1st10 Podcast

Alex Vogenthaler built a billion-dollar product at Google, ran the P&L for 93% of Stripe's revenue and then... simply walked away from it all because he wanted to build the exact AI tool that could improve his job!On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, Boris sits down with Alex Vogenthaler, Co-Founder and CEO of Grounded Agents. Alex's career is fascinating - it begins with NAND gates and research assistance for policy papers for the Fed and reaches the operator's seat at two of the most admired companies in the world, and then takes an abrupt left turn into the founding of Grounded Agents - a stealth AI startup tackling a class of problems most companies have simply accepted as "unsolvable.".Tune in to hear them talk about:What made Stripe exceptional The traditional career advantage signal rapidly losing relevanceSolving "Big company stuff" (i.e., enterprise dysfunction) using the right AI architectureThe real bottleneck in companies - Invisible Coordination FailureA historical parallel of the current agent ecosystem's inflection point.The importance of ability to operate in genuine open-ended ambiguity over "pedigree".Alex breaks down how the rise of agentic AI is reshaping not just individual productivity, but the very structure of organizations. So, if you think AI is just about copilots and productivity boosts, this episode will force you to rethink the game entirely. Chapters00:00 Teaser and Introductions01:46 From NAND Gates to the Fed to Google06:51 Why the Old Career Advice Is Breaking11:23 The Hidden Dysfunction Inside Enterprises17:28 What Grounded Agents Is Actually Solving24:55 The Past, Present, and (Possible) Future of Agents32:15 A Peek Behind The Grounded Agents Curtain36:19 The Engineer Profile Alex Is Actually Hiring38:47 "You Will Get Left Behind"Quotes:"Everything you've learned in school is going to be completely outdated in three years." - Alex Vogenthaler (08:01)"I don't think anyone cares about the brand on the resume. What people care about is, 'Have you built agents?'" - Alex Vogenthaler (09:27)"Stripe is nice to people... but they're super-freaking ruthless about the ideas." - Alex Vogenthaler (12:39)"I just felt compelled to go bring this thing into existence - and that's what we're doing!" - Alex Vogenthaler (20:43)"Everything that needs to get built is getting built... you just don't know which 10% matters." (29:10) "It's like if you're only working on mainframe software in 1999. [...] You just gotta be on board or you're gonna get left behind." - Alex Vogenthaler (38:47)Follow:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:Alex Vogenthaler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexvogenthaler/Grounded Agents: https://www.groundedagents.ai/:Grounded Agents on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/108753115Music by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

A new class of AI-native startups is accelerating at a pace that feels unnatural, while SaaS companies that looked "perfect" two years ago are suddenly stuck… On this episode of the 1st 10 Podcast, Luke Beseda goes into detail about why the traditional logic of startup hiring - build headcount, develop junior talent, scale the pipeline - has been quietly dismantled by AI. Luke is Partner, Talent Infrastructure at Lightspeed Venture Partners and he anchors Lightspeed's Launch Program for seed-stage founders. He has spent over a decade supporting hundreds of founders from pre-incorporation through pre-IPO. Tune in to hear Boris and Luke discuss:Why the "safe middle" for startups is disappearingHow and why hiring strategies are quietly excluding early-career talentWhy venture is becoming a "barbell game"Why the "headcount" as a metric of success is deadONE crucial mistake that locks a founding team's ceiling permanentlyIf you're building, hiring, or trying to break into startups, this episode is the new baseline you need to learn and incorporate very quickly into your own journey!Chapters00:00 Episode preview and Introductions03:46 The "Dystopian" Phase of AI?09:48 What Lightspeed Actually Does11:24 A Tale of Two Startup Worlds16:04 The Lightspeed Launch Program19:49 The Founder Attribute Nobody Talks About25:04 Collapse of the Entry-Level Pipeline29:05 Startups Can't Afford to "Develop Talent" Anymore32:11 New Comp Strategy: Fewer People, More Equity!34:19 What Winning Early Teams Look Like Today37:12 Rapidfire Round: The Early-Team Blueprint44:31 Luke's Bold Predictions for 202646:38 AI + Hardware = Real Robots??Quotes:"If you're not AI-native, you're in dystopian land." - Luke Beseda (11:24) "Being a little more junior and not having preset notions of how things are done, how an industry can move, what you can build - is actually an advantage to a large extent." - Luke Beseda (16:54)"That ability to learn things and do things really quickly is the make-or-break skill set for any founder." - Luke Beseda (19:35)"Very few of our companies - and the ones outside our portfolio - are prioritizing fresh-grad junior hires in the same way, because the tooling's already gotten so good that it can do a lot of this junior-level work for you, in almost any function." - Luke Beseda (25:04)"It's both easier to be a founder and much harder to be a founder than ever." - Luke Beseda (33:59)Follow:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:Luke Beseda on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lbeseda/Luke’s Official Bio on Lightspeed Venture Partners: https://lsvp.com/team-member/luke-beseda/Launch - Lightspeed Venture Partners: https://lsvp.com/launch/Music by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

Almost every founder is hunting the exact same 5000 people. And most of them are losing without even knowing it?On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, Samantha Price breaks down the uncomfortable reality of early-stage hiring: it's not meritocratic, it's not efficient, and it's definitely not passive.Samantha Price is the Founding Talent Partner at Audacious Ventures and she has spent 15 years in the trenches of engineering recruitment - scaling teams at Intercom and OneLogin. and now embedding herself inside seed-stage startups to do the actual work of team-building. Tune in to hear them talk about:The secret scoreboard most founders never see.A three-part formula that most founders skip entirely.Why most founders avoid the most prestigious engineering resumes. 🚩The cruel paradox in Silicon Valley junior employees encounter when 'graduating' to senior leadership.The popular hiring ritual costing seed companies $15K a pop.Together, Boris and Samantha offer a ground-level view of startup hiring in 2026: aggressive, asymmetric, and brutally competitive.Chapters00:00 Introductions02:51 Fight Harder Than Your Recruiter06:00 Candidates Don't Know What They Want10:24 Venture Talent's "Ivory Tower" 18:11 The "5,000 Engineer" Bottleneck20:13 FAANG Isn't Enough Anymore21:47 "Force-of-Nature" Founders24:09 The Perfect Early Engineer Profile27:14 The 55% Comp Spike 31:11 "Excitement Convergence"37:30 Work-Trials Are A Trap40:19 Samantha's Predictions for 202643:05 A Paradox And A ConclusionQuotes:"You don't get the team you deserve. You get the team that you fight for!" - Samantha Price (02:40)"We have companies offering $250K to new grads and 1% of the business." - Samantha Price (27:14)"Everything dies at seed! You have a great couple of meetings and then the candidate doesn't hear back from you for six days? That's death at our stage." - Samantha Price (34:55)"On one hand, we're telling these kids, 'Go all in. Go 9-9-6. Be obsessed.' But then, on the other side, when you become an executive, you better show that you have personal growth too!" - Samantha Price (43:27)Follow:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:Samantha Price on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-price-5b453532/Audacioius Ventures: https://www.audacious.coSamantha on X/Twitter: https://x.com/hellospriceSamantha’s Blog Post on “Timing Your Offer: https://www.audacious.co/thoughts/timing-your-offer-rightMusic by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

You've sent hundreds of applications and landed ZERO jobs because you are playing a game that quietly ended years ago... On this solo episode of the 1st10 Podcast, Boris Epstein dismantles the dominant narrative that AI is killing entry-level jobs and replaces it with a harsher truth: companies aren't rejecting candidates - they're ignoring them. Tune in to hear Boris explain:Why your 200 applications are returning barely any replies.Why companies aren't hiring entry-level talentHow a fresh grad can outcompete a 10-year veteranHow to get a hiring manager to want you even if there's no open job.Why becoming a compelling candidate has never been easier(BONUS: For high-agency grads, Boris outlines a business opportunity that the market is craving - and most graduates haven't even considered it!)The real bottleneck isn't demand, it's relevance. Companies are still aggressively searching for people who can move their AI adoption forward.PS: If you're a graduate stuck in the "apply and wait" loop, you need to see AND share this episode right now!Chapters00:00 200 Applications! 3 Replies?!02:00 Why Companies Stopped Investing in Entry-Level Talent04:22 The Unfair Advantage That Fresh Grads Are Sitting On06:49 The "Black Hole" of Job Applications09:22 The Playbook For Fresh Grads That Gets You Hired12:02 ...And What Happens When You Add AI to It15:14 Should Universities Be Doing More?18:16 The AI Bear Case - A Brutal Reality Check20:55 What an Employer Actually Wants to Hear From You22:46 "Extra Credits" for High-Agency Grads27:11 A Warning For 2026 (And The Way Out)Quotes:"No! AI is not taking all the entry-level jobs! The market is not broken. If anything, companies are in a full-blown talent crisis." - Boris Epstein (00:17)"You don't have to go to college to learn AI. AI could teach you AI! You don't have to go to college or even have a job to learn how to do that job. AI can teach you how to do that job." - Boris Epstein (05:08)"I don't think anybody is finding jobs through job applicants right now. It's a matter of luck. It's... Play the lottery." - Boris Epstein (09:03)"My prediction is that college graduates should prepare to not have a job for longer. They should prepare to live at home with their parents or find ways to make ends meet or consider alternative ways to earn income while the workforce does find a way to employ them." - Boris Epstein (27:11)Follow:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:Music by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

