Before the tens of billions raised, the almost $50B!! valuation... the Summer Camps... the flameout....& the Hulu doc… there was one scrappy floor in SoHo, New York — and Jesse Middleton was there at a desk. Now he tells all.

As a founding team member and co-creator of WeWork Labs, Jesse helped build WeWork from a Craigslist ad to a global phenomenon. In this episode, he breaks down how it all happened — and where it all went off the rails.

We cover:

● The real story of WeWork’s earliest days

● Why WeLive felt wrong from the start

● How Adam Neumann inspired obsession (and burnout)

● What Summer Camp was actually like

● How Jesse uses those lessons now as a venture capitalist

This is one of the most honest, in-the-room breakdowns of WeWork ever recorded.

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#WeWork #Startups #EarlyPodcast #Visionaries #VentureCapital

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🔹 Spotify: https://earlypod.com/spotify

🔹 Apple Podcasts: https://earlypod.com/apple

🚀 New episodes drop every Tuesday. Let’s build this together.

👉 Like, subscribe, and drop a comment — I want to hear from you!!

📩 Thoughts or guest ideas? Email me: max@earlypod.com

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Marshall Osborne was a college kid from Indiana who landed in San Francisco with no job, no apartment, and no promise of a role—just hustle.

Within weeks, he talked his way into an internship at Uber, eventually dropping out of school and becoming the intern who took Beyoncé to Vegas and helped turn Uber into a cultural verb.

What followed was a GREAT early employee journey that will inspire everyone who hears it.

In this episode, Marshall breaks down how he:

● Saved a major deal by publicly correcting Amex’s president mid-meeting

● Turned Uber into a pop culture juggernaut through celebrities, sports, and brand deals

● Negotiated a secret Beyoncé concert for 4,500 Uber employees… paid in equity

● Helped launch Uber’s NFL partnership and Spotify integrations before “brand collabs” were a thing

● Learned to make impossible deals happen by understanding incentives, timing, and how to “know your enemy”

He worked alongside with Travis Kalanick and Emil Michael, helped define Uber’s early brand, and played a massive role in turning a ride-hailing app into a lifestyle.

Whether you’re a founder, a dealmaker, or just love behind-the-scenes startup chaos — this episode is a masterclass.

Connect with Marshall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshallosborne/

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🎧 Listen to the full episode:

🔹 Spotify: https://earlypod.com/spotify

🔹 Apple Podcasts: https://earlypod.com/apple

🚀 New episodes drop every Tuesday. Let’s build this together.

👉 Like, subscribe, and drop a comment — I want to hear from you!!

📩 Thoughts or guest ideas? Email me: max@earlypod.com

📱 Follow for daily updates:

• 🐦 X (Twitter): https://earlypod.com/x

• ✨ TikTok: https://www.earlypod/tt

• 📸 Instagram: https://www.earlypod/ig

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Frederique helped build the tools that made Uber scale, before there were dashboards, systems, or even GPS driving directions in the app.

In this episode of The Early Podcast, Max sits down with Frederique Dame, an early product leader at Uber and now a General Partner at GV (Google Ventures). They dive deep into the early chaos, the culture that made Uber magic, and how Frederique architected the driver onboarding experience that powered the company’s global growth.

From building backend systems to managing all-hands-on-deck workations, Frederique shares what it really took to scale—and how great culture isn’t just built, it’s lived.

🎙 Topics include:

• Why Uber didn’t prioritize GPS early on
• How they built driver tools from scratch
• What it was like working with Travis Kalanick
• The work-hard-play-hard culture that defined Uber’s rise
• • How she brings that same energy to founders at GV

Connect with Frederique: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frederiquedame/

🔔 Subscribe for more episodes with the early builders behind iconic startups.

📸 Follow us on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter @earlypod

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🎧 Listen to the full episode:

🔹 Spotify: https://earlypod.com/spotify

🔹 Apple Podcasts: https://earlypod.com/apple

🚀 New episodes drop every Tuesday. Let’s build this together.

👉 Like, subscribe, and drop a comment — I want to hear from you!!

📩 Thoughts or guest ideas? Email me: max@earlypod.com

📱 Follow for daily updates:

• 🐦 X (Twitter): https://earlypod.com/x

• ✨ TikTok: https://www.earlypod/tt

• 📸 Instagram: https://www.earlypod/ig

• 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.earlypod/li

• 📩 Newsletter: https://earlypod.com/subscribe