone, Pomerium.io Founder: Building an Open and High Performing Startup Culture


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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


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    Music by Roman Senyk from Pixabay

    Producer: Shrikant Joshi

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