Shows
1st10 PodcastThe Founder's Hiring Playbook: 7 Steps to Building Your Dream Early-TeamSummaryOn 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...2025-04-0444 min
1st10 PodcastFrom YC and Beyond: Matrix Ventures GP Ilya Sukhar on Startups, Acquisitions, and Venture CapitalSummaryOn 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...2025-03-2842 min
1st10 PodcastFrom Engineer to Leader: AngelList Lead Engineer Kevin Liu on Building, Managing, and Innovating in StartupsSummaryOn 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:...2025-03-2143 min
1st10 PodcastPinterest First Front-End Engineer Josh Inkenbrandt on Building Teams and New VenturesOn 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...2025-03-1446 min
1st10 PodcastFrom Facebook to Formation: Sophie Novati on Building Formation and Empowering EngineersOn 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 t...2025-03-0744 min
1st10 PodcastLessons from Pinterest’s First Engineer: Yash Nelapati on Building, Scaling, and Trusting the ProcessSummaryOn 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...2025-02-2844 min
1st10 PodcastHow Dropbox’s Recruiting Culture Shaped Gem’s Success: Steve Bartel’s Recruiting PlaybookOn 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, a...2025-02-2146 min
1st10 PodcastFrom Hedge Funds to Hard Tech: Ashley Pelzel, COO of Astro Mechanica Shares Lessons in Adaptation and LeadershipOn 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 jo...2025-02-1444 min
1st10 PodcastThe Quiet AI Revolution: Eddie Siegel, Fractional AI CTO talks about Solving Real Problems Behind the AI HypeOn 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 hap...2025-02-0745 min
1st10 PodcastFrom Mars to Startups: Sailesh Ramakrishnan's Journey in Engineering and InvestmentOn 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...2025-01-3145 min
1st10 PodcastPredictions for 2025: What Founders and Engineers Need to Know Before It's Too Late!On this episode of the 1st10 podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger share 5 predictions for the future of startups and technology as we begin 2025. They discuss the possibility of a financial boom, the transformative role of artificial intelligence, and the concept of American dynamism, which emphasizes innovation and building great things in America.
Tune in to hear them talk about:
5 Predictions for 2025: Particularly, the impact of American dynamism and how it’s set to fuel a fresh wave of innovation in the tech industry. With a renewed optimism in the air, this year will bri...2025-01-2427 min
1st10 PodcastTough Truths of Early-Stage Hiring: 6 Lessons From 2024On 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...2025-01-1735 min
1st10 Podcast#10, Tigran Sloyan, CodeSignal Founder: Looking Beyond The Resume To Decode The Startup Talent DilemmaOn 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...2024-10-0241 min
1st10 Podcast#9, Andrew Munn, Lindy.ai Software Leader: Insight Into the Risk and Reward of Early Stage StartupsOn 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...2024-09-2747 min
1st10 Podcast#8, Stripe Hiring Secrets, How Stripe Built its Early TeamOn 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.2024-09-2038 min
1st10 Podcast#7, Kurtis Nusbaum, Sr Staff Engineer: Journey from Uber to Early StageOn 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 sh...2024-09-1343 min
1st10 Podcast#6, Hiring Trends in Building Early Engineering TeamsIn 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 li...2024-09-0636 min
1st10 Podcast#5, Join The Perfect Early Startup, 7 Tips for Engineers Considering Early StartupsOn 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...2024-08-3032 min
1st10 Podcast#4, Jono Spiro, Fractal Software Principal Engineer: Secrets to Hiring the Best Founding EngineersOn 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 com...2024-08-2340 min
1st10 Podcast#3, The Art of Startup Recruiting: 7 Tips to Hire The Best Early-EngineersOn 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 c...2024-08-1637 min
1st10 Podcast#2 Bobby DeSimone, Pomerium.io Founder: Building an Open and High Performing Startup CultureOn 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...2024-08-0940 min
1st10 Podcast#1 Prakash Janakiraman, Nextdoor Co-Founder, How to Design an Early Engineering TeamOn 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...2024-08-0252 min1st10 PodcastComing soon to your favorite podcast player - 1st10 Podcast!Yeah, we know this is 30 seconds of silence but, believe me, we have a LOT to say! Follow this podcast and keep an eye out for our first episode featuring Prakash Janakiraman, the co-founder of Nextdoor, which drops in on 2nd August 2024!2024-07-3000 min