Amy Fox and I go back almost 15 years. She and her husband Chris were some of the first people I met when I moved to the Bay Area. Amy was working at an early stage startup at that time called Zimride, a carpooling startup designed for universities and colleges. And while you may not know Zimride, you certainly will have heard about what it morphed into: Lyft.

This is a very special episode of Brick by Brick not only because Amy is one of those “ideal guests” that we had in mind when we started the pod, but because it is the very first in person episode we’ve recorded (shoutout to the All The Hacks Media team for hooking it up!)

In this episode of Brick by Brick, Amy and I talk about:

• Lyft's origin story and Amy's unexpected recruitment and subsequent 10 year journey

• The hackathon that launched Lyft

• The ride sharing wars between Lyft and Uber

• Did competition ever go too far?

• Building Lyft's unique culture

• Advice for companies considering remote or hybrid work models

• Building with "swagger"

• Working with your spouse

and more! A sneak peek below why founders shouldn’t cave to pressure from investors:

If you’re interested in hearing about the ride sharing wars, how to strike partnerships with large companies as a startup, or scaling cultures this episode is definitely for you!

To get more Amy follow her on LinkedIn and check out the All The Hacks podcast.

I hope you enjoy the conversation! Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube!

If you have any comments on this episode, ideas for future episodes, or any feedback on the podcast, hit reply or email brickbybrick@garuda.vc!

Brick by Brick is presented by Garuda Ventures. Garuda Ventures is a B2B-focused pre-seed fund that aims to earn the right to be a founder's first call as they get started on their journeys. To learn more, visit https://www.garuda.vc

Shreyans Bhansali and I go back almost 30 years, all the way to Jakarta, Indonesia where we both grew up. His love affair with technology started in middle school, and he hasn’t been able to let go. What’s fascinating is he didn’t think working with technology could be a full-time job. That is, until he received a text message that read: “Iqram paid you $1.00 for being a super sexy dude.” The text was from a new app called Venmo, and Shreyans was hooked.

In this episode of Brick by Brick, we talk about:

• Why he left his stable consulting job to join Venmo as employee #1

• The early days at Venmo and a crazy SXSW 2010

• The power of talking to people

• The feeling of Product-Market Fit at Venmo

• How to identify great talent for hiring

• Similarities and differences between being an early employee versus being a founder

• What he would have changed about Socratic instead of selling to Google

• Lessons from fatherhood

and more! A sneak peek below on the differences between early employee and founder:

If you’re interested in how to attract early customers, how to work through near-company-death experiences, or learning how to harness the power of early teams, this episode is for you!

To get more Shreyans check out his blog and follow him on LinkedIn.

I hope you enjoy the conversation! Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube!

If you have any comments on this episode, ideas for future episodes, or any feedback on the podcast, hit reply or email brickbybrick@garuda.vc!

Brick by Brick is presented by Garuda Ventures. Garuda Ventures is a B2B-focused pre-seed fund that aims to earn the right to be a founder's first call as they build their companies. To learn more, visit https://www.garuda.vc

I’ve known this week’s Brick by Brick guest, Sid Sridhar, for almost 30 years. The current Head of Business at Wave, Sid and I grew up together as ex-pats in Indonesia. His journey took him to UPenn, consulting, Google, and Uber. Over that time, he built a unique skill set: How to effectively manage money movement and foreign exchange for large companies. This skill and his interest in startups led him to join Sendwave.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Sid's background as an expat and finance and international payments led him to an early-stage startup

• The feeling of product-market fit at Sendwave, and the operational challenges that come with it

• The decision to sell Sendwave's business to focus on building Wave, a business with more network effects

• The differences in building startups in developed markets vs. emerging markets like Africa

• Balancing life as a startup operator and a father of two young kids

and more!

If you’re considering making a move from a large org to a startup, if you’ve ever wondered how the startup playbook in emerging markets is different from building in the West, or if you’re just interested in how Google manages its cash, this episode is for you!

To get more Sid check out follow him on LinkedIn.

I hope you enjoy the conversation! Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube!

If you have any comments on this episode, ideas for future episodes, or any feedback on the podcast, hit reply or email brickbybrick@garuda.vc!

Brick by Brick is presented by Garuda Ventures. Garuda Ventures is a B2B-focused pre-seed fund that aims to earn the right to be a founder's first call as they build their companies. To learn more, visit https://www.garuda.vc

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing this week’s Brick by Brick guest for almost 15 years. Now the founder of Revenue Pilot, Justin Roberts has over 20 years of experience selling software at companies like Salesforce, Box, Lever, and SignalFX. He also advises and coaches founders, sales executives, and account executives on how to become better sellers.

I've watched Justin work side by side with founders to scale their sales machines. His track record proves how good he is at it. Justin is one of our first introductions when we have portfolio founders who need GTM support.

