Episodes
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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
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Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-marketplaces-win-benjamin-lauzier
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Where to find Benjamin Lauzier:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminlauzier/
• Ben’s Reforge course: https://www.reforge.com/courses/marketplace-growth/details
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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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
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
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
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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
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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
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Where to find Tamar Yehoshua:
• X: https://x.com/TYehoshua
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamar-yehoshua-886217/
• Newsletter: https://tamaryehoshua.substack.com/
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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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
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
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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
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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
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Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-super-ic-pm-tal-raviv
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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/
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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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
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
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
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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
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Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/rethinking-seo-in-the-age-of-ai-eli-schwartz
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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/
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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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
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
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
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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
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Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/engineering-leadership-camille-fournier
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Where to find Camille Fournier:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camille-fournier-9011812/
• Website: https://skamille.medium.com/
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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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
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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.whoop.com
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
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
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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
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Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/land-your-dream-phyl-terry
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Where to find Phyl Terry:
• X: https://x.com/phylterry
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phylterry/
• Website: https://www.phyl.org/
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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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
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
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
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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
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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
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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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
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
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
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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 [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
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 [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
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 [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
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 [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
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 [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
Evan LaPointe is the founder of CORE Sciences, which teaches companies and individuals how our brains work and how that translates to improved collaboration, better products, faster decision-making, and more growth. Previously, Evan was the co-founder of Satellite, the fourth-largest analytics product on the internet today (it mostly runs behind the scenes, and pretty much everyone listening will have used it today without knowing it), which was acquired by Adobe, where he later ran product strategy, innovation, and long-range thinking for Adobe’s digital experiences business. In our conversation, we discuss:
• The three different systems of the brain
• How knowing this can help you become more influential
• How understanding different brain states will help you increase productivity and creativity
• How to improve your vision and strategy skills
• How to design a work environment that fosters innovation
• How to build better relationships at work
• Much more
—
Use discount code “LENNY” for $5 off the CORE Sciences personality profile: https://www.core-sciences.com/new-core-identity
—
Brought to you by:
• Webflow—The web experience platform
• Explo—Embed customer-facing analytics in your product
• Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments
—
Find the transcript and references at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/understanding-your-brain-evan-lapointe
—
Where to find Evan LaPointe:
• X: https://x.com/evanlapointe
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanlapointe/
• Website: https://www.core-sciences.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) Evan’s background
(02:37) Understanding the brain’s complex systems
(07:17) The three core brain systems: safety, reward, and purpose
(11:03) Applying brain science to team dynamics
(14:27) The role of personality in team performance
(17:27) Creating effective work environments
(23:16) The science of meetings and decision-making
(29:35) Enhancing strategy and vision
(54:46) Understanding personality traits in strategy and vision
(58:58) Tactical tips for increasing openness
(01:05:46) Building influence and effective relationships
(01:21:17) The importance of trust and appeal in relationships
(01:36:47) Creating a positive organizational habitat
(01:50:35) Enhancing focus and productivity
(02:00:58) Practical tips for deep work and gamma time
(02:07:11) Lightning round
—
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
Joe Hudson is one of the most sought-after executive coaches in Silicon Valley. He is the founder of Art of Accomplishment, a transformational coaching program that has helped tens of thousands of people, including many tech executives and founders from companies like Apple, OpenAI, and Google. His unique method of transformation comes from over 25 years of exploring neurological, psychological, and spiritual traditions, tested against real-world challenges. In our conversation, Joe shares:
• Why the critical voice in your head is always wrong, and how to change your relationship with that voice
• Why authenticity trumps self-improvement
• The importance of embracing all of your emotions
• How to create more enjoyable and effective meetings
• The power of gratitude in transforming your life
• Practical experiments for personal growth
• Much more
—
Apply for Joe’s Connection Course:
Thousands of students have taken Joe’s most popular experience, the Connection Course. Unlike most online courses, there is no reading, lectures, or written homework. It is a three-week experiential deep dive where you will apply your learnings to real-life problems—how to make your team more productive, communicate more effectively, and resolve conflicts with ease. Apply here and use the code LENNY for $300 off your enrollment: view.life/lenny.
—
Brought to you by:
• BuildBetter—AI for product teams
• WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs
• Coda—The all-in-one collaborative workspace
—
Find the transcript and references at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/embracing-your-emotions-joe-hudson
—
Where to find Joe Hudson:
• X: https://x.com/FU_joehudson
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-hudson/
• Website: https://www.artofaccomplishment.com/
• Podcast: https://www.artofaccomplishment.com/podcast
• Linktree: https://linktr.ee/theartofaccomplishment
—
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) Joe’s background
(02:31) The critical voice in your head
(06:39) Changing your relationship with the critical voice
(13:19) Understanding and embracing emotions
(19:52) The importance of emotional fluidity
(24:40) Questioning assumptions and self-perception
(30:25) The consequences of avoiding emotions
(36:57) Experimenting with self-improvement
(39:42) Understanding efficiency and enjoyment
(43:17) The power of enjoyment in daily tasks
(45:03) Innate enjoyment vs. learned enjoyment
(46:31) Authenticity vs. self-improvement
(50:01) Embracing emotional experiences
(55:49) How understanding your emotions helps you make better decisions
(01:02:53) Creating effective teams and meetings
(01:10:40) Gratitude practice for personal growth
(01:15:36) Conclusion and final thoughts
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
Brian Tolkin is the Head of Product at Opendoor. Previously, he was one of the early employees at Uber, where he was instrumental in launching and growing UberPool, UberHop, and UberExpress and started one of the first product operations teams in tech. In our conversation, we dive into:
• How to enable product and ops to work well together
• How to run great product reviews
• How to make good decisions with limited data
• How he uses the jobs-to-be-done framework at Opendoor
• How to stay calm under pressure as a leader
• Wild stories from his time at Uber
• Challenges faced at Opendoor during the pandemic
• Much more
—
Brought to you by:
• Pendo—The only all-in-one product experience platform for any type of application
• Explo—Embed customer-facing analytics in your product
• Attio—The powerful, flexible CRM for fast-growing startups
—
Find the transcript and references at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/scaling-uber-and-opendoor-brian-tolkin
—
Where to find Brian Tolkin:
• X: https://x.com/briantolkin
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briantolkin/
—
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) Brian’s background
(02:14) Career beginnings at Uber
(02:49) Transitioning from product operations to product management
(06:47) Product and operations synergy
(10:00) Surge pricing at Uber
(12:18) Scaling challenges, and stories
(15:47) Opendoor and Covid adaptations
(25:38) Product reviews and Jobs to Be Done
(40:30) The challenges of A/B testing
(42:23) Increasing conviction in solutions
(44:33) Leveraging intuition in product decisions
(47:07) Partnering with Zillow
(52:55) Staying calm under pressure
(56:25) Finding the “kernel of truth” in product management
(01:00:21) Failure corner: Early days of Uber Pool
(01:06:11) Lightning round and final thoughts
—
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
Timothy Davis has led performance marketing for all of Shopify for the past 2.5 years, and as a consultant has helped companies like Pinterest, LinkedIn, Redfin, and Eventbrite kickