Scaling Startups: Behind the Scenes of Fleetio’s Growth

Level-up Engineering

Scaling engineering teams can happen in a lot of different ways. Let’s take a look at a real-life example, how Fleetio scaled their product and team over the years.

Their Principal Software Engineer, Richard Young shares what challenges they faced, the strategies they implemented and gives valuable tips to those who consider joining or scaling a startup.

Sign up to the Level-up Engineering newsletter!

In this interview we're covering:

• Fleetio’s approach to scaling
• Fleetio’s approach to hiring
• Mentorship programs
• Scaling as a startup
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Bonus advice for scaling engineering teams
• Advice for engineers joining startups

Excerpt from the interview:

“Unlike many startups driven by external investor pressure to rapidly expand, Fleetio charted its own course, prioritizing autonomy and organic growth. This autonomy allowed us to make decisions aligned with our vision and pace of development, a significant draw for me when I joined the company.

Navigating the demands of a small engineering team posed its own set of challenges. With just a handful of us, balancing the delivery of customer features with support across various departments like sales, marketing, and product marketing became crucial. Our engineering efforts weren't limited to coding; we had to be nimble in assisting other teams to ensure customer satisfaction and sustained growth.”