Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Lenny Rachitsky
  • 5.0 (15)
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  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career Podcast

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. The things engineers are desperate for PMs to understand | Camille Fournier (author of “The Manager’s Path,” ex-CTO at Rent the Runway)

    12 HRS AGO

    The things engineers are desperate for PMs to understand | Camille Fournier (author of “The Manager’s Path,” ex-CTO at Rent the Runway)

    Camille Fournier is the author of The Manager’s Path, which many consider the definitive guide for navigating one’s career path in tech. Camille was previously the CTO of Rent the Runway, VP of Technology at Goldman Sachs, Head of Platform Engineering at Two Sigma, and Global Head of Engineering and Architecture at JPMorgan Chase. She is about to release new newest book, Platform Engineering: A Guide for Technical, Product, and People Leaders. In our conversation, we discuss: • What product managers do that annoys engineers • Why major rewrites are a trap • Why you should have fewer one-on-ones • Strategies for organizing and working with platform teams • Tips for new managers • Advice for transitioning from individual contributor to manager • Much more — Brought to you by: • DX—A platform for measuring and improving developer productivity • CommandBar—AI-powered user assistance for modern products and impatient users • Coda—The all-in-one collaborative workspace — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/engineering-leadership-camille-fournier — Where to find Camille Fournier: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camille-fournier-9011812/ • Website: https://skamille.medium.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) Camille’s background (02:17) Common annoyances between PMs and engineers (07:09) Avoiding the telephone game (08:05) Hoarding ideas and over-engineering (09:55) The importance of involving engineers in ideation (11:37) The middle-person dilemma (14:21) Rewriting systems: a big trap? (20:40) Engineering leadership lessons (36:02) Moving from IC to management (40:32) One-on-one meetings (45:10) Pushing beyond comfort zones (45:27) Building a balanced work culture (48:01) Effective time management strategies (54:15) Advice for platform team success (01:02:42) Platform team responsibilities (01:04:43) When to form a platform team (01:07:02) Thriving on a platform team (01:12:48) AI corner (01:17:03) Lightning round and final thoughts — Referenced: • Platform Engineering: A Guide for Technical, Product, and People Leaders: https://www.amazon.com/Platform-Engineering-Technical-Product-Leaders/dp/1098153642/ • The Manager’s Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change: https://www.amazon.com/Managers-Path-Leaders-Navigating-Growth/dp/1491973897 • 97 Things Every Engineering Manager Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the Experts: https://www.amazon.com/Things-Every-Engineering-Manager-Should/dp/1492050903 • Avoiding the Rewrite Trap: https://skamille.medium.com/avoiding-the-rewrite-trap-b1283b8dd39e • Levelsio on X: https://x.com/levelsio • Pieter Levels on the Lex Fridman Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFtjKbXKqbg • GraphQL: https://graphql.org/ • New Blue Sun by André 3000 on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/33Ek6daAL3oXyQIV1uoItD • Musk’s 5 Steps to Cut Internal Bureaucracy at Tesla and SpaceX: https://icecreates.com/insight/musk-s-5-steps-to-cut-internal-bureaucracy-at-tesla-and-spacex-you-may-say-it-s-his-algorithm/ • Ian Nowland on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inowland/ • Studio Pulls ‘Megalopolis’ Trailer Using Fake Quotes from Famed Movie Critics: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/studio-pulls-megalopolis-trailer-using-fake-quotes-from-famed-movie-critics_n_66c74046e4b0f1ca469413c7 • Claude 2: https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-2 • What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful: https://www.amazon.com/What-Got-Here-Wont-There/dp/1401301304 • When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times: https://www.amazon.com/When-Things-Fall-Apart-Difficult/dp/1611803438 • Alien: Romulus: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18412256/ • Whoop: https://www

    1h 23m
  2. Land your dream job in today’s market: negotiation tactics, job search councils, and more | Phyl Terry (Author, “Never Search Alone”)

    3 DAYS AGO

    Land your dream job in today’s market: negotiation tactics, job search councils, and more | Phyl Terry (Author, “Never Search Alone”)

    Phyl Terry is the author of Never Search Alone, which I’ve seen so many people reference as the most impactful guide they read for finding a job. Phyl was on the founding team of the first company Amazon acquired back in the ’90s and then was CEO of pioneering product consulting firm Creative Good, with companies like Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft as customers. Today, Phyl is the founder and CEO of Collaborative Gain, which 20 years ago pioneered bringing councils to senior product leaders and GMs in Silicon Valley. That’s their day job—in addition to that, Phyl runs a free global community for job seekers based on their latest book. In our conversation, we discuss: • Why you should never search for a job alone • How job search councils work • How to determine your “candidate-market fit” • How to conduct a listening tour • Creating your job mission and OKRs • How to negotiate job offers • The art of asking for help • Tactics for effective networking and interviewing • Much more — Brought to you by: • Sidebar—Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers • Sprig—Build products for people, not data points • Dovetail—The customer insights hub for product teams — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/land-your-dream-phyl-terry — Where to find Phyl Terry: • X: https://x.com/phylterry • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phylterry/ • Website: https://www.phyl.org/ — 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) Phyl’s background (01:58) The concept of job search councils (04:27) The power of community in job searching (08:55) The scale and structure of job search councils (12:27) The impact of job search councils (20:19) The concept of candidate-market fit (22:50) Writing a Mnookin two-pager (24:37) Conducting listening tours (30:12) Creating a focused candidate-market fit (36:20) Advice on finding the right stage of company for you (40:37) Identifying your unique path (45:30) Navigating tough job markets (49:07) Playing to win (53:36) Negotiation tactics for job offers (01:05:12) The gratitude house exercise (01:10:48) The power of asking for help (01:19:18) How to ask for help (01:28:40) Final thoughts and advice (01:38:21) 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 51m
  3. How LinkedIn became interesting: The inside story | Tomer Cohen (CPO at LinkedIn)

    8 SEPT

    How LinkedIn became interesting: The inside story | Tomer Cohen (CPO at LinkedIn)

    Tomer Cohen is the chief product officer at LinkedIn, responsible for setting the company’s product strategy, leading product development, user experience design, business development, content creation, and customer operations. He also hosts the Building One podcast, where he interviews exceptional builders across various disciplines. In our conversation, we discuss: • How LinkedIn transformed its feed into an engaging content and social platform • Tomer’s famous “We might be wrong, but we are not confused” mantra • The importance of conviction and passion in product leadership • LinkedIn’s approach to experimenting with and implementing AI features • Lessons from Tomer’s rapid career progression at LinkedIn • Strategies for embracing AI in product development — 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 • Merge—A single API to add hundreds of integrations into your app — Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-linkedin-became-interesting-tomer-cohen — Where to find Tomer Cohen: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomercohen/ • Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/building-one-with-tomer-cohen/id1726672498 — 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 Tomer Cohen and his role at LinkedIn (02:28) The mantra “We might be wrong, but we are not confused” (06:45) Clarity of thought and focus (13:03) Setting ambitious goals and overdelivering (16:18) Transforming LinkedIn’s feed: strategy and execution (22:03) Running experiments at scale (26:24) Goal setting and identifying opportunities  (30:58) AI’s role in LinkedIn’s evolution (35:38) The AI-first mindset at LinkedIn (35:38) Developing an AI-first mindset (44:49) Letting go of your roadmaps and allowing room for exploration (49:12) Career growth and personal insights (55:01) Takeaways (56:39) 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 9m
  4. The original growth hacker reveals his secrets | Sean Ellis (author of “Hacking Growth”)

    5 SEPT

    The original growth hacker reveals his secrets | Sean Ellis (author of “Hacking Growth”)

    Sean Ellis is one of the earliest and most influential thinkers and operators in growth. He coined the term “growth hacking,” invented the ICE prioritization framework, was one of the earliest people to use freemium as a growth lever, and, most famously, developed the Sean Ellis Test for product-market fit (which a large percentage of founders use today to track if they’ve found PMF). Over the course of his career, Sean was head of growth at Dropbox and Eventbrite; helped companies like Microsoft and Nubank refine their growth strategy; was on the founding team of LogMeIn, which sold for over $4 billion; and is the author of one of the most popular growth books of all time, Hacking Growth, which has sold over 750,000 copies. In our conversation, he shares: • The proper use of the Sean Ellis Test for measuring product-market fit • How to increase your activation and retention rates • How to select the right North Star metric for your business • Case studies from his work growing Dropbox and other products • How growth strategy has changed over the past decade • How AI is impacting growth efforts • Much more — Brought to you by: • Gamma—A new way to present, powered by AI • CommandBar—AI-powered user assistance for modern products and impatient users • Merge—A single API to add hundreds of integrations into your app — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-original-growth-hacker-sean-ellis — Where to find Sean Ellis: • X: https://x.com/seanellis • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanellis/ • Website: https://www.seanellis.me/ • Substack: https://substack.com/@seanellis — 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) Sean’s background (02:18) The Sean Ellis test explained (06:28) The 40% rule (08:06) Case study: improving product-market fit (12:34) Understanding and leveraging customer feedback (16:50) Challenges and nuances of product-market fit (22:22) When to use the Sean Ellis Test (23:46) When not to use the Sean Ellis Test and other caveats (27:13) Defining your own threshold and how the Sean Ellis Test came about (36:13) Tools for implementing the survey  (37:30) Transitioning from surveys to retention cohorts (39:13) Nubank’s approach (40:18) Case study: Superhuman’s strategy for increasing product-market fit (45:18) Coining the term “growth hacking” (48:24) How to approach growth (57:25) Improving activation and onboarding (01:05:17) Identifying effective growth channels (01:10:28) The power of customer conversations (01:12:43) Developing the Dropbox referral program (01:14:47) The importance of word of mouth (01:15:23) Freemium models and engagement (01:19:21) Picking a North Star metric (01:24:30) The evolution of growth strategies (01:27:12) The ICE and RICE frameworks (01:30:11) AI’s role in growth and experimentation (01:32:52) Final 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 44m
  5. Airbnb’s Vlad Loktev on embracing chaos, inquiry over advocacy, poking the bear, and “impact, impact, impact” (Partner at Index Ventures, Airbnb GM/VP Product)

    1 SEPT

    Airbnb’s Vlad Loktev on embracing chaos, inquiry over advocacy, poking the bear, and “impact, impact, impact” (Partner at Index Ventures, Airbnb GM/VP Product)

    Vlad Loktev spent 10 years at Airbnb, where he started as an IC PM and quickly advanced to lead the core Airbnb marketplace business and then GM the entire homes business, managing over 1,000 people and reporting directly to CEO Brian Chesky. He recently left Airbnb and joined Index Ventures as their newest partner. Vlad was my manager at Airbnb for many years, and is the person I credit most for teaching me how to be a great product manager. Prior to Airbnb, Vlad spent a year at Zynga, where he helped grow Words with Friends to over 14 million daily active users. In our conversation, Vlad shares: • Insight into Brian Chesky’s leadership style • Why success as a PM is all about impact, impact, impact • Why chaos can be good • Why as a leader it’s OK to let some fires burn • Why you should learn to “poke the bear” • Balancing product release speed with quality • Lessons on prioritization, decision-making, and organizational design • Advice for founders on building company culture • Much more — Brought to you by: • Pendo—The only all-in-one product experience platform for any type of application • Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security • Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/impact-impact-impact-vlad-loktev — Where to find Vlad Loktev: • X: https://x.com/vladimirloktev • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladimirloktev/ — 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) Vlad’s background (02:54) Reflecting on transformative years at Airbnb (04:28) Skills and mindsets for success (11:03) Impact-driven mindset (13:16) Saying no and inquiry before advocacy  (17:54) “Poking the bear” (22:46) Psychological tools for leadership (30:08) Building and scaling teams (36:12) Letting fires burn (47:34) Embracing chaos (54:40) The unsell email strategy (01:02:01) Finding your place in an organization (01:05:38) The importance of company culture (01:13:16) Airbnb’s unique approach to product management (01:26:41) Failure corner (01:31:32) 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 37m
  6. How to consistently go viral: Nikita Bier’s playbook for winning at consumer apps (co-founder of TBH, Gas, advisor, investor)

    25 AUG

    How to consistently go viral: Nikita Bier’s playbook for winning at consumer apps (co-founder of TBH, Gas, advisor, investor)

    Nikita Bier is one of the most in-demand consumer, social, and growth experts in the world. He’s the co-founder of TBH (sold to Meta for more than $30 million) and Gas (sold to Discord for millions more) and has helped more consumer apps that have hit #1 in the app stores than any other person I’ve come across. He currently spends his time advising founders on growth, product, and design and is an investor and advisor to some of the best consumer tech companies, including Flo, Locket, Eight Sleep, Citizen, BeReal, Captions, and more. In our conversation, we discuss: • The inside story of how TBH and Gas achieved explosive growth • Strategies for building viral consumer apps • Why teens are such a great audience • Fighting the human trafficking hoax at Gas • The challenge of creating durable social products • His experience working as a PM at Facebook • Advice for founders on building consumer apps • Much more — Brought to you by: • Webflow—The web experience platform • Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security • Explo—Embed customer-facing analytics in your product — Book Nikita for 1:1 consultation/mentoring: https://intro.co/NikitaBier — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-consistently-go-viral-nikita-bier — Where to find Nikita Bier: • X: https://x.com/nikitabier  • Threads: https://www.threads.net/@nikitabier • Website: https://intro.co/NikitaBier — 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) Nikita’s background  (06:08) Nikita’s early ventures: Politify and Outline (08:42) Transition to consumer apps (13:45) The birth of TBH (16:43) Building for teens vs. adults (20:00) TBH’s viral success (32:18) Leveraging live chat (34:08) Lasting lessons from TBH (37:00) Selling TBH to Facebook (42:19) Big-tech product management (48:46) Nikita on why “product management is not real” (51:49) The Tim Cook painting story (53:53) Leaving Facebook and starting a new venture (58:02) Rebuilding TBH and overcoming challenges (59:46) Addressing criticism (01:04:24) The human trafficking hoax (01:09:51) Selling to Discord and lessons learned (01:11:36) Lasting lessons from Gas (01:13:14) Building durable consumer apps (01:22:35) The VC route (01:23:27) Contact permissions in iOS 18 (01:26:53) The success of Dupe (01:31:53) Advice for startup founders (01:34:14) Work with Nikita — 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 38m
  7. Succeeding as an introvert, building zero-to-one, and why you should PM your career like you PM your product | Deb Liu (CEO of Ancestry, ex-Facebook, PayPal, eBay)

