#9, Andrew Munn, Lindy.ai Software Leader: Insight Into the Risk and Reward of Early Stage Startups

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1st10 Podcast

1st10podcast

29 episodes

4 days ago

Welcome to 1st10 Podcast, where we dive deep into the world of building early engineering teams. Join us as we sit down with engineers, founders, and investors to uncover the strategies, challenges, and successes behind assembling and nurturing the foundational teams that drive innovation. Whether you're a startup enthusiast, a tech leader, or an aspiring entrepreneur, our conversations provide valuable insights and practical advice on crafting the perfect engineering team from the ground up. Tune in to learn from the best and get inspired to build your own successful early-stage team.

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#9, Andrew Munn, Lindy.ai Software Leader: Insight Into the Risk and Reward of Early Stage Startups

1st10 Podcast

47 minutes 58 seconds

1 year ago

#9, Andrew Munn, Lindy.ai Software Leader: Insight Into the Risk and Reward of Early Stage Startups

On the ninth episode of the 1st10 Podcast, hosts Boris Epstein and Alexis Munger interview Andrew Munn, who's currently a senior engineering manager at Lindy.ai. Andrew shares some wonderful insights from his decade-long career in tech, spanning major companies like Facebook, Uber, and Nextdoor. He discusses his journey from internships at 3 of the 5 FAANG companies, his experiences with different corporate cultures, and his decision to join and later lead engineering teams at different startups.

Here are some of the hidden takeaways from the episode:

Product vs Distribution - "The best apps are inherently viral. They have their own distribution mechanism." (13:30)
Late-stage vs Early Stage - "Maybe late stage companies are the sweet spot for impact because you're big enough to have a real product and so you're actually impacting people's lives out there. But you're not so big that you're just a tiny little cog in a big machine. You can still make big changes." - Andrew Munn (23:17)
Size vs Speed - "Small, high-performing teams will outperform a large mediocre team any day. And that is also the only reason why startups have a chance." - Andrew Munn (32:35)

Don't miss the super-fun segment we designed specially for Andrew, called "Andrew, Why Do You Hate This?!" because it resulted in a mind-blowing revelation about selfies and selfie-cameras!

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction

04:46 - Early Career, Internship, and First Job at Facebook

08:35 - Transition to Trove, and Early Startup Experience

15:38 - Moving From Trove to Nextdoor

20:12 - Comparison of Late Stage and Early Stage Companies

24:00 - Reasons For Going Back To Early Stage

32:07 - Building High Performing Teams

34:00 - Advice To Founders And Early Engineers

41:05 - A Fun Segment About Andrew's Pet Peeves

46:04 - Conclusion

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