Launching the Early Podcast - Episode 1
Big things start small. The Early Podcast. Stories and insights from early employees and innovators who’ve shaped the future.
For the past few months, I’ve been having conversations with the people who took the biggest risks in tech, early employees who helped build today’s most successful startups before they were anything more than an idea. They didn’t just show up; they shaped the culture, made the impossible happen, and helped turn visions into reality.
The Podcast
Early isn’t about founders—plenty of stories about them already exist. It’s about the first few hires who took the job when there was limited funding, little structure, and no guarantee of success. The ones who had to figure it out on the fly, problem-solve under insane pressure, and make decisions that would ultimately define billion-dollar companies.
These are the stories I wish I had heard when I was starting out.
What You Can Expect
Each episode of Early features deep-dive conversations with early employees of some of the most well-known tech companies. We’ll cover:
What it was like in the earliest days—the chaos, the grind, and the breakthrough moments.
The biggest lessons each guest learned from being on the ground floor.
The real, unfiltered experiences of startup life before the success stories were written.
First Three Episodes – Out Now!!!!!!
🎙 Episode 1: Max Crowley – “So many of the headlines out there, every media clip, every snippet you see, every book you read is about the founder. And look, founders are amazing. But what’s lost in all of that is the fact that employees can make just as much of a difference in a startup as a founder can.” (LINK)
🎙 Episode 2: Allen Penn – "Everything is either hard like right now, or it’s about to be hard." (LINK)
🎙 Episode 3: Candice Lo – “Uber wasn’t obvious yet when we started. I wasn’t obvious. Like, why did Uber hire me? But then I looked around at everyone, and I noticed something—my colleagues all had this can-do attitude. No one thought the work was below them.” (LINK)
Where to Listen:
🎧 Listen on Spotify
🍎 Listen on Apple Podcasts
📩 Newsletter & More Content
🐦 Follow on X (Twitter)
📸 Follow on Instagram
💼 Connect on LinkedIn
If you’ve ever worked at a startup, are thinking about joining one, or want to hear what it’s really like behind the scenes, Early is for you. This is just the beginning—new episodes will be dropping (at least) every Tuesday, and I’d love your feedback on who we should interview next. Email me: max@earlypod.com
Let’s go!!!!! 🚀
#EarlyPodcast #Startups #Entrepreneurship #PodcastLaunch #FounderStories