What if everything your financial advisor ever told you was designed to benefit *them*, not you? On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, Boris Epstein sits down with Shashank Chiranewala, founder of Plutus, to unpack the unconventional journey that took him from investment banking to product leadership at Microsoft and Meta - and ultimately into building fintech startups. Shashank takes us through an unconventional founder journey: spotting a painful gap in U.S. immigration software while applying for his own green card at Meta, building a SaaS solution in a week out of sheer intellectual curiosity, getting acquired within 18 months - and then launching his *next* company before the ink on the acquisition paperwork had dried. Shashank is currently building Plutus to tear down the wall between everyday investors and the kind of sophisticated, research-driven portfolios that only hedge funds and ultra-wealthy individuals have historically been able to access.Specifically, don't miss the part where Shashank delivers blunt insights on Big Tech bloat, startup culture, hiring founding engineers, and how small elite teams can outperform massive organizations.PS: At Plutus, Shashank and his lean team of six are building a marketplace that matches everyday investors with bespoke, research-backed portfolios across 60+ themes and risk profiles, executing those strategies automatically inside the investor's own brokerage account. And right now, they're looking for their next founding engineer.Chapters00:00 Teaser02:04 Introductions & Ice-breakers06:04 The personality trait that keeps pushing him into startups09:22 A startup to solve his own problem12:06 The uncomfortable reality of Big Tech17:25 "AI probably won’t kill too many jobs"18:57 How a startup accidentally got acquired22:43 A spreadsheet with 70 startup ideas24:11 The investing problem that sparked a new company28:31 An investing system that's been rigged against you34:23 How Plutus is helping unlock hedge-fund-style portfolios37:58 Big Banks sell you stuff you don't need42:35 The DNA of Plutus' six-person startup team45:04 What it takes to join this team - and what you'll get50:48 Why Plutus doesn't sell AI (but uses a ton of it)53:13 The 5x-10x productivity boost from AI toolsQuotes:"I was routinely in meetings with 15 engineers getting paid over a million dollars a year!" - Shashank Chiranewala (13:42) "If you don’t have $100 million, you’re basically locked out of elite investment strategies." - Shashank Chiranewala (32:30) "No AI is ever supposed to be the customer product." - Shashank Chiranewala (51:12) "The broker has nothing to do with an actual investment strategy. Their incentives are completely misaligned. They want you to trade. They make money on commissions." - Shashank Chiranewala (39:49)"We're just building for the customer. And my customer needs to manage their money better." - Shashank Chiranewala (51:12)Follow:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 Links:Shashank Chiranewala on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shashank-chiranewala/Plutus (website): https://www.runplutus.comPlutus (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/company/runplutus/Seattle entrepreneurs raise cash for new startup aiming to democratize thematic portfolio investing - GeekWire: https://www.geekwire.com/2025/seattle-entrepreneurs-raise-cash-for-new-startup-aiming-to-democratize-thematic-portfolio-investing/Citrini Research: https://www.citriniresearch.comMusic by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

What happens when you realize in middle school that the greatest impact you can make is solving humanity's most complex diseases? On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, host Boris Epstein sits down with Alice Zhang, founder and CEO of Verge Genomics, to unpack why drug discovery has been stuck for decades - and why AI, used the right way, might finally change that. Alice dropped out of a prestigious UCLA MD-PhD program to build an AI-powered drug discovery company that's rewriting the rules of biotech. In this conversation, Alice reveals:Why relying on mouse models to predict human drug responses has led to a 90% failure rate in clinical trialsHow conducting 1,200+ interviews helped Alice build a rare team of engineers and scientists fluent in both machine learning and biologyThe conscious culture framework that eliminates workplace dramaHow Verge compressed the traditional 8-year, hundreds-of-millions-dollar journey from discovery to clinical trials down to just 4 yearsWhy it is a problem that we fundamentally don't understand what causes the diseaseSpecifically, don't miss the part where Alice predicts why the pharmacological research industry will move away from the current hybrid model and what it is likely to split into!Chapters:00:00 - Episode Preview02:05 - Introductions05:05 - Small Questions, Big Implicationsg13:18 - "Just Start" ALWAYS Beats Confidence16:21 - The Mouse Problem22:40 - Beating ChatGPT To The ChatGPT Moment28:26 - 3 Areas for AI-IMpact In Drug-Development33:22 - Why Are Drugs Are So D*** Expensive?!35:07 - Building A Dataset That No One Else Has39:31 - "Conscious Culture" Careers at Verge49:35 - A 2026 Prediction Most Founders Won't Like52:09 - Contact Details and Life LessonsQuotes:"The feeling I wanted to have was that I had made a big impact and left a legacy on the world." - Alice Zhang (05:27)"A mouse swimming in a water bath is not going to predict whether a human loses their memory faster or slower." - Alice Zhang (16:14)"No transformative technology from day one has ever been a smashing success." - Alice Zhang (23:49)"The problem with Alzheimer's disease is not that we don't have a drug against it. It's that we completely have no idea what causes Alzheimer's disease." - Alice Zhang (33:52)"Sometimes the best trick for catching a wave isn't actually working hard, it's being at the right position at the right time." - Alice Zhang (52:09)Follow:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:Alice Zhang on LInkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-zhang-2087862b/Verge Genomics: https://www.vergegenomics.com/Alice Zhang on ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alice-Zhang-8Music by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

The startup world is splitting into two radically different realities - and 2026 will be the year this divide becomes impossible to ignore. On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, Boris grades his 2025 forecasts (4.5/5 - not bad!), revealing which bets paid off and where he missed the mark on Bitcoin's meteoric rise. But the real focus is forward: FIVE bold predictions for 2026 that cover everything from crypto's regulatory renaissance and the coming IPO tsunami to a troubling "tale of two cities" emerging between those building the AI-powered future and those struggling to break in. Tune in to hear Boris share incredibly insightful takes that explain:Why last year's "wild guesses" suddenly look obvious in hindsightThe quiet shift that makes this moment historically differentA comeback story most people are calling too earlyWhy talent, not ideas, becomes the real bottleneckHow "efficiency" and "hiring booms" can both be trueThe emergence of TWO Americas - the AIs and The AIn'tsWhether you're a founder chasing funding, an engineer choosing your path, or simply trying to understand where the tech world is headed, this episode cuts through the hype to reveal what's really at stake in 2026.Chapters00:00 Introductions02:18 Grading the 2025 Crystal Ball05:04 When AI Agents Became Non-Negotiable08:58 The Meme That Accidentally Explained the Job Market12:28 A Framework That Suddenly Explains Everything14:20 Prediction #1: A Controversial Bet. (Again.)19:06 Prediction #2: "Floodgates Opening..."21:10 Prediction #3: A Wave of... Consolidation?27:05 Prediction #4: Hiring Will... Boom?!30:02 Prediction #5: The Tale of Two Cities35:10 Is the American Dream Really Over?Quotes:"This year, every single company that's building in the AI space needs their engineers to have agentic development experience. So it's crazy how, in just one year, the world went from, 'No one needs to know how to do this' to 'Everyone needs to know how to do this.'" - Boris Epstein (06:31)"I get it, Stripe. But at the same time think of the public, think of the people! The people want to be in on your success. And that's what getting to go public provides for the actual public. And so do it for the people, Stripe!" - Boris Epstein (20:46)"It's very easy to see today that the future is being built NOT. AT. FAANG. Right? And so the episode really just talks about the important choice that an engineer has to make and it is: 'Do they want to be a part of the future?' Or, 'do they want a very cushy compensation and work-life package?'" - Boris Epstein (26:33)Follow Us On:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Connect with usWebsite: www.1st10.comPodcast: www.1st10.com/podcast Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineersLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Episodes Referenced:- S3E01 feat. Philip Su: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWtcGUJJgOE- S3E03 feat. Daniel Rock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUCYRa6YqDc- S3E04 feat. Sara Ali: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6ZEHOGbSjk- S3E09 feat. Anastasios Angelopoulos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPoqP5fiqYoSources:- 2025: The State of Generative AI in the Enterprise | Menlo Ventures - https://menlovc.com/perspective/2025-the-state-of-generative-ai-in-the-enterprise/- The State of AI: Global Survey 2025 | McKinsey - https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai- Rise | Top Global Hiring Trends for Startups (2025 Data) - https://www.riseworks.io/blog/top-global-hiring-trends-for-startupsMusic by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

