Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Lenny Rachitsky
  • 5.0 (150)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover concrete, actionable, and tactical advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product. www.lennysnewsletter.com

  1. Why most public speaking advice is wrong—and how to finally overcome your speaking anxiety | Tristan de Montebello (CEO & co-founder of Ultraspeaking)

    1 DAY AGO

    Why most public speaking advice is wrong—and how to finally overcome your speaking anxiety | Tristan de Montebello (CEO & co-founder of Ultraspeaking)

    Tristan de Montebello is the co-creator of Ultraspeaking, the most effective method I’ve come across for rapidly improving communication and presentation skills. In 2017, Tristan became the fastest person ever to reach the finals of the World Championship of Public Speaking, achieving this feat in just seven months with no prior experience. In our conversation, we discuss: • Why public speaking is a meta skill that can transform your life • Practical games and exercises to improve your speaking skills • The “Accordion Method” for preparing talks without memorization • The “Bow and Arrow Technique” for crafting memorable presentations • Tristan’s journey to the World Championship of Public Speaking finals • Lenny doing some of the exercises live on-screen Tristan is offering a limited-time discount to Ultraspeaking. Both codes are valid until November 14, 2024: → $500 off an Unlimited Membership with code UNLIMITEDLENNY500 → $200 off a Rapid Tier pass for a single cohort with code RAPIDLENNY200 — Brought to you by: • Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments • Command AI—AI-powered user assistance for modern products and impatient users • Brave Search—A smarter way to search — Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/master-public-speaking-tristan-de-montebello — Where to find Tristan de Montebello: • X: https://x.com/Montebello • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristandemontebello/ • Website: https://ultraspeaking.com • Free email course: https://ultraspeaking.com/lenny/ — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to Tristan de Montebello and Ultraspeaking (01:42) Personal experiences with public speaking (05:35) Misconceptions and meta skills in public speaking (08:56) Enjoyment as a barometer for effective speaking (15:30) Tactical tips for public speaking (29:15) The importance of practice and games (34:50) Game 1: The Conductor (Accessing different emotional states) (45:54) Mindset shift: playing the game (51:07) Game 2: Triple Step (Staying focused amid distractions) (01:07:51) Quieting the noise (01:09:46) Game 3: Conviction Prompts (Building executive presence) (01:17:27) The Accordion Method explained (01:37:57) The Bow and Arrow technique (01:43:43) Final thoughts and encouragement (01:44:55) Lightning round — Referenced: • Michael Gendler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgendler • Alienor playing Conductor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmholFWwHro • Triple Step: https://ultraspeaking.com/triple-step-game/ • Rapid Fire Analogies: https://ultraspeaking.com/rapid-fire-game/ • Joe Rogan Experience #1309 — Naval Ravikant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qHkcs3kG44 • The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Leap-Conquer-Hidden-Level/dp/0061735361 • Tall poppy syndrome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome • Peaky Blinders on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80002479 • The Nice Guys on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Nice-Guys-Russell-Crowe/dp/B01FV1GLR8 • Ember temperature control smart mug: https://www.amazon.com/Ember-Temperature-Control-1-5-hr-Battery/dp/B07NQRM6ML • How I got to the World Championships of Public Speaking in 7 months: https://medium.com/the-mission/3000-people-staring-c2cbd14c6d6c — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

    1h 57m
  2. Behind the product: NotebookLM | Raiza Martin (Senior Product Manager, AI @ Google Labs)

    4 DAYS AGO

    Behind the product: NotebookLM | Raiza Martin (Senior Product Manager, AI @ Google Labs)

    Raiza Martin is a senior product manager for AI at Google Labs, where she leads the team behind NotebookLM, an AI-powered research tool that includes a delightful podcast-on-demand feature called “Audio Overviews.” NotebookLM started as a 20% project and has grown into a product that’s spreading across social media and has a Discord server with over 60,000 users. Raiza previously worked on AI Test Kitchen and has a background in startups, payments, and ads. In our conversation, we discuss: • The origin story of NotebookLM • The future road map for NotebookLM • How Google Labs operates differently from the rest of Google • The development of the “Audio Overviews” feature • Key metrics and growth of NotebookLM • Stories about collaborating with author Steven Johnson • Navigating potential misuse of AI technology — Brought to you by: • Explo — Embed customer-facing analytics in your product • Sprig⁠⁠ — Build products for people, not data points • Sidebar — Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/googles-notebooklm-raiza-martin — Where to find Raiza Martin: • X: https://x.com/raiza_abubakar • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whatsaraiza/ — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to NotebookLM (05:43) The genesis of NotebookLM (08:08) Innovative features and use cases (18:52) Building a startup culture within Google (24:28) Expanding user demographics (27:30) The product roadmap (32:18) Other use cases (36:11) Collaborating with Steven Johnson (42:49) Ensuring ethical AI (46:06) Future directions and user engagement — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

    49 min
  3. Becoming a conscious leader: Leading without fear, finding your life’s objective function, and getting better at vision and strategy | John Mark Nickels (Uber, Waymo, DoorDash)

    OCT 6

    Becoming a conscious leader: Leading without fear, finding your life’s objective function, and getting better at vision and strategy | John Mark Nickels (Uber, Waymo, DoorDash)

    JM Nickels is a Senior Director of Product Management at Uber. Previously, he was Head of Product for Commercialization at Waymo and led product teams at DoorDash. JM is also a coach and advisor focused on conscious leadership. In our conversation, we discuss: • How to sharpen your vision and strategy skills • What “conscious leadership” means and how to practice it • Practical techniques for managing stress • The power of soft skills and emotional intelligence in product leadership • Lessons from working at Uber, Waymo, and DoorDash • Keys to living a successful and fulfilling life • Much more — Brought to you by: • Pendo—The only all-in-one product experience platform for any type of application • The Enterprise Ready Conference — For B2B leaders building enterprise SaaS • Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security — Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/becoming-a-conscious-leader-john-mark-nickels — Where to find John Mark Nickels: • X: https://x.com/nickelsjm • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmnickels/ • Website: https://www.rhythmofbeing.com/ — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to JM (02:02) Conscious leadership explained (03:41) The power of soft skills (07:34) Navigating Uber’s evolution (12:41) Embracing emotions and inner work (21:46) Crafting strategy and vision (41:16) Balancing vision and execution (46:13) Lessons from DoorDash, Uber, and Waymo (52:32) The future of autonomous ride-hailing (55:18) Contrarian corner: Embracing emotions in the workplace (59:47) Keys to a fulfilling life (01:04:45) Taking responsibility and agency (01:07:29) Lightning round and final thoughts — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

    1h 18m
  4. Thinking like a gardener not a builder, organizing teams like slime mold, the adjacent possible, and other unconventional product advice | Alex Komoroske (Stripe, Google)

    OCT 3

    Thinking like a gardener not a builder, organizing teams like slime mold, the adjacent possible, and other unconventional product advice | Alex Komoroske (Stripe, Google)

    Alex Komoroske is a strategic leader who merges the practice, theory, and mindset necessary to tackle complex problems. He spent 13 years at Google, where he worked on Search and DoubleClick and led Chrome’s Open Web Platform. He also spearheaded Augmented Reality in Google Maps and developed toolkits to align companywide strategy from the ground up. After serving as Head of Corporate Strategy at Stripe, he is now co-founding a startup aimed at reimagining the web for the AI era. Alex created the popular “Slime Molds” deck, which offers fresh insights into organizational dynamics. He is also the author of the widely read “Bits and Bobs,” a collection of thought-provoking reflections.In our conversation, we delve into: • “Organizational kayfabe” • “Gardening” vs. “building” • How AI will soon change how we build product • How and why to embrace the adjacent possible • The power of reflection and how to build it into your workflow • How to create emergent properties in organizations • How to run effective “strategy salons” or “nerd clubs” • Much more — Brought to you by: • Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments • Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security • Coda—The all-in-one collaborative workspace — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/unconventional-product-advice-alex-komoroske — Where to find Alex Komoroske: • X: https://x.com/komorama • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-komoroske-6597336/ • Website: https://www.komoroske.com/ — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to Alex (01:53) Alex’s Bits and Bobs document (06:20) The Compendium and note-taking process (10:10) The impact of AI and LLMs on product development (14:24) Skills to lean into as a product manager (19:02) How AI makes us better as individuals (23:04) Organizational kayfabe (31:48) Gardening vs. building (34:46) Emergence-oriented thinking (41:55) Slime molds and organizational structure (45:15) Identifying resonant ideas (47:05) The power of metaphors (48:02) Strategy salons and nerd clubs (52:30) Building and sustaining communities (55:59) Productivity hacks and self-control (01:01:04) Life philosophy and personal insights (01:07:52) The adjacent possible (01:15:56) Lightning round — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