In this episode, we cover:

• Justin's first job at Salesforce and how it launched his startup career

• Justin's decision to leave Salesforce and join the early team at Box

• Building sales processes and systems at fast-growing Box

• The impact of closing Box's first six-figure deal on the team

• Transitioning from an individual contributor to a sales manager

• Advice for founders on building effective sales teams and cultures

• The importance of founders staying involved in sales as their company scale

• Balancing work and family life as a sales leader

and more!

If your a founder wondering how to effectively grow your sales org, a seller debating how to pick which startup to join, generally curious about the early days at Box, this episode is especially for you.

To get more Justin check out the below:

• Revenue Pilot

• LinkedIn

• Email

I hope you enjoy the conversation! Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube!

If you have any comments on this episode, ideas for future episodes, or any feedback on the podcast, hit reply or email brickbybrick@garuda.vc!

Brick by Brick is presented by Garuda Ventures. Garuda Ventures is a B2B-focused pre-seed and seed venture fund. Garuda is a first-check firm and aims to earn the right to be a founder's first call as they go about building their companies. To learn more, visit https://www.garuda.vc

When we were brainstorming the idea of Brick by Brick at Garuda - interviewing early employees and founders, asking them to share the nutty stories of the early days of company building - one of the “ideal guests” I had pinned in the back of my mind was Mike Smith.

I’ve known Mike for over a decade. The Co-founder and General Partner at Footwork, an early-stage venture fund, Mike also happens to be one of the most highly regarded and skilled operators in and around commerce. Prior to getting into venture he was the President and COO at Stitch Fix, where he joined as employee number four, and for over 10 years there held most of the senior roles at the company from COO to CFO to interim CEO and eventually took the company public in 2017.

Prior to joining Stitch Fix, Mike spent almost 10 years building out the e-commerce and multi-channel offerings of Walmart.com, eventually growing to be the COO of the $5 billion division. Mike also sits on the board of Ulta Beauty and Herman Miller.

He’s seen his fair share of ups and downs, and in addition to being a fantastic operator and investor, is one of the most genuine and kind people you will meet.

In our conversation we dig into:

• Why Mike left Walmart to go to a very early stage company

• What skills and playbooks Mike developed at Walmart that he was able to apply at Stitch Fix

• What he saw in Katrina Lake, Stitch Fix's CEO, that convinced him he should join

• Balancing being a husband, father, and early stage operator

• The role of humans and AI in delivering customer service

• How to build and scale culture

• The difference between building a company and building a venture fir

..and a whole lot more!

If your actively looking to make the switch to a startup from a BigCo, generally curious about the difference in operating rhythms between a senior role at a large org and rolling up your sleeves at a startup, or wondering how to balance family and startup life, this episode is for you.

To get more Mike check out the below:

• Footwork

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcsmith1/

• Email: mike@footwork.vc

We hope you enjoy the conversation! Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube!

If you have any comments on this episode, ideas for future episodes, or any feedback on the podcast, hit reply or email brickbybrick@garuda.vc!

Brick by Brick is presented by Garuda Ventures. Garuda Ventures is a B2B-focused pre-seed and seed venture fund. Garuda is a first-check firm and aims to earn the right to be a founder's first call as they go about building their companies. To learn more, visit https://www.garuda.vc

Nothing taunts me quite like the blinking cursor on a blank page. Writing demands I find my voice. Develop my own opinion. Week to week, this proves more challenging than I care to admit. To do it properly, I need to clear my physical and mental space of attention temptations — chirping tweets, notification vibrations, the deluge of people and tasks requesting my attention. These blocks of alone time, with nothing to occupy me beyond trying to make sense of the world, are both meditative and exhausting. Especially when the output feels as exciting as the ingredients listed on the back of a maple syrup bottle.

Tom White is one of the people I turn to when I want to vent about the challenges of putting keys to a keyboard and forming something that loosely resembles good writing. After stints at Sandhill Markets, On Deck, and Google, Tom now writes, edits, researches, and ghostwrites professionally for a number of startup/F500 executives, VCs, and institutional fund managers. His free weekly newsletter on books, behavior, psychology, and philosophy, called White Noise, is a favorite read of mine. This is why it was so much fun to sit down with Tom and talk about why all founders (and everyone, really) should write.

In this episode Tom and I dig into:

• Why all founders should write

• Tom's guide to breaking free from the fear of publishing

• The important difference between creating content and distributing content

• Why AI is killing creativity

• When to engage a ghostwriter

• The importance of reading and how to read in a "Lindy safe" way

• Tom's recommended reads

To get more Tom check out the below:

• Newsletter: White Noise

• Tom’s website: https://www.tomwhitenoise.com/

• Tom's Reading List: https://www.tomwhitenoise.com/bookshelf

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjwtjw/

• Twitter: https://x.com/TJIWhiteIV

Referenced in the pod:

• The Great Online Game by Packy McCormick

• Peter Thiel's Religion by David Perrell

• Tom's Ted talk at UND 

• Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen

• The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson

• On Writing by Stephen King

• Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t by Stephen Pressfield

I hope you enjoy the conversation! Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube!

If you have any comments on this episode, ideas for future episodes, or any feedback on the podcast, hit reply or email brickbybrick@garuda.vc!

Brick by Brick is presented by Garuda Ventures. Garuda Ventures is a B2B-focused pre-seed and seed venture fund. Garuda is a first-check firm and aims to earn the right to be a founder's first call as they go about building their companies. To learn more, visit https://www.garuda.vc

Today’s Brick by Brick guest is my friend Jared Fliesler. Jared has had a pretty incredible career. He started out doing business development for a pretty traditional investment company focused on tax-advantaged real estate investments. Frustrated with the bureaucracy, he took his first start-up role at Slide - the photo-sharing company Max Levchin started in the early days of social media. Over his time at Slide, Jared went from junior BD person to executive team member and ran their core product. When Slide sold to Google in 2010, Jared became a director there while starting to advise the then-nascent Square. After a year at Google, he joined Square full-time as General Manager and eventually led Growth and Business Operations - 5x'ing the payment volume during his tenure.

I first met Jared post his time at Square when he joined me and the rest of the team at Matrix Partners in 2013. Jared joined us as one of the youngest GPs in the industry at 29 years old. Jared couldn't kick the start-up bug, though, so he went back into operating and joined Scribd as the COO. Over four years at Scribd, he supported the company through fundraising, scaling down and then up headcount, more than doubling revenue, and weathering the COVID storms - eventually leaving a few years ago and taking an unexpected turn to launch a new type of coaching firm for founders.

We have a wide-ranging conversation covering topics including:

• How Jared transitioned from finance into startups

• The importance of storytelling and narrative development for founders and leaders

• “Making magic of the mundane" - Jared's approach to tackling necessary but boring tasks that are core to growing any company

• Early "hacks" Jared and the Square team experimented with as they began to scale

• The importance of communicating the "why" as a founder, not just giving directives

• Jared's new coaching venture, First Call, and his unique approach to founder support

I hope you enjoy the conversation! Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube!

If you have any comments on this episode, ideas for future episodes, or any feedback on the podcast, hit reply or email brickbybrick@garuda.vc!

Brick by Brick is presented by Garuda Ventures. Garuda Ventures is a B2B-focused pre-seed and seed venture fund. Garuda is a first-check firm and aims to earn the right to be a founder's first call as they go about building their companies. To learn more, visit https://www.garuda.vc

In this episode, our guest Aston Motes shares his experience as the first employee at Dropbox, sharing insights into the early days of the company's growth, decision-making processes, and challenges faced. We explore the importance of product-market fit, the dynamics of startup culture, the impact of talent and diversity in teams, and the transition from early employee to founder. Aston also shares advice for prospective founders and early employees.

Topics discussed include:

• Aston's background and journey from South Carolina to becoming the first employee at Dropbox

• Why he decided to join Dropbox and how they grew the early team

• The importance of product-market fit and the evolution of the company

• The role of talent, diversity, and relationships in startup success

• Lessons learned from the early days of Dropbox and the transition from early employee to founder

• Advice for anyone considering joining a new startup or becoming a founder

• Essential questions for prospective founders and early employees to ask themselves before taking the leap

Find Aston on LinkedIn or on his website.

Brick by Brick is presented by Garuda Ventures. Garuda Ventures is a B2B-focused pre-seed and seed venture fund. Garuda is a first-check firm and aims to earn the right to be a founder's first call as they go about building their companies. To learn more, visit https://www.garuda.vc

I’ve experienced the distinct pleasure (and pain) of the early days of startup building, having spent seven years as an early employee and executive at two companies, Poynt and Legion. I know firsthand how much successful company-building is a team sport, with the founders, early employees, and early investors working together to lay the foundation for the business. Each day, this small group of believers works to justify its existence and navigate through the important early steps of company building: Build the team, build the product, sell the customers, and get revenue.

In my 15 years of working with startups, I have found the stories of early company heroics and the lessons they convey — the engineer who fixed bugs right up to the biggest sales demo in the company’s history, the lobby-squatting at a customer’s office waiting to ‘run into’ the decision maker, the fundraise that closed when the company had 6 weeks of cash left — to be the most informative and interesting. But in the sea of great startup content, these stories and their heroes, early employees, are often left untold and unsung.

We want to share more of those stories with you. So together with my Garuda Ventures co-founder Arpan, I am excited to introduce the Brick by Brick podcast.

Each episode will feature an early employee, founder, or investor sharing the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of building a startup brick by brick. Our goal is for you, whether you’re a founder, an early employee, or simply startup-curious, to leave each episode with new insights and tactics that accelerate your company’s growth, avoid potential pitfalls, and increase your odds of going from 0 to 1.

Please do me a favor and head over to YouTube or Spotify, subscribe to the show (it will help us boost our awareness), and check out our first episode featuring Aston Motes, employee #1 at Dropbox, which is already live (you’'ll get a separate note about that right after this).

And if you have ideas for a show, topics you’d like us to discuss, or any feedback, email us at brickbybrick@garuda.vc!