The Early Team

• How his law degree enables his success working  at early stage startups
• How he landed his first role at a startup through cold direct messaging on Twitter
• And what the role of the chief of staff means to him and his approach to excelling in the role

Anthony is the founder of NEXT, a community for entrepreneurial mid-career and exec-level job-seekers who want to be intentional about their next career chapters. 

He's helped hundreds and hundreds of job-seekers during his past 4 years in the career development space, which is his second act after spending a decade at Goldman Sachs.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• How his tenure at Goldman Sachs set the trajectory of his growth, founded on team-success mentality
• His learnings from building the On Deck First 50 program, focused on helping fellows navigate the startup ecosystem
• And his advice for those searching for their next role in current market conditions

Ankit is a product & growth expert who has worked with multiple early stage startups, playing a crucial role in scaling them from pre-seed to Series B.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• His experience at ELSA and how he was able to introduce and expand the product in the Indian market
• His insights into assessing major trends and whether to adopt them or stay the course
• And how he currently supports startups and founders at different stages, based on the growth challenges they’re experiencing

Thalida is a Product Engineering Leader who loves a good spreadsheet. They've spent their entire career in Product Engineering and Engineering Management at companies like OkCupid, Etsy, and Webflow. 

Thalida is now the Co-Founder and CTO of Tourus, a prop-tech startup with a mission to improve the rental experience for everyone involved. Thalida is a queer Trinidadian-American and avid Minecrafter based in New York. 

In this conversation, we talk about:

• How they mapped out their career journey as an engineer, by gaining experience at various sized startups
• The challenges they faced in the industry and the resources that have supported them along the way
• And how their unique experience and love for coding has empowered them to become a great manager and leader

Taylor is on a mission to create the opposite of loneliness in the world. She’s Head of Community at Groove, which is an extraordinary, free app for solo workers from all over the world to instantly connect and conquer their to-dos alongside each other. 

Before joining Groove, Taylor designed online learning experiences with best-selling author, Seth Godin. In her free time, she hosts special gatherings for community leaders and friends in New York City.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• How a wacky job opening with no description or title led to her working with Seth Godin at altMBA
• How she embraces dancing with fear to catapult her personal and professional growth
• And what drives her passion for bringing folks together to build communities where they want to be part of

EJ is a Husband, Father, Entrepreneur, and a first-generation America raised by Nigerian parents. 

He is an experienced leader in launching new products in both startup and corporate environments, including CBS Interactive and Seed&Spark, and co-founded his own startup, Bosa, a life management platform for working moms.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• His first experience at a startup, right after graduating from college
• Packing up his bags, moving to LA, and building his product craft at CBS
• And how “figuring it out” has been a pillar in his success, especially when navigating the unknown

Gabrielle is an HR Director, with extensive experience as a leader at both startups and large companies. She is passionate about empowering her team and enabling their growth, while cultivating a culture that focuses on belonging. 

In this conversation, we talk about:

• Her approach to setting up and scaling the HR function at early stage startups
• How she has navigated the layoff environment and the impact it has had on her
• And the questions she asks during the interview process, when assessing potential new employers 

Tamara has been a career Software Engineer, working on complex systems. She is currently a Lead Engineer at Acre, a growing real-estate tech startup redefining how we buy and live in our homes, where she joined as employee #1.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• Her experience working at larger companies, such as Raytheon and Red Hat, where she gained the expertise that empowered her work at early stage startups
• How she has been able to level up, at each stage, while managing imposter syndrome as part of the process
• And how she has been able to lead at Acre, both as employee #1 and as an engineering leader

Jonatan is a founder, engineer, and product leader. He was an early employee at Spotify, where he began as the first web-developer on the team. Currently, he’s the CEO at Squadformers, working to build exceptional Squads that accelerate meaningful missions.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• How at the age of 12, he started and grew a gaming community to over 20 million active users
• Lessons learned while working at Spotify in the early days
• And what it’s like to work at an early stage startup, while relocating from Sweden to the US

Tyler is a successful founder, CEO, tech leader, investor, advisor, motorcycle enthusiast, dad and husband. As the founder and CEO of a VC backed automotive tech company Drivably, Tyler led the company through an acquisition in 2022.  

Prior to that was an early employee and executive at Domo and HireVue. He currently coaches, advises, and invests in start up companies, CEO's and executive teams.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• How his mentality and grit of flipping cars, while in college, set the foundation for his success at his first startup role and thereafter
• Lessons learned as a sales leader, through coaching others and building teams from scratch
• And recommendations for founders that can also be applied to early stage employees