What happens when three PhD students accidentally build the infrastructure that every major AI lab depends on? OR What if the AI benchmarks everyone trusts are measuring the wrong thing entirely?On this episode of the *1st10 Podcast*, host Boris Epstein sits down with Anastasios Angelopoulos, co-founder and CEO of LMArena, to unpack LMArena went from a Berkeley side project built with free pizza and zero revenue to a $100M company with 42 employees and tens of millions of users in under two years.Tune in to hear them talk about:- How Academic AI benchmarks measure the wrong things and real-world user feedback is - fundamentally changing how models compete- Why $100M wasn't crazy for a "seed" round - especially when a company has already proven product-market fit- The diversification play in AI, or why dozens of winners will emerge, not just one dominant player- Why Personalized AI i.e., individual leaderboards that route you to the best model is the obvious next step.- The uncomfortable automation truth - Rote jobs WILL disappear, period.- What happens when academic rigor meets commercial speed. (HINT: An unfair advantage in AI evaluation!)Specifically, don't miss Anastasios' surprisingly pragmatic advice on what AI's acceleration means for jobs, companies, and individuals and why being early to the AI revolution means you still have 20 years to position yourself.Chapters00:00 Introductions and ice-breakers05:41 The Academic Path That Accidentally Led to AI's Center08:36 A Side Project That Refused to Stay Small12:04 When Academics Realize They Built a Company15:50 The Bradley-Terry Model: Turning Preferences Into Ranked Data19:22 Your Personal AI Leaderboard Is Coming23:48 "We're 20 Years Ahead of the Pack"26:17 Why a $100M Seed Round Was the Rational Move29:58 Who Makes Up LMArena? And Why?34:47 The LMArena Hiring Philosophy36:56 The Jobs AI Will Definitely Kill40:12 Surf the Wave or Get Pulled UnderQuotes:"We're at Berkeley we're eating pizza, free pizza, making no money but Sam Altman cares what we're doing!" - Anastasios Angelopoulos (10:49)"We're academics by nature. We don't care about aggrandizing or enriching ourselves." - Anastasios Angelopoulos (12:28)"Who cares how well it does on a Math Olympiad? I do mathematics in my work, and even I don't care about it!" - Anastasios Angelopoulos (14:36)"We're very, very early... There's trillions of dollars of economic value that are waiting to be created." - Anastasios Angelopoulos (23:59)"If you're somebody who's proofreading text for grammatical mistakes [...] yeah, you should expect that that job is not going to be there in, like, 20 years!" - Anastasios Angelopoulos (38:19)"The right thing to do is probably to lean in, to try to use the technology, become an expert in it, and be at the forefront of modernizing your field. Because if you do that, then you can be carried with the wave. The problem is if you don't surf the wave, you might get caught in the pullback!" - Anastasios Angelopoulos (40:29)Follow:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:Music by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

What if the biggest failure of AI today isn't creativity - but math?On this episode of the *1st10 Podcast*, host Boris Epstein sits down with Sreerama Tripuramallu, a repeat founder whose career spans NVIDIA, a Sequoia-backed startup exit to Harvey AI, and now a stealth consumer product tackling one of the most painful problems professionals face: taxes.Sree walks through his unconventional career path - from being the person whose personal-finance post is still pinned inside NVIDIA's Slack, to building Mirage through the pre-ChatGPT era, pivoting fast during the AI boom, and ultimately exiting just two years in. And now, after seeing first-hand how broken tax planning is, Sree makes a contrarian claim: general-purpose LLMs will never be good at taxes. Not because they aren't smart, but because accuracy and precision matter more than language.The discussion dives into a myriad of topics, such asThe Hidden Cost of General AI: Large language models achieve only 27-33% accuracy on tax computations, revealing a massive gap between general AI capabilities and domain-specific precision.The Acqui-Hire Formula: Getting acquired is sometimes about building relationships with shared investors and finding cultural fit with fast-growing companies at the right moment.The Impending CPA Crisis: 75% of CPAs will retire in the next 10-15 years with no clear succession plan.The User-First Building Philosophy: Founders who optimize for end-user experience over technology choices automatically make better trade-offs. The Serendipity of Startup Inception: The best startups often emerge from problems founders can't stop thinking about, combined with unexpected investor interest.Don't miss the part where Sree explains why he believes we're in an AI bubble that won't actually pop, while making a clear comparison to the dot-com boom (and bust) of early-2000s!Chapters00:00 Introductions02:01 From Personal Finance Guru to NVIDIA Engineer06:06 When "Stop Trying" Worked Better Than Hustling10:12 Building Side Projects Until Burnout Forced a Choice14:05 NVIDIA → Mirage → Harvey20:23 Finding Community Inside a Rocketship26:51 A Side Obsession Turns Serious32:17 A Very Different Kind of AI Product37:25 Careers @ Sree's Stealth Startup: Applied AI Engineers42:41 AI Won't Kill Jobs And The AI Bubble WON'T Pop46:05 Conclusion & Contact DetailsQuotes:"I stopped worrying about the job and I started worrying about enjoying what I was doing. And it's kind of how I approached everything in my career." - Sreerama Tripuramallu (07:25)"It's not that I'm against paying tax - I just want control over how it's paid." - Sreerama Tripuramallu (30:31)"The LLMs have anywhere from like a 27 to 33% hit rate when it comes to tax computation... My hypothesis from the very beginning was that these models are not going to be able to solve tax." - Sreerama Tripuramallu (34:40)"Excel didn't take away a bunch of CPAs and accountants. It created more of them. [AI is] going to be transformative for all professional work, but it's going to change how we do work." - Sreerama Tripuramallu (43:08)Follow:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Connect with usWebsite: www.1st10.comPodcast: www.1st10.com/podcast Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineersLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:Sree's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sree-tripuramallu/Mirage - acquired by Harvey AIHarvey AI: https://www.harvey.aiSequoia Arc: https://www.sequoiacap.com/arcMusic by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

What kind of founder decides to build a full radiology practice, an AI research lab, and a software company - all at once?On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, Boris Epstein sits down with Rustin Rassoli, founder of Epsilon Labs to talk about why solving the U.S. radiology crisis requires breaking the rules of traditional healthcare tech. Rustin recounts his early entrepreneurial experiments, the lessons learned at Atomic VC, and the childhood experiences that exposed him to the failures and bottlenecks inside medical imaging. He details how Epsilon manages a daily throughput of 500+ patients, why existing AI models fail at medical imaging, and what it really takes to build a hybrid org where radiologists, ML researchers, and world-class engineers operate as one unit. Rustin’s unconventional path led him from drop-shipping at age 10, to cold-DMing his way into venture studios, to tackling one of healthcare's most critical problems. And he’s now betting that his integrated 3-in-1 approach might be the only viable path to solving a medical crisis accelerating toward disaster.Inside you’ll find answers to some fascinating questions, such as:Why a "normal" AI startup approach simply cannot solve one of healthcare's fastest-accelerating failures. How a childhood insight inside an imaging center quietly shaped a multi-layered startup strategy years later. What happens when engineers and radiologists attempt to collaborate without speaking the same language. Which single overlooked bottleneck has the potential to determine whether AI can meaningfully affect patient outcomes at scale. Why Rustin believes a tectonic shift is coming for AI startups - and why most won't survive it. Specifically, don’t miss the part where Rustin shares candid views on the current AI bubble. Spoiler alert, he isn’t very happy with Silicon Valley and its ‘throw-cash-at-everything’ VC culture!Chapters00:00 Introductions02:16 An Unexpected Origin Story05:18 Learning the Hard Way in Zero-to-One Land08:31 "Getting the First Job" Might Be the Wrong Goal12:15 The Radiology Crisis Is Impossible to Ignore17:14 What Happens When Demand Explodes and Supply Collapses20:41 Solving This Problem Requires Building a 3-in-123:07 The Strange Dance Between Radiologists and AI Engineers27:52 "Just Make the Model Better" Isn't How AI Works31:46 Medical AI Accuracy & Hidden Technical Battles35:56 Building a Team for an "Impossible" Mission38:47 A Brutal Reality of the AI Talent War41:53 Predictions for 2026 (HINT: The Bubble Must Burst!)Quotes:"I want my tombstone to say, 'This guy solved the radiology shortage and did some other kind of impactful things with medical imaging.'" (16:43) "I think engineers don't fully appreciate how nuanced radiology is and the fact that it's not binary. And a Radiologist A can be very kind of differently opinionated on something than Radiologist B." (28:08) "99% of what's being created today is not very valuable to the world." (39:25) Follow:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 Links:Music by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

56% more job openings, 3x more applications, but 8 MORE days to fill roles! CEO of Gem.ai shares data that explains why most recruiting careers are about to hit a wall…In this eye-opening conversation, Boris Epstein sits down with Steven Bartel, CEO of Gem.ai, to explore the shocking transformation happening in recruiting right now. From North Korean actors infiltrating hiring processes to AI-generated deepfake interviews, the recruiting landscape has become a battlefield. Steve reveals how recruiters are drowning under 3x more applications while handling 56% more open roles, yet companies refuse to expand recruiting teams. Steve shares exclusive data on how AI is saving companies up to 90% of their application review time and how Gem is embedding AI deeply into recruiting workflows - from sourcing agents to fraud detection - to help recruiters work smarter, not just harder. Tune in to hear them talk about:The Application Apocalypse: Recruiters are experiencing a 3x increase in applications while handling 56% more open roles.The Fraud Arms Race: Fraud in hiring is escalating, with cases of North Korean actors, deepfake interviews, and AI-generated resumes.The Efficiency Revolution: AI is cutting application review time by up to 90% for leading companies.The Human-AI Partnership: Recruiters who embrace AI will outperform those who resist it; AI augments human judgment.The Data-Context Challenge: The future of recruiting AI is about having complete relationship histories and touchpoint data to enable hyper-personalized outreach.Specifically, don't miss Steve's bold prediction on how he expects AI to reshape recruiting over the next few years!Chapters00:00 Highlights from the episode03:45 When Your Interview Is With AI09:08 North Korea's Recruiting Infiltration12:06 The Deepfake Interview Dilemma19:13 Why Recruiters Are Burning Out23:18 Will AI Kill the Recruiting Industry?27:24 FAANG Engineers vs AI Natives - a Recap33:24 The Recruiter's New Role in an AI-First Future41:40 A Bold Prediction About What Comes Next46:29 Solving The Source of Truth ProblemQuotes:"Each recruiter, on average, is dealing with three times the inbound applicants across our customer base. And more than 20% of our customers are getting thousands of applicants for a single role." - Steve Bartel (02:18)"I think some of these folks are using deepfake videos, which are getting surprisingly sophisticated. I've heard this recommendation where companies are going as far as to say 'Hey, can you put your hand in front of your face?'" - Steve Bartel (12:25)"If you talk to most recruiters in the industry, they are working a lot harder than ever before." - Steve Bartel (25:34)"AI is not going to replace recruiters, but recruiters who embrace AI are going to replace the recruiters who don't." - Steve Bartel (43:50)"The hardest part of AI is no longer like the underlying algorithm. [...] The hard part about AI is what data does the AI have actually access to and what kind of context does it have access to..." - Steve Bartel (46:01)Follow:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:Gem: https://www.gem.comSteve Bartel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-bartel/Gem’s Benchmarks Report 2025: https://www.gem.com/resource/recruiting-benchmarksMusic by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, Boris Epstein, founder of 1st10 and former FAANG-level recruiter, reveals a shocking reality behind AI startup hiring practices and why the most talented engineers in tech might be getting left behind. Drawing from his decade of experience recruiting for top tech firms like Robinhood, Instacart, and Stripe, Boris explores why AI founders are wary of FAANG talent, what biases drive this perception, and how engineers can adapt to stay relevant. He contrasts grind culture with lifestyle gigs, zero-to-one building with scale, and passion projects with polished résumés. The episode is a wake-up call for FAANG engineers as well as a cautionary tale for startups dismissing valuable talent too quickly.Tune in to hear Boris explain:The Great Talent Paradox: AI startups systematically avoiding FAANG engineers seems to be creating a disconnect between supply and demand in the hiring market.The Hurdles of Work Culture: The 9-to-5 easy-going lifestyle preferred by FAANG engineers versus the 60-70 hour weeks demanded by AI startups is presenting a major hiring barrier.The HP-Internet Moment: Engineers face a stark choice: be part of the AI future or risk obsolescence if they don't adapt quickly.The Zero-to-One Test: Building something from scratch is the ultimate litmus test for AI startup hiring. Specifically, don't miss the part where Boris reveals how the bias shown by AI startups against FAANG talent could backfire and what FAANG engineers need to do, if (when?) that happens.Chapters00:00 Highlights From The Episode01:23 3 Deadly Biases05:18 A Grand Canyon-Sized Gap12:13 The Power of Passion Projects15:03 HP in 1994, FAANG in 2025?22:05 The Case for FAANG Talent28:21 How to Break Into AI33:27 Startups Don’t Wait, Why Should You?37:52 A Market on Collision Course43:31 Why Both Worlds Must Evolve46:33 Do You Want to Be Part of the Future?Quotes:"The reason [AI Startups] are working very hard is because AI is believed to be by these startups (to be) a completely transformational technology, completely transformational opportunity." - Boris Epstein (07:25)"Get off the FAANG bus, get into the AI startup bus!" - Boris Epstein (17:40)"If I had a dollar and I could only put it into one of the two startups, I’d probably bet on the FAANG startup." - Boris Epstein (23:32)"Your resume isn't showing anybody what you could do for them. Your resume is showing the world what you did in the past." - Boris Epstein (30:53)Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Connect with usWebsite: www.1st10.comPodcast: www.1st10.com/podcast Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineersLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:FAANG companies (Facebook/Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_TechLangChain (open-source AI framework) - https://www.langchain.com/Music by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

In this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, Boris Epstein sits down with Sara Ali, Senior Director of Corporate Development & Strategy at Yahoo, to dissect the frenzy around AI-driven M&A. From Meta's $14.3 billion partial acquisition of Scale AI to Google's talent-grab deals with Character.AI, Sara breaks down the creative deal structures that are bypassing regulatory scrutiny while commanding unprecedented valuations. With her engineering background and 12+ years in M&A across companies like Robinhood, Google, and Microsoft's M12 venture arm, Sara reveals why traditional revenue multiples no longer apply in AI, how "scarcity multiples" are driving billion-dollar talent acquisitions, and what this means for engineers and founders navigating this chaotic landscape.Tune in to hear them talk about:The Regulatory Loophole Era: Creative deal structures, like non-voting stakes and licensing agreements, are allowing tech giants to acquire AI talent and assets while sidestepping regulatory reviews.Talent Is the New Gold: AI deals today aren't about revenue multiples - they're about "scarcity multiples" i.e., locking in talent and know-how before competitors do.M&A Budget vs HR Budget: Corporate development and HR departments operate with completely different compensation constraints, enabling acquired talent to earn 10-20x what traditionally-hired engineers make.Equity Is NOT Important: Being deemed "key talent" during an acquisition can be more lucrative than initial startup equity. Specifically, don't miss the part where Sara boldly predicts how GPU access might be used as a bargaining chip in future M&A deals.Chapters00:00 Highlights from the episode02:07 Sara's Journey05:15 Yahoo's Quiet Renaissance08:10 Decoding Corporate Development Secrets11:18 Why AI Is Too Big to Miss14:25 The Meta-Scale Play: "Have Your Cake, Eat It Too!"18:18 How Big Tech Skips the Regulators23:30 Winners, Losers, and Others28:25 Scarcity Multiples and Startup Shells31:09 The $100 Million Question38:43 Meta Brakes But M&A Won't Stop41:07 The Early Engineer's Survival Guide47:04 A Playbook For Founder's Playbook50:27 Sara's Bold Prediction about GPUsQuotes:"Meta gets all the benefits of owning Scale.AI but none of the regulatory headache." - Sara Ali (17:25)"No one really knows how the market is going to settle, but everyone knows that they can't just sit around and wait for it. Otherwise, they're going to miss." - Sara Ali (31:31)"While we may have to pay equity for base salary, you could end up getting millions of dollars of an equity grant and an acquired-engineer maybe making 10x, 20x what a regularly-hired engineer might make." - Sara Ali (33:55)"In AI specifically, more than any other space right now, the caliber of your team is crucial." - Sara Ali (48:01)Follow:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:Music by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, Boris Epstein sits down with Daniel Rock - economist, professor at Wharton, and co-founder of Workhelix - to decode the messy reality of AI's impact on jobs, productivity, and enterprise transformation. Daniel brings a unique perspective as both an academic economist studying digital technologies and an entrepreneur building AI solutions for enterprises. The conversation explores why AI adoption might take longer than tech enthusiasts expect, how companies can strategically deploy AI tools, and why the "entry-level jobs apocalypse" might not happen as predicted. Daniel also shares his insights on teaching in the AI era, the challenges of building an AI startup, and his measured predictions for the technology's future impact.Daniel is refreshingly clear-eyed about where we actually are and where we're likely going. Below are some of the standout lessons I took away from our conversation.An entry-level job-pocalypse? Well, no. AI could just as likely augment junior talent as replace it, and in some cases, even increase demand for skilled oversight.A job isn't a task. It's a bundle of interdependent skills, roles, and context - making full automation much harder than people think.Generative AI = the new Excel. Used poorly, it's lazy. Used well, it supercharges creativity, productivity, and learning - especially among students.An Educational Revolution Is Underway. AI is quietly transforming classroom dynamics and assessment criteria in ways that mirror future workplace changes.Real transformation takes time. Like electricity and the internet, AI as a general-purpose tech will only reshape enterprise when paired with new systems, workflows, and retraining.AI Has A Real Risk No One's Talking About. It’s not superintelligence - it's bad actors with superpowers. And it matters a lot more in the near term than you think.Chapters00:00 Key Ideas From the Episode05:32 Confessions of a Multi-Disciplinary Economist08:31 How Students Actually Use AI11:24 Redefining Originality in the GPT Era16:21 A Startup That's Betting Against the Wait-and-See Crowd19:30 Inside the Enterprise AI Mess24:22 Jobs Are Systems, Not Widgets28:12 Reviewers, Not Doers: The Software Engineering Shift32:00 Workhelix: Building in the Eye of the Storm38:42 Predictions from the Pragmatist45:26 Careers @ WorkhelixQuotes"I tend to make everyone a little bit upset when I talk about Artificial Intelligence." - Daniel Rock (02:28)"I'm a little skeptical that the entry-level jobs apocalypse is even going to happen. A job is not, like, an easy thing to just take out." - Daniel Rock (00:00)"My friends, Gene Kim and Steve Yegge, call that 'The Potential Closet of Eldritch Horrors.' I do not envy the talent wars that Meta and OpenAI and Anthropic have to fight in." - Daniel Rock (00:00)"You don't get an A if you're correct anymore! You have to be correct AND original! You'll get a B if you're correct." - Daniel Rock (11:56)"AI will pay off your credit card debt on the technical debt side. So if you start racking up a lot of technical debt, that can be okay because AI will wipe it out to some extent later on!" - Daniel Rock (35:06)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 Links:Daniel Rock’s website: https://www.danielianrock.com Daniel Rock (Operations, Information and Decisions Department, Wharton School, UPenn): https://oid.wharton.upenn.edu/profile/rockdi/Daniel’s startup, Workhelix: https://www.workhelix.com/ Music by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

Mark Zuckerberg dropping $100 million each on SIXTEEN engineers (and counting) might be a wild strategy that could hand Meta the AI crown.On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, host Boris Epstein dives into Meta's jaw-dropping AI talent acquisition spree that's sending shockwaves through Silicon Valley. From $100 million sign-on bonuses to billion-dollar offers, Meta is rewriting the rules of tech recruiting. From the $14B Scale AI buy to $100M+ offers for individual engineers, Boris unpacks the strategic genius - and controversy - behind Zuckerberg's pivot to building a "Superintelligence Lab." He explains why this isn't reckless spending but a calculated blend of corporate development and recruiting tactics, designed to leapfrog competition in the AI arms race. Along the way, he dissects the ripple effects across compensation norms, startup hiring, and the tech industry's status quo.Tune in to hear Boris explain how (and why):Meta isn't "just hiring" - it's merging a long-standing "corporate development" strategy with individual recruiting.Zuck's pivot pattern is clear. Mobile-first, Metaverse, and now AI - with "lockdown" focus and willingness to spend massively to catch up or lead.The hires weren't just motivated by massive paychecks. Mark Zuckerberg's compelling vision of "superintelligence for every human in the world" was a solid hook.Meta has forced an industry-wide compensation reset. Meta's strategy is forcing competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic to dramatically increase their own compensation packages to retain talent. Ripple effects will be seen beyond 'Big AI labs' - every competitor is now rethinking pay, retention, and how to raid rivals' best people.Discover why Meta is betting billions on superintelligence, how they're rewriting the rules of recruiting, and what this means for startups, engineers, and the future of AI.Chapters00:00 Key Ideas From The Episode01:19 Why Meta is Dropping $100M Like Pocket Change03:19 When Acquisitions Hit a Wall07:49 Zuck's Lockdown 2.0 Was Worth $14 Billion?13:20 The Math That Makes "Insane" Offers Make Sense17:04 The Hiring Model That Breaks ALL Industry Rules!21:10 Speed Was the Point, Not the Problem.26:53 What Kind of a Smart Guy Rejects a $1B Offer?!32:25 Will The Riches Trickle Down To... You?37:26 AI for Everyone - Or a Dystopian Nightmare?Quotes:"What Meta did in this case - which is, in my opinion, brilliant and landscape-changing - is they brought in individual people after their initial acquisition but for the same acquisition-level proceeds!" - Boris Epstein (16:44)"If Meta is willing to offer $100+ million, they’re equally allowed to ask for any timeline they want." - Boris Epstein (23:28)"I do believe that we'll see quite a meaningful trickle effect... Every single company CEO is taking notice. Every single company Corp Dev group, every single engineer, is taking notice." - Boris Epstein (32:25)Follow:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 usWebsite: www.1st10.comPodcast: www.1st10.com/podcast Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineersLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:“Blink”, by Malcolm Gladwell - https://www.gladwell.com/blink/Open AI’s Head of Recruiting posts about Meta’s “exploding” offers: https://x.com/jquinonero/status/1940926946705395943The Developer Who Got A $1B+ Offer: https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/mark-zuckerberg-mira-murati-meta-thinking-machines-lab-andrew-tulloch-offer-125080601247_1.htmlMusic by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

What if the AI revolution doesn't take all jobs but *just* enough to crash society?On this first episode of the latest season of the 1st10 Podcast, host Boris Epstein is joined by ex-Microsoft, ex-Meta, and ex-OpenAI engineer and founder of the AI-powered podcast app Superphonic, Philip Su for a conversation about AI, jobs, and the future of humanity. Philip lays out why he's building small while the rest of the world races toward scale. He opens up about career pivots, the myth of vibecoding, and the sobering risks that even a 5% disruption from AI could cause. From building Facebook Video Calling to solo-coding his dream podcast app, this is a rare look at tech from someone who's seen every stage of the game but is now sounding the alarm…Tune in to hear them talk about a variety of topics, such as:*Career Pivots Require Self-Awareness: Philip's leap from Microsoft to Facebook (when it was still risky) underscores the importance of recognizing when your skills need reinvention.*Small Teams, Big Impact: With AI tools, a solo developer can now build what once required a team!*Shipping is the real grind: The hardest part of software? Not coding. It's the “business of software”—App Store approvals, signing certs, compliance, etc.Podcasts Are Ripe for Disruption: Superphonic's innovations (like topic-based subscriptions) reveal how overlooked niches can be goldmines for builders.AI is beating us at being human: It does art, music, and writing better than the average person!*The "Faster Faster" Problem: AI's self-improving nature means societal disruptions could happen at an accelerating pace.Specifically, don't miss the part where Philip explains how specialization won't necessarily save you from losing your job to AI but something else will. Listen to the episode to know what that might be!Chapters00:00 Introduction05:23 A Risky Leap: From Microsoft to Facebook13:47 Building a Podcast Player (in 2025!)19:36 Coding Now vs Then (Spoiler: It's Wild!)23:02 Can A Solo Dev Compete With The Big Guys?30:11 Vibe Coding - It's What You've Been Waiting For!32:46 Inside OpenAI: A Glimpse Behind the Curtain38:09 AI Is Not Like Social Media; It's MUCH Bigger!43:30 Why This Time Might Actually Be Different46:02 Winter is Coming -- For ALL White-Collar Workers!Quotes:"Most of software development is not the coding of Tetris. That is hardly the hard part of the problem." - Philip Su (30:11)"We used to think with the Jetsons that the robots would clean our houses while we did art and music and all this stuff. And it turns out that the robots first came for the art and the music, and we're still cleaning our own houses." - Philip Su (39:54)"Winter is coming. That is my warning." - Philip Su (49:03)Connect with usWebsite: www.1st10.comPodcast: www.1st10.com/podcast Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineersLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:Music by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

