185: Nice Mahogany Table
Debby Meredith, venture partner at Icon Ventures and interim VP of engineering, explains her role in evaluating technical diligence for Series B investments and helping portfolio companies scale. She discusses hiring strategies, emphasizing employee referrals and backchannel references to avoid cultural fit issues, and clarifies the limited but critical power of startup boards in hiring and firing CEOs. Meredith also offers career advice for engineers, stressing the importance of associating with high-caliber talent and managing the 'engineer's curse' of excessive skepticism when advising startups.