    1h 25m
  5. How marketplaces win: Liquidity, growth levers, quality, and more | Benjamin Lauzier (Lyft, Thumbtack, Reforge)

    SEPT 29

    How marketplaces win: Liquidity, growth levers, quality, and more | Benjamin Lauzier (Lyft, Thumbtack, Reforge)

    Benjamin Lauzier has been building and scaling marketplaces for almost 15 years. He was the VP of product and growth at Thumbtack, where he rebuilt the product team and Thumbtack’s growth levers, re-architected their revenue model, and helped double the company’s growth within three years. Prior to Thumbtack, Ben was at Lyft for six years, where he led the supply side of the product organization to a point where 1% of U.S. workers were driving for Lyft every month. Currently, he advises marketplace teams and founders, teaches a Reforge course on marketplace growth, and has recently launched a health tech company called Nurra, which connects users with care advocates to navigate the health-care system. In our conversation, we cover: • What defines a marketplace business • Strategies for growing supply and demand in the early stages • How to measure liquidity and other marketplace health metrics • How to evaluate if a marketplace model is right for your idea • Lessons from Lyft, Thumbtack, and other successful marketplaces • The differences between product management in the U.S. and Europe — Brought to you by: • Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments • Paragon—Ship every SaaS integration your customers want • Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-marketplaces-win-benjamin-lauzier — Where to find Benjamin Lauzier: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminlauzier/ • Ben’s Reforge course: https://www.reforge.com/courses/marketplace-growth/details — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Ben’s background (02:24) Defining a marketplace (07:52) Challenges in building a marketplace (13:28) Methods for growing supply (15:57) Understanding marketplace liquidity (21:36) Identifying product-market fit in marketplaces (24:10) Evaluating marketplace business models (27:20) Common pitfalls and failures in marketplaces (36:23) Managed marketplaces and quality control (42:26) Lyft’s rental car initiative (46:35) Mentorship and ambassador programs (51:21) Driver recruitment strategies (54:12) Lyft vs. Uber: a strategic analysis (59:24) Cultural differences in tech: Europe vs. U.S. (01:10:30) Building a health advocacy platform (01:16:52) Lightning round and final thoughts — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

    1h 24m
  6. Lessons in product leadership and AI strategy from Glean, Google, Amazon, and Slack | Tamar Yehoshua (Product at Glean, ex-Google and Slack)

    SEPT 26

    Lessons in product leadership and AI strategy from Glean, Google, Amazon, and Slack | Tamar Yehoshua (Product at Glean, ex-Google and Slack)

    Tamar Yehoshua is the president of product and technology at Glean. Prior to joining Glean, Tamar was chief product officer at Slack, where she led product, design, and research as the company scaled, including a 10x increase in revenue, its public listing, and an acquisition by Salesforce. She also led product and engineering teams at Google, working on search, identity, and privacy, and at A9.com, an Amazon company. Tamar has served on the board of directors for RetailMeNot, ServiceNow, Snyk, and Yext. In our conversation, we discuss: • Why you don’t need to be a well-run company to win • The impact of AI on product management and the future of work • How to build strong cross-functional relationships, especially with engineers • Lessons learned from working with leaders like Jeff Bezos and Stewart Butterfield • Strategies for staying ahead in a rapidly evolving tech landscape • Much more — Brought to you by: • Explo—Embed customer-facing analytics in your product • Sprig⁠⁠—Build products for people, not data points • Sidebar—Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/you-dont-need-to-be-a-well-run-company-to-win-tamar-yehoshua — Where to find Tamar Yehoshua: • X: https://x.com/TYehoshua • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamar-yehoshua-886217/ • Newsletter: https://tamaryehoshua.substack.com/ — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Tamar’s background (02:09) Key advice for career success (06:54) Understanding people and motivations (09:33) The importance of impact (11:20) Navigating company chaos (18:40) Career planning: a different perspective (26:22) Lessons from industry leaders (37:59) Building stronger cross-functional relationships (42:00) Streamlining OKR reviews with async methods (45:26) Why you shouldn’t worry so much about making users unhappy (47:50) The power of listening in leadership (52:34) How to leverage AI so you don’t fall behind (01:06:39) Closing thoughts and lightning round — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

    1h 17m
  7. Becoming a super IC: Lessons from 12 years as a PM individual contributor | Tal Raviv (Product Lead at Riverside)

    SEPT 22

    Becoming a super IC: Lessons from 12 years as a PM individual contributor | Tal Raviv (Product Lead at Riverside)

    Tal Raviv is a product manager at Riverside, where he joined as its first PM. Over his 12-year career as an individual contributor, Tal has been an early PM at Patreon, AppsFlyer, and Wix, working in consumer growth, developer API platforms, and pricing. He started his career by co-founding a profitable SaaS company and also volunteers as a surf instructor for people with disabilities. In our conversation, Tal shares: • Why he has chosen to stay an individual contributor rather than moving into management • The rise of “super ICs” and how companies can support this career path • Advice for succeeding as a long-term IC product manager • How he uses AI to enhance his productivity • How to build self-reliant teams and make yourself redundant • Lessons from failures • Much more — Brought to you by: • Gamma—A new way to present, powered by AI • WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs • Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-super-ic-pm-tal-raviv — Where to find Tal Raviv: • X: https://x.com/talraviv • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talsraviv/ • Maven course: https://maven.com/tal-raviv/product-manager-productivity-system/ — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Tal’s background (02:24) Choosing to stay an IC product manager (07:05) The value of IC roles (08:31) Compensation and career path (12:37) Advice for companies on creating space for ICs (14:33) Leveraging AI for productivity (22:44) Build your personal PM productivity system (37:39) Contrarian opinions and insights (44:32) Book smart vs. street smart decision-making (51:51) There’s no one right way to get things done (57:03) Failure corner (01:19:04) Lightning round (01:26:50) Living through conflict — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

    1h 31m
  8. Rethinking SEO in the age of AI | Eli Schwartz (SEO advisor, author)

    SEPT 19

    Rethinking SEO in the age of AI | Eli Schwartz (SEO advisor, author)

    Eli Schwartz is a leading SEO consultant and the author of Product-Led SEO. He has worked with industry giants like Zapier, Tinder, Coinbase, Quora, LinkedIn, and WordPress to build and execute global SEO strategies that significantly enhanced their organic visibility at scale. In our conversation, Eli shares: • How AI and LLMs are reshaping the SEO landscape • Why you should be focused on mid-funnel SEO strategies • How to determine if SEO is the right approach for your business • Why SEO should be treated as a product rather than just a marketing tactic • SEO myths • The future of search in light of recent legal challenges faced by Google • Much more — Brought to you by: • Pendo—The only all-in-one product experience platform for any type of application • Brave Search—A smarter way to search • OneSchema—Import CSV data 10x faster — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/rethinking-seo-in-the-age-of-ai-eli-schwartz — Where to find Eli Schwartz: • X: https://x.com/5le • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwartze/ • Website: https://www.elischwartz.co/ • Newsletter: https://www.productledseo.com/ — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Eli’s background (02:10) The impact of AI on SEO strategies (11:34) Understanding search intent (15:30) Real-world impact and structured vs. unstructured data (20:19) Top-of-funnel vs mid-funnel SEO strategies (22:57) Case studies (31:29) Steps for getting started with SEO (35:20) Examples of when not to focus on SEO (39:17) Evaluating SEO investment (44:00) Understanding the tradeoffs in marketing channels (46:23) SEO conversion metrics and expectations (52:09) Understanding the time horizon of SEO (59:37) The role of AI in content creation (01:05:26) AI overviews  (01:07:40) Brand building and SEO (01:09:51) Programmatic vs. editorial SEO strategies (01:16:06) Insights from the Google antitrust verdict (01:20:36) Google’s dominance in search (01:23:52) The future of SEO and user choice (01:26:28) SEO myths debunked (01:36:58) Forecasting SEO success (01:44:18) The need for SEO expertise (01:46:26) Lightning round and closing thoughts — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

    1h 55m
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Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover concrete, actionable, and tactical advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product. www.lennysnewsletter.com

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