Episode description

In this episode, I dive deep into the world of early-stage startups with Apurva, CTO of Kodoos Labs and founder of Sidetrack. With a background that spans software engineering, product management, and entrepreneurship, Apurva brings a wealth of experience and insights from the startup world.

We discussed the role of founding engineers, the challenges of maintaining collaboration as a company scales, the changing role of leadership in different startup stages, the hiring process for early-stage startups, and much more.

Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a tech professional looking to understand the startup landscape, or simply curious about the inner workings of innovative companies, you don't want to miss out on this episode!

(01:52) Apu successful career

(04:28) The role of curiosity in startups

(07:33) Startup stages

(13:56) Transition from software engineering to business roles

(17:47) Main characteristics of founding engineers

(21:59) Collaboration and Communication in Early-Stage Startups

(28:37) Engineers talking with customers

(32:47) Startup culture to scale up culture

(42:29) How leadership evolves in startups

(46:05) Building a Culture of Trust and Ownership

(50:45) Hiring

RESOURCES

Kodoos Labs - https://koodos.com

Thriving as a Founding Engineer: Lessons from the Trenches - https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/thriving-as-a-founding-engineer

JOIN KOODOS LABS

Send an email to apu@koodos.com

Follow Apurva

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/apuchitnis

X - https://x.com/apuchitnis

Follow Peppe

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppesilletti

X - https://x.com/peppesilletti

Invisible Algorithms Newsletter: https://invisiblealgorithms.com