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Non-Founder Crew

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by Alicia Thomas

5.0(1 reviews)

9 episodes

Updated Daily

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Podcast Overview

Non-Founder Crew is a show for employees navigating the unpredictable world of tech startups, from the moments of chaos and uncertainty to chasing impossible goals. In each episode, host Alicia Thomas shares the lessons she learned after spending over a decade working in startups and the unspoken rules of surviving ~ and thriving ~ in a startup. You’ll also hear stories from experts and other non-founder employees who built their careers in the trenches of the startup world. Subscribe to Non-Founder Crew so you never miss an episode.

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Publishing Since

3/5/2026

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Recent Episodes

July 7, 2026

Building a Startup From Zero: Nicole Zartarian on Being Employee One and Owning Growth

Building a startup from the earliest stages (think employee #1 and up) requires a specific mindset and approach to work. Often, there’s a lack of processes to guide you, a lack of clarity on roles, and minimal teammates to rely on and fall back on. The only given is a relentless pursuit of growth. Early employees have to learn how to create processes, identify business opportunities, and take ownership of problems before they are assigned, while also learning to advocate for fair compensation and equity for themselves. In this episode, I sit down with Nicole Zartarian, who has been an early-stage product leader and employee #1 at a healthcare startup. Nicole shares all that she learned while helping build a company from the earliest days into a flourishing business with a growing team. Nicole shares how she developed the ability to operate without a roadmap, learned the ropes from technical teams thanks to her innate curiosity, and turned uncertainty into an opportunity to build new skills.We’ll explore how early employees can grow by becoming self-directed, why documenting your work is essential when moving into higher-impact roles, and how letting go of ownership can create space for tackling bigger challenges. We also discuss how parenthood changed Nicole’s approach to prioritization and boundaries, and why early employees have a unique opportunity to influence company culture, policies, and the way teams work together.Highlights:<ul><li>[00:00] Intro</li><li>[01:14] Starting as Employee #1 with No Office and Vague Job Title</li><li>[02:28] Self-Direction: Figuring Out What to Do When No One Tells You</li><li>[04:00] Negotiating Equity Early with Help from a Trusted Mentor</li><li>[07:13] Overcoming Imposter Syndrome Through Patient Teachers</li><li>[10:47] Building Like Legos: The Joy of Creating from Scratch</li><li>[11:06] Giving Away Your Legos: Delegating Without Losing Your Mind</li><li>[14:13] Staying Adaptable Through Constant Change and New Hires</li><li>[16:38] Balancing Parenthood with Startup Ambition</li><li>[23:11] Creating Family-Friendly Policies That Benefit Everyone</li><li>[25:31] Scripting Compensation Talks and Asking for More</li><li>[27:23] Finding Your Fairy Godmother Mentor</li><li>[28:09] Advice to Your Younger Self: Push Through Fear and Stay Bold</li></ul> Resources:<ul><li>Follow me on Substack: <a href="https://nonfoundercrew.substack.com/">https://nonfoundercrew.substack.com/</a> </li><li>Connect with me on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciarosethomas">https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciarosethomas</a> </li><li>Non-Founder Crew’s website: <a href="https://www.nonfoundercrew.com/">https://www.nonfoundercrew.com/</a> </li><li>Non-Founder Crew on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/non-founder-crew/id1882740768">Apple Podcasts</a></li><li>Non- Founder Crew on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6Q8q21qsIeIZB4tFYCkcJn">Spotify</a></li><li>Non-Founder Crew on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=non-founder+crew">YouTube</a></li></ul>

June 23, 2026

The Truth About Startup Equity in 2026: Insights From Carta’s Data

Startup employees hear a lot about equity, but most of the conversation is based on anecdotal data from assumptions, headlines, or individual experiences. To really understand what’s happening in the market, you need hard data to back up the trends. In this episode, I sit down with Hamza Shad, Insights Manager at Carta, to unpack what Carta’s startup compensation data reveals about the current state of employee equity. With insights covering tens of thousands of private companies and around one million startup employees, Hamza brings a unique view into how compensation is changing across the startup ecosystem.We’ll explore the biggest shifts in startup equity, including why employee equity grants have been increasing, how smaller startup teams are changing the value equation, and why AI companies are reshaping compensation trends. We’ll also dig into what the data says about who is seeing the biggest changes in equity grants and how non-founder employees should think about their ownership.Finally, we’ll break down the biggest misconceptions around startup equity, what employees should understand when evaluating offers, and the market trends that could shape startup hiring and compensation in 2026.Highlights:<ul><li>(00:00) Intro</li><li>(01:11) Understanding Carta's Startup Compensation Data</li><li>(03:12) Benchmark Your Startup Compensation Against Market Data</li><li>(04:54) Why Startup Layoff Narratives Differ from Big Tech Reality</li><li>(05:16) Smaller Teams, Higher Valuations, Better Equity Math</li><li>(06:20) Employee Equity Up 13%, Executive Equity Only 1.2%</li><li>(07:27) Stop Assigning Dollar Values to Early-Stage Equity</li><li>(08:37) The AI Premium: Valuation Growth Over Dilution</li><li>(09:59) AI Engineer Compensation Surge and Market Scarcity</li><li>(11:30) Understanding Option Pools and Series C Equity Grants</li><li>(12:58) Hiring Trends and IPO Liquidity as Market Indicators</li><li>(13:14) The Evolution of Job Titles in 2026</li><li>(15:19) Carta's Interactive Data Tools Coming Soon</li><li>(15:59) Where to Find Carta's Reports and Stay Connected</li><li>(17:00) Key Takeaways for Startup Employees in 2026</li></ul>Resources:<ul><li>Follow me on Substack: <a href="https://nonfoundercrew.substack.com/">https://nonfoundercrew.substack.com/</a> </li><li>Connect with me on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciarosethomas">https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciarosethomas</a> </li><li>Non-Founder Crew’s website: <a href="https://www.nonfoundercrew.com/">https://www.nonfoundercrew.com/</a> </li><li>Non-Founder Crew on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/non-founder-crew/id1882740768">Apple Podcasts</a></li><li>Non- Founder Crew on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6Q8q21qsIeIZB4tFYCkcJn">Spotify</a></li><li>Non-Founder Crew on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=non-founder+crew">YouTube</a></li></ul>Here’s the link to download the full Carta State of Compensation Report: <a href="https://carta.com/data/startup-compensation-h2-2025/">https://carta.com/data/startup-compensation-h2-2025/</a>