SummaryOn this final episode of Season 2 of the 1st10 Podcast, Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger outline a comprehensive Hiring Playbook for founders building early-stage startups. They list seven critical steps to attract and hire top talent, emphasizing the importance of storytelling, leveraging networks, and the founder's active role in recruiting. Through anecdotes, examples, and actionable advice, they explore how founders can craft compelling narratives, identify red flags, and sell their vision to potential hires.Some key takeaways from this episode:Storytelling is King: Without a compelling narrative, even the best opportunities can fall flat.  Founders Must Recruit: Founders need to be deeply involved in outreach, even if it means facing a high rejection rate.  Sell the Vision: Top candidates are drawn to the mission and the team, not just the salary.Go Beyond Technical Skills: Cultural fit, conflict resolution, and collaboration skills are just as important as technical abilities.  Specifically, don't miss the part where Boris and Alexis compare recruiting to getting married! That one will definitely unlock a whole new perspective about startup recruiting for sure!Chapters00:00 Introductions02:55 Hiring With Stories: Why Narrative Matters07:32 Hidden Networks: Talent You Already Know12:07 Founder's Grind: Don't Outsource Recruiting15:08 Filter for Fit: Know Your Deal-Breakers and Red Flags23:00 Beyond the Code: Interview for Culture and Conflict27:22 Sell the Dream: How to Win Over Top Talent35:44 Art of the Offer: Make It Personal39:25 Final Thoughts: What Really Moves the Needle?Quotes"I feel like some of the best hires I've ever made where I can see that that person stuck around the company a long time probably didn't look obvious on paper." - Alexis Munger (16:01)"If your story sucks but your deal-breakers are high, you're going to be doing a lot of evening-crying." - Boris Epstein (22:05)  "Founders and startups do a very poor job of infusing a sense of conflict and tension into the interview process." - Boris Epstein (23:49)  "Don't underestimate the emotional aspect of changing jobs and how that plays into a candidate's decision. It's not just money-based!" - Alexis Munger (30:35)  "At that point, you're basically asking the candidate to marry you!" - Boris Epstein (35:55)Follow UsSpotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 Website: www.1st10.comTwitter www.x.com/1st10engineersLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/LinksMusic by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

SummaryOn this episode of the 1st10 podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger sit down with Ilya Sukhar, a seasoned entrepreneur, engineer, and venture capitalist. Ilya shares his journey from immigrating to the U.S. as a child to founding Parse, getting acquired by Facebook, and eventually transitioning into venture capital. Ilya shared with us his experiences building and scaling startups and his insights on what makes a successful founder and early-stage company.Tune in to hear them talk about:Advantages of Being a Technical Founder: Technical founders can quickly iterate and build products that meet customer needs.  Having Resilience: Founders who can persevere through challenges and build in less-hyped areas often develop stronger companies in the long run.  Conflict Resolution In Early Teams: Founders and early-engineers must test how they handle disagreements, as conflict resolution is crucial in the high-pressure environment of a startup.  Real-World AI: Ilya is particularly excited about AI applications that impact the physical world, such as smart cameras and healthcare devices, and believes these areas hold immense potential. Specifically, don't miss the part where Ilya shared details about his unique, contrarian investment philosophy as a VC and what an AI-powered future might potentially look like!Chapters:00:00 Introductions & Icebreakers05:24 A Soviet Immigrant And His American Dream Come True09:29 The Addiction: Why Ilya Felt Attracted to Early-Stage Companies12:33 Building Parse Through Serendipitous Symbiosis17:26 Importance of Having a High Quality Early-Engineering Team19:43 Facebook Acquisition and Life At Facebook25:57 The YC Founder Brand: What Makes Them Unique?  28:33 Contrarian Investing: Finding Diamonds in the Rough35:03 Real-World AI and the Future of Tech  37:26 Ilya's Advice for Founders and Engineers40:41 Contact Details And ExpectationsQuotes:"America, despite its faults, is really quite special [...] It's pretty magical to be an American if you want to go start a company." - Ilya Sukhar (05:53)"I haven't quite made up my mind whether people learn more from success or from failure.  I think the people that get after it again, after a failure are very motivated in a way that I think is pretty special!" - Ilya Sukhar (17:11)"I'm an early-stage person and a lot of why I got into investing is I just want to be involved in multiple projects at that stage." - Ilya Sukhar (30:25)"I think a lot of VC is pattern-matching - for good and bad. And, I think if you really look in the sort of long-term lens, the great, great enduring companies are really odd in one fashion or another." - Ilya Sukhar (34:34)"I relentlessly recommend referencing! It's just always astonishing to me how little energy some founders put into referencing prospective hires and vice-versa!" - Ilya Sukhar (39:31)Follow Us:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:Podcast: ⁠www.1st10.com/podcast⁠ Website: www.1st10.comTwitter www.x.com/1st10engineersLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Music by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

