diff --git a/internal/cmd/crew.go b/internal/cmd/crew.go
index b4817868..210a4b03 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/crew.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/crew.go
@@ -233,9 +233,9 @@ var crewPrevCmd = &cobra.Command{
 }
 
 var crewStartCmd = &cobra.Command{
-	Use:   "start [name]",
-	Short: "Start a crew workspace (creates if needed)",
-	Long: `Start a crew workspace, creating it if it doesn't exist.
+	Use:   "start [name...]",
+	Short: "Start crew workspace(s) (creates if needed)",
+	Long: `Start one or more crew workspaces, creating them if they don't exist.
 
 This is an alias for 'gt start crew'. It combines 'gt crew add' and 'gt crew at --detached'.
 The crew session starts in the background with Claude running and ready.
@@ -249,11 +249,11 @@ Role Discovery:
   workspace automatically.
 
 Examples:
-  gt crew start joe                    # Start joe in current rig
-  gt crew start gastown/joe            # Start joe in gastown rig
-  gt crew start joe --rig beads        # Start joe in beads rig
-  gt crew start                        # Auto-detect from cwd`,
-	Args: cobra.MaximumNArgs(1),
+  gt crew start joe                         # Start joe in current rig
+  gt crew start gastown/joe                 # Start joe in gastown rig
+  gt crew start beads/grip beads/fang       # Start multiple crew members
+  gt crew start joe --rig beads             # Start joe in beads rig
+  gt crew start                             # Auto-detect from cwd`,
 	RunE: runCrewStart,
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/cmd/crew_lifecycle.go b/internal/cmd/crew_lifecycle.go
index d1c57a74..e382915a 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/crew_lifecycle.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/crew_lifecycle.go
@@ -176,12 +176,28 @@ func runCrewRefresh(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 
 // runCrewStart is an alias for runStartCrew, handling multiple input formats.
 // It supports: "name", "rig/name", "rig/crew/name" formats, or auto-detection from cwd.
+// Multiple names can be provided to start multiple crew members at once.
 func runCrewStart(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-	var name string
+	// If no args, try to detect from current directory
+	if len(args) == 0 {
+		detected, err := detectCrewFromCwd()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("could not detect crew workspace from current directory: %w\n\nUsage: gt crew start <name>", err)
+		}
+		name := detected.crewName
+		if crewRig == "" {
+			crewRig = detected.rigName
+		}
+		fmt.Printf("Detected crew workspace: %s/%s\n", detected.rigName, name)
 
-	// Determine crew name: from arg, or auto-detect from cwd
-	if len(args) > 0 {
-		name = args[0]
+		startCrewRig = crewRig
+		startCrewAccount = crewAccount
+		return runStartCrew(cmd, []string{name})
+	}
+
+	// Process each name
+	var lastErr error
+	for _, name := range args {
 		// Handle rig/crew/name format (e.g., "gastown/crew/joe" -> "gastown/joe")
 		if strings.Contains(name, "/crew/") {
 			parts := strings.SplitN(name, "/crew/", 2)
@@ -189,24 +205,18 @@ func runCrewStart(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 				name = parts[0] + "/" + parts[1]
 			}
 		}
-	} else {
-		// Try to detect from current directory
-		detected, err := detectCrewFromCwd()
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("could not detect crew workspace from current directory: %w\n\nUsage: gt crew start <name>", err)
+
+		// Set the start.go flags from crew.go flags before calling
+		startCrewRig = crewRig
+		startCrewAccount = crewAccount
+
+		if err := runStartCrew(cmd, []string{name}); err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("Error starting %s: %v\n", name, err)
+			lastErr = err
 		}
-		name = detected.crewName
-		if crewRig == "" {
-			crewRig = detected.rigName
-		}
-		fmt.Printf("Detected crew workspace: %s/%s\n", detected.rigName, name)
 	}
 
-	// Set the start.go flags from crew.go flags before calling
-	startCrewRig = crewRig
-	startCrewAccount = crewAccount
-
-	return runStartCrew(cmd, []string{name})
+	return lastErr
 }
 
 func runCrewRestart(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {