Brick by Brick: What Product Market Fit Feels Like - Aston Motes, Employee #1 @ Dropbox

Brick by Brick

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


Links: Find Aston on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/aston-motes/) or on his website (astonmotes.com)
Brick by Brick is presented by Garuda Ventures (https://garuda.vc).

About 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 episode was hosted by Rishi Taparia. Find Rishi on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rktaparia/), Substack (taps.substack.com) or X/Twitter (x.com/taps) 

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