SummaryOn this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger sit down with Kevin Liu, Engineering Lead at AngelList and a seasoned builder in the tech industry. Kevin shares his journey from being a fresh computer science graduate during the post-dot-com bust to becoming a key player in high-growth startups like Klout and Nextdoor. He discusses the importance of staying hands-on as a builder, even while transitioning into leadership roles, and how AI is reshaping the engineering landscape.Here are some key insights that Kevin shared during this conversation:Staying Hands-On In Leadership: Maintaining technical skills even as you move into management roles is important. Kevin describes his style as that of a "coach-player", where he continues to code and build alongside his team.  Early-Stage Startups Are Rocketships For Early-Careers: Joining a startup early in your career can accelerate your growth and open doors to diverse experiences, from engineering to business strategy.AI Can Be A Productivity Booster: AI tools like Cursor have significantly boosted Kevin's productivity, but he cautions that they are most effective when used by skilled engineers who know how to direct them.Career Progression Needn't Be Linear: Career growth doesn't always follow a strict upward trajectory. Kevin advocates for following your interests and embracing lateral (or even backward) moves if they align with your passions and skills.Chapters:Additionally, don't miss Kevin's reflections on the shifts in the tech industry, from the dot-com bust to the social media boom, and the meteoric rise of AI in recent times.00:00 Introductions & Icebreakers06:02 From ColdFusion to AI: A Tech Journey Through the Decades10:14 Klout, "Influencers", And Lightning-In-A-Bottle16:20 Joining Nextdoor And The Power of Lateral Moves25:03 Web 1.0, Web 2.0, And... Web AI?29:06 Is Kevin Worried About AI Taking His Job?34:30 Working Through The Startup Ecosystem Food-Chain37:36 Kevin's Career Wisdom: Your Path Need Not Be A Straight Line41:12 Kevin's Contact Details & Career Prospects At AngelListQuotes:"When you join a high-growth company in a 'right-place-right-time' thing, as the company grows, you grow. You are forced to grow." - Kevin Liu (14:36)"Don't get soft. Whatever that means to you, whatever you need to do to make sure you don't get soft, that's on you." - Kevin Liu (19:40)"How can you be there for your people if you cannot empathize with what their day-to-day is? So I think it's a prerequisite to be an engineer before you can manage engineers." - Kevin Liu (23:13)"[AI] is a power tool. And if you don't know what you're doing, or if you don't know where you want to place that tool, it's not going to help you." - Kevin Liu (31:49)"Your job is to maximize the congruence between how you spend your days and what the company is willing to ask of you!" (40:51)Connect with us:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Webpage: https://www.1st10.com/podcast/ Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineersLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:Kevin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevliu/AngelList: https://angel.coKlout: https://klout.comNextdoor: https://nextdoor.com776: https://776.org500 Startups Vietnam: https://500.co/vietnamAscend Ventures: https://ascend.vcMusic by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger sit down with Joshua Inkenbrandt, Pinterest's first frontend engineer and a seasoned builder. Josh shares his journey from being one of Pinterest's early engineers to transitioning into product management, and eventually co-founding startups. He also discusses the unique situation of navigating second stints with his own experience of returning to Pinterest to work on the emotional well-being app, 'How We Feel'.Josh emphasizes the importance of relationships, adaptability, and the value of self-learning in his career. The conversation is filled with insights on navigating early-stage startups, the evolution of tech roles, and the importance of building meaningful connections in the tech industry.Tune in to hear Josh talk about the importance of:Relationships: Josh's career choices, including joining Pinterest over Instagram, were heavily influenced by his relationships with and the cultural fit of the Pinterest team.  Adaptability: Josh's ability to wear multiple hats -- from engineering to product management -- highlights the importance of being open to new challenges and roles, especially in fast-growing startups.  Self-Learning: Josh's journey as a self-taught developer shows that passion, curiosity, and hands-on experience can be just as valuable as a formal CS degree in the tech industry.  Early-Stage Startups: Joining a startup early allows for significant impact, exposure to diverse roles, and the chance to shape the company's culture and direction.Specifically, don't miss the part where Josh drops hints about his current stealth project - a social-focused tool which aims to foster empathy and compassion in a disconnected world.Chapters:00:00 Introductions & Icebreakers07:02 On Being A Self-Taught Flash Developer13:04 Pinterest vs Instagram And Being “Love-Bombed”22:05 Wearing Multiple Hats: From Engineering to Product Management30:59 Leaving Pinterest At A ‘Klutch’ Time and The Boomerang34:03 Using Technology For Emotional Well-Being: The ‘How We Feel’ App39:30 Josh’s Future Plans, Advice for Early Engineers, And Contact DetailsQuotes:"I quickly realized I was the dumbest person in the room... [but] I had a huge advantage because I got to work with people who are really smart and learn from them." - Josh Inkenbrandt (11:09)“One of the challenges… [for transitioning from an IC role to non-IC roles is that] you have to be able to let other people do the work that you're used to doing.” - Josh Inkenbrandt (24:02)"The early group of people that are working on [the product] need to care about it and use it." - Josh Inkenbrandt (29:40)"If you kind of self-start stuff, if you make things that you can show people [...] when we're hiring people, that's literally the best heuristic to use [for us]." - Josh Inkenbrandt (42:35)Connect with us:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Follow:Website: www.1st10.comPodcast: www.1st10.com/podcast Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineersLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:How We Feel App: https://howwefeel.org/Josh's Shoe-related Pins on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/joshink/shoes/Josh’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/importantginger/Music by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger sit down with Sophie Z. Novati, founder and CEO of Formation.dev. Formation is a company dedicated to build a more equitable tech industries by helping underrepresented engineers reach their full potential. Sophie shares her journey from being an early engineer at Facebook and Nextdoor to founding Formation, driven by her mission to bridge the skills gap in tech hiring. She discusses the challenges of traditional interview processes, the importance of mission-driven work, and how her experiences shaped her approach to building Formation. Tune in to hear them talk about:Mission-Driven Work: Sophie's passion for creating equitable opportunities in tech fueled her transition from engineer to founder.Succeeding at Technical Interviews: Success in technical interviews requires a holistic approach, including problem exploration, collaboration, and testing.The Engineering Method: This problem-solving framework is applicable not just to coding but also to product development and business decisions.Embracing Chaos As A Founder: Building a startup is a rollercoaster, and founders need to find deep fulfillment in their work to navigate the inevitable challenges and setbacks.Diversity in Tech: Sophie's experience with hiring processes revealed systemic barriers for underrepresented groups.Sustainable Business Models: Founders must focus on building sustainable business models that align incentives and solve real problems.Specifically, don't miss the part where Sophie shares the incredibly insightful advice she received from Mark Zuckerberg during a late-night chess session, while she was an intern at Facebook!Chapters:00:00 Introductions04:58 From Facebook Intern to Mission-Driven Founder10:07 Chess with Zuck and the Art of Problem-Solving15:59 Sophie’s Journey From Engineering to Leadership22:15 The Birth of Formation: Solving the Interview Paradox28:50 Common Mistakes Engineers Make During Coding Interviews35:30 The “Engineering Method” Framework For Problem-Solving37:09 Sophie’s Contact Details & Advice For Early-Engineers & FoundersQuotes:"If you're able to capture people's valuable attention, you can always figure out how to turn that into money later."  – Mark Zuckerberg, quoted by Sophie Z. Novati (12:20)"If your business is, I'm going to give you $10 and you give me $5 back, then of course people are going to be happy with you. But that's not actually a business model."  – Sophie Z. Novati (34:40)"Coding interviews are only maybe 40% about coding. So much of it is about how you're exploring the problem space, understanding what the constraints are in your problem."  – Sophie Z. Novati (29:42)"If you're going to embark on the journey of being a founder, figure out a way to absolutely love your work. You have to have such a deeply anchored sense of fulfillment in the grand scheme of things to get you past the hard things."  – Sophie Z. Novati (40:19)Follow:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Follow:Website: www.1st10.comPodcast: www.1st10.com/podcast Twitter www.x.com/1st10engineersLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/YouTube: www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:Formation: https://formation.devMusic by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

SummaryOn this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger sit down with Yash Nelapati, Pinterest's first engineer and first-ever employee! Yash shares his journey from being a young engineer navigating the challenges of the 2008 recession to joining Pinterest in its infancy and helping scale it into a global platform. He reflects on the chaotic early days, the importance of trusting the process, and how his experiences shaped his approach to building teams and products.Yash also discusses his current venture, MakersPlace, an NFT marketplace aiming to become the "Christie's of NFTs.".  Here's a quick glimpse of the insights from the episode: Simplicity Wins: Joining a startup doesn't have to be a complicated decision. If you like the product and the people, that's often enough to take the leap. Generalists Thrive in Early-Stage Startups: Being decent at multiple disciplines is more valuable than being an expert in one, especially when you're part of the first 10 engineers. Culture Evolves with Growth: As startups scale, culture often shifts from being vision-driven to data-driven, requiring a balance between intuition and analytics. Embrace Chaos: Early-stage startups are inherently chaotic, but that chaos is where learning and growth happen. Firefighting and quick decision-making are part of the journey. Trust the Journey: Yash's advice to engineers considering startups is to trust their instincts, avoid overthinking, and suggests a “2-Question Test” to help you come to a decision.Do listen to the simple but eye-opening "2-Question Test" that Yash recommends for deciding whether or not to join an early-stage startup!Chapters:00:00 Introductions and icebreakers07:04 From Symantec to Silicon Valley: Yash's Early Struggles12:19 The Pinterest Journey: Coding in an Apartment and Scaling Chaos21:00 2012 Was The Year Everything Broke (and Grew!)29:28 Building Culture: From Visionary to Data-Driven34:13 MakersPlace: The Christie's of NFTs?40:19 Advice for Engineers And Opportunities at MakersPlaceQuotes: "I had to get decent at everything [rather] than really be good at something." - Yash Nelapati (11:36) "Gut can only take you to a certain spot but from there you've got to have a much better picture of what's happening underneath the hood." - Yash Nelapati (27:36) "You want your engineers to be very involved in the decision-making, yet there's got to be a line where you don't want to bring a whole lot of emotion..." - Yash Nelapati (30:21) "Optimize for 'Do I believe in this vision?' [and] 'Do I like these people that I'm sitting around?' And just base that decision on these 2 things." – Yash Nelapati (41:25)Episode links:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links:Maker’s Place: https://makersplace.com/Yash Nelapati on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yashh/Music by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger sit down with Steve Bartel, founder and CEO of Gem. Steve was employee no. 25 at Dropbox and went on to found Gem, a leading all-in-one recruiting platform. He offers valuable insights into building early-engineering teams - first at Dropbox and now at Gem. Steve also shares how he translated these experiences into creating the powerful recruiting platform, Gem. Whether you're a startup founder or a seasoned recruiter, this episode has valuable insights on the challenges of hiring top talent, the evolution of recruiting tools, and the future of AI in recruiting.Some key takeaways from the episode: Make Recruiting a Core Company Value: Steve carried over the culture of treating recruiting as a top priority from Dropbox to Gem, where hiring the right people was seen as the key to scaling the company.   Work Trials Are Powerful: Work trials are not just for evaluating candidates but for allowing candidates to evaluate the company. This approach ensures a good fit on both sides.   Build a Product-Focused Engineering Team: At Gem, Steve focused on hiring engineers who were excited about building products that recruiters would love, rather than just solving hard technical problems. Recruiting is a Grind, Not a Silver Bullet: Whether at Dropbox or Gem, there's no shortcut to building a great team. Especially for startups without a strong brand, it takes consistent effort, relationship-building, and a deep understanding of what candidates are looking for in a role. Specifically, don't miss the part where Steve reveals a cool sourcing trick that can help you convert cold second-degree connections into warm first-degree-ish leads!Chapters00:00 Introductions & catch-up05:45 Being employee no. 25 at Dropbox10:14 Recruiting Philosophy At Dropbox15:27 The Birth of Gem: Solving Recruiting Pain Points22:45 How to Build a 1st10 Team That Loves Building Recruiting Software26:04 Attracting Talent in the Absence of a Brand29:56 Looking to Lure Great Talent to Your Small Startup?38:48 The Future of Recruiting: AI and End-to-End Platforms43:34 Gem Careers, Freebie, and Contact DetailsQuotes: "The single most important thing that any of us could do to have an impact was to bring on more great people." – Steve Bartel (11:23) "A big part of the Gem promise was, ‘Come on board, we're gonna give you a ton of exposure into how startups work.'" - Steve Bartel (23:23) "I wish 1st10 was around back then because it was, it was really hard!" - Steve Bartel (26:25) "The challenging part [about AI] is no longer the algorithm; the challenging part is actually the data!" – Steve Bartel (42:06) Connect with us:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Webpage: https://www.1st10.com/podcastLinks:Gem: https://www.gem.com/Gem for Startups: https://www.gem.com/startupsSteve on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-bartel/Music by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger sit down with Ashley Pelzel, COO of Astro Mechanica, to explore her unconventional career journey from Bridgewater Associates to joining a cutting-edge aerospace startup. Ashley shares her philosophy of embracing serendipity, the importance of building strong early teams, and how she navigated the challenges of transitioning into a completely new industry. The conversation dives into the groundbreaking technology being developed at Astro Mechanica and the lessons Ashley has learned about leadership, hiring, and the power of curiosity.Tune in to hear how Ashley’s journey from finance to aerospace is redefining what’s possible in both her career and the world of aviation. Some key moments to listen for: Serendipity as a Strategy: Ashley’s career pivot was driven by a deliberate openness to opportunities. By saying “yes” to new experiences and connections, she found her way into a role she never could have planned for. Feedback is a Gift (Even When It Hurts): Ashley’s time at Bridgewater taught her the value of brutal honesty. Constructive feedback, even when it’s uncomfortable, can be a powerful tool for growth. Touching Metal is Key to America’s Dynamic Resurgence: At Astro Mechanica, being hands-on and physically involved in the work—whether it’s building jet engines or assembling test stands—is a core part of the culture. Hire for Heart, Not Just Resumes: Look for people who are passionate about the mission and willing to go the extra mile. Skills can be taught, but drive and curiosity are harder to instill.Specifically, don't miss the part where Ashley reveals how several people told her she “was not zero-to-one material” and what she did afterwards!Chapters: 00:00 Introductions and ice-breakers08:01 From Hedge Funds to Jet Engines - Ashley's Unconventional Career Journey18:19 El Segundo - the (new) soul of American Dynamism?22:14 Inside Astro Mechanica: Building the Future of Aviation31:24 The 'Zero-to-One' Myth: You Don’t Need Experience to Start from Scratch34:06 The Bridgewater Effect: Brutal Feedback and Building Resilience41:57 Opportunities at Astro Mechanica & Ashley Pelzel’s Contact DetailsQuotes: "At Bridgewater, I felt like a well-trained thoroughbred at the starting stalls of a race. [...] And I found myself asking myself the questions, ‘How far can I run? Where can I go? What can I do?’" – Ashley Pelzel (11:02) "My entire strategy for how I approached the next step of my career after Bridgewater was summed up in one word: serendipity." – Ashley Pelzel (12:43) "Don’t underestimate who you're in the trenches with every day. Who do you want to stay late with?" – Ashley Pelzel (35:13) Links:Smoky Hollow Coffee Rosters: https://www.smokyhollowcoffee.com/Ian Brooks on X: https://x.com/k2pilot“Thank God for El Segundo” by Scott Nolan: https://www.piratewires.com/p/thank-god-for-el-segundoFollow:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/1st10podcast Amazon: 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 RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/f951319c/podcast/rss YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcastMusic by Roman Senyk from PixabayProducer: Shrikant Joshi

On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, Boris and Alexis sit down with Eddie Siegel, the brilliant mind behind Fractional AI, to explore the realities of AI beyond the hype. Eddie shares his unique perspective on how AI is transforming industries, the importance of building strong engineering teams, and the future of AI tools for engineers. From automating mundane tasks to enabling entirely new workflows, Eddie provides a grounded look at the substance behind the buzz. On today's episode, Eddie explains why he thinks…AI is More Than Hype: Real progress is happening in industries that aren’t typically seen as cutting-edge. Companies are using AI to automate manual processes, freeing up employees to focus on higher-value tasks.  AI is a Transformational Shift: AI is enabling computers to read, write, and make decisions in ways that were previously impossible, unlocking new workflows and opportunities.  Building the Right Team is Critical: At Fractional AI, the interview process simulates real-world challenges, and the team looks for engineers who can thrive in ambiguous, high-pressure environments.  AI Tools are Game-Changers for Engineers:Embracing these tools can significantly boost productivity, and engineers who adapt quickly will have a competitive edge.  The Future of AI is Verticalized:The real value will come from verticalized solutions that solve specific industry problems, rather than generic AI tools.  AI Won’t Replace Jobs, But It Will Transform Them: The goal of Fractional AI’s projects is to help teams achieve 10x more output without increasing headcount.  Whether you're an engineer, founder, or just curious about AI, this episode is packed with actionable insights and thought-provoking ideas!Chapters00:00 Introductions & ice-breakers06:03 Is AI Hype or Not-Hype?07:36 Eddie’s Journey From Intern at LiveRamp to AI Visionary at Fractional13:45 "AI Won’t Take Your Job But It WILL Replace The Job Itself!" 18:26 How to Hire New Talent at an AI Company26:32 A Fractional Lens of the Overall AI Market36:44 AI Tools Are Your New Superpower - Adopt Them ASAP!43:45 Eddie’s Contact DetailsConnect with usWebsite:www.1st10.comPodcast:www.1st10.com/podcast Twitterwww.x.com/1st10engineersLinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/company/1st10/YouTube:www.youtube.com/@1st10podcastMusic byRoman Senyk fromPixabayProducer:Shrikant Joshi

On this episode of the 1st10 Podcast, Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger engage in a captivating conversation about the intricacies of building early engineering teams with Sailesh Ramakrishnan, the managing partner at Rocketship Ventures. They dig into the evolution of technology in startups and the transformative power of machine learning and AI in venture capital. Sailesh shares unique insights on global startup trends, the importance of data in identifying outlier companies, and the human element in technology. Discover some amazing insights about the world of startups and venture capital from Sailesh, such as: Curiosity Unleashed: Explore the fascinating intersection of technology and human curiosity that drives innovation. Data Goldmine: Learn about the pivotal role of data in identifying promising startups and trends before they hit the mainstream. AI Revolution: Understand the evolving landscape of venture capital and how AI is reshaping investment strategies. Culture of Excellence: Gain insights into the importance of building a strong team culture that attracts top talent. Tech Frontiers: Uncover the potential of emerging technologies and their implications for future startups. Experience Matters: Realize the value of hands-on experience in navigating the challenges of building and managing teams. Specifically, don't miss the part where Sailesh reveals RocketShip’s secret to finding successful startups! (HINT: It requires looking into nearly HALF A PETABYTE of data!) Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:57 Mars Rover and the Ingenuity of the Human Race 06:30 Kosmix, Walmart Labs and being prescient about OpenAI 17:44 Rocketship and the connection to the Mars Rover 23:05 The Data-Driven Future of Investing 31:29 A Birds’ Eye View Of The Startup Landscape 38:14 The Best Advice Sailesh Ever Got 43:08 How To Connect With Sailesh Ramakrishnan Quotes: "Human beings are one of the few species that have that innate curiosity of knowing what the rest of the universe looks like." - Sailesh Ramakrishnan (06:03) "We believe more data will always win over better algorithms." - Sailesh Ramakrishnan (17:11) "The most important thing (that) cannot be manufactured, (that) has to be built, is creating that team." - Sailesh Ramakrishnan (39:09) “The team that you start off with, when you build the company starting from your zero to first or fifth or 10th employee, is different from the team you need in the 100th or the 200th employee.” - Sailesh Ramakrishnan (40:03) 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  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@1st10podcast Links: Music by Roman Senyk from Pixabay Producer: Shrikant Joshi

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

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

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 ⁠Pixabay⁠Producer: Shrikant Joshi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!