June 9, 2026

Must-Ask Questions When Joining a Startup in 2026

If you want more like this, I share deeper breakdowns on my Substack.In this episode of Non-Founder Crew, I’m breaking down one of the most overlooked skills in startup careers: how to properly evaluate a startup before you join it.Most candidates spend interviews answering questions while barely asking any of their own. But joining a startup is an investment of your time, energy, and often your financial future. In this episode, I’ll walk you through the exact questions I believe every startup candidate should ask before accepting an offer.We’ll cover the core business metrics that actually matter, including ARR, burn rate, runway, churn, CAC, and customer retention, along with what good answers and major red flags sound like in practice.I also explain why evaluating AI startups requires a completely different lens than traditional SaaS companies. We’ll unpack concepts like inference costs, AI retention challenges, and what creates a real moat in an increasingly commoditized market.Finally, I break down the equity questions most people forget to ask until it’s too late, helping you better understand what your offer is actually worth before you sign.Highlights: (00:00) Why startup interviews are the wrong way around (01:10) Joining a startup is an investment, not just a job (02:10) Why evaluating AI startups requires a new playbook (03:10) Why most candidates avoid asking hard questions (04:10) My experience joining the wrong startup (05:00) Why founders should welcome tough questions (05:40) When and how to ask these questions in interviews (06:20) Question #1: ARR and growth targets (06:55) Question #2: Year-over-year growth trajectory (07:25) Question #3: Burn rate, runway, and cash in the bank (08:20) Question #4: Churn, ACV, and CAC (08:50) Question #5: Why customers churn (09:20) Question #6: The company’s biggest challenge (09:50) Why traditional SaaS metrics fail for AI companies (11:00) AI Question #1: Gross margins and inference costs (12:30) AI Question #2: Gross retention and the “AI tourist effect.” (13:45) AI Question #3: Moats and model commoditization (14:45) Understanding startup equity and compensation (15:20) Equity basics: Strike price and fair market value (15:40) How to evaluate stock options and ownership percentage (16:00) ISOs vs NSOs, vesting, and acceleration clauses (16:15) The question that reveals how founders think about equity (16:40) Why AI startup valuations can make equity risky (17:05) How founders respond to your questions matters most (18:10) Final thoughts and newsletter signup Resources:<ul><li>Follow me on Substack: <a href="https://nonfoundercrew.substack.com/">https://nonfoundercrew.substack.com/</a> </li><li>Connect with me on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciarosethomas">https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciarosethomas</a> </li><li>Non-Founder Crew’s website: <a href="https://www.nonfoundercrew.com/">https://www.nonfoundercrew.com/</a> </li><li>Non-Founder Crew on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/non-founder-crew/id1882740768">Apple Podcasts</a></li><li>Non- Founder Crew on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6Q8q21qsIeIZB4tFYCkcJn">Spotify</a></li><li>Non-Founder Crew on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=non-founder+crew">YouTube</a></li></ul>Steal Our Free Interview Question Sheet. Download our Non-Founder Crew sheet for quick access to every question from this episode: From SaaS, AI, to equity and more. <a href="https://bit.ly/3PNCfyk">https://bit.ly/3PNCfyk</a>

9 total episodes available

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Frequently asked questions

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What is Non-Founder Crew?: Non-Founder Crew is a show for employees navigating the unpredictable world of tech startups, from the moments of chaos and uncertainty to chasing impossible goals.

In each episode, host Alicia Thomas shares the lessons she learned after spending over a decade working in startups and the unspoken rules of surviving ~ and thriving ~ in a startup. You’ll also hear stories from experts and other non-founder employees who built their careers in the trenches of the startup world.

Subscribe to Non-Founder Crew so you never miss an episode.
How often does this podcast release new episodes?: This podcast updates daily.
Where can I listen to this podcast?: This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
Does this podcast accept guests?: Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.

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