No! I was the only engineer at a startup for 18 months (!) and we're now up to 7. Some of the other 6 will never be expected to take on management roles.
One of the great things about being an IC at an early company is there is so much to do. You get to put your fingerprints on a lot of things across the company because there won't be enough people to spread out all those tasks. As the company grows, those foundations become opportunities for you to grow from sole contributor to technical lead on each one; so much so that the hardest part will be choosing what to give up control of, not to what to keep contributing.
If you find yourself in this situation, I strongly recommend being involved in the search for your VPE. It could be really frustrating to build the technical foundations for a company only to be so frustrated by a poor manager being hired above you without your input that you might even quit. Wouldn't be good for your equity, either :).
PS this implies that if you don't want to grow into mgmt, you'll need to grow into being a good lead developer. Early startups have no room for people unwilling to grow.
One of the great things about being an IC at an early company is there is so much to do. You get to put your fingerprints on a lot of things across the company because there won't be enough people to spread out all those tasks. As the company grows, those foundations become opportunities for you to grow from sole contributor to technical lead on each one; so much so that the hardest part will be choosing what to give up control of, not to what to keep contributing.
If you find yourself in this situation, I strongly recommend being involved in the search for your VPE. It could be really frustrating to build the technical foundations for a company only to be so frustrated by a poor manager being hired above you without your input that you might even quit. Wouldn't be good for your equity, either :).
PS this implies that if you don't want to grow into mgmt, you'll need to grow into being a good lead developer. Early startups have no room for people unwilling to grow.