    22 AUG

    Succeeding as an introvert, building zero-to-one, and why you should PM your career like you PM your product | Deb Liu (CEO of Ancestry, ex-Facebook, PayPal, eBay)

    Deb Liu is the CEO of Ancestry and former longtime VP of Product at Facebook. At Facebook, Deb led the creation of Facebook Marketplace, developed the first mobile ad product for apps, built the company’s games business, and launched Facebook Pay. She’s also held leadership roles at PayPal and eBay, serves on the board of Intuit, and is the author of Take Back Your Power. In our conversation, we discuss: • Why you should PM your career like you PM your product • Strategies for incubating new products within large companies • Creating a successful 30-60-90-day plan when starting a new job • The pitfalls of perfectionism • The challenges introverts face in the workplace and how to overcome them • The value of resilience and turning failures into stepping stones • How to leverage coaching in your career development — Brought to you by: • Pendo—The only all-in-one product experience platform for any type of application • WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs • Webflow—The web experience platform — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/succeeding-as-an-introvert-deb-liu — Where to find Deb Liu: • Threads: https://www.threads.net/@debliu • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahliu • Substack: https://debliu.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) Introduction to Deb Liu (02:18) Deb’s career journey and key advice (09:45) Navigating new roles and challenges (11:27) Overcoming adversity and failure (15:07) Building billion-dollar businesses at Facebook (19:33) Strategies for zero-to-one innovation (23:40) PM your career like a product (33:53) Challenges and strategies for introverts in business (39:19) Reframing self-promotion (42:25) The power of accountability (46:15) Growth: a game of inches (50:52) The 30-60-90-day plan (56:52) Contrarian corner: career and marriage (58:57) Final nuggets of wisdom (01:03:09) How to find a coach (01:04:47) 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 11m
  8. Unorthodox PM wisdom: Automating user insights, unselling job candidates, logging every decision, more | Kevin Yien (Stripe, Square, Mutiny)

    18 AUG

    Unorthodox PM wisdom: Automating user insights, unselling job candidates, logging every decision, more | Kevin Yien (Stripe, Square, Mutiny)

    Kevin Yien leads product for merchant experiences at Stripe. Before that, he meandered his way from being a technical designer to a product manager, built the restaurants business and ecosystem team at Square, and most recently was head of product and design at Mutiny. He also makes ice cream and teaches for fun. In our conversation, we discuss: • Why aspiring PMs should start in engineering, design, or sales • The importance of writing skills, and how to become a better writer • How to automate user research • Kevin’s “unsell email” technique for hiring • The value of keeping a decision log • Insights on AI and its impact on future generations • Lessons from failure — Brought to you by: • BuildBetter—AI for product teams • OneSchema—Import CSV data 10x faster • Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/unorthodox-pm-wisdom-kevin-yien — Where to find Kevin Yien: • X: https://x.com/kevinyien • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinyien/ • Website: https://kevinyien.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) Kevin’s background  (02:00) The story behind Kevin’s profile picture (08:41) The role of a product manager (10:48) Getting started in product management (12:47) The importance of writing skills (15:06) Becoming a better writer (19:10) The PM’s role with engineering and design (28:41) Drawing the perimeter for your team (31:37) Feedback tips (35:13) Decision logs and product sense (45:36) Unorthodox hiring strategies (47:01) The unsell email strategy (54:01) Automating user research (01:02:27) AI in everyday life (01:06:05) Lessons from failure (01:14:34) 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 29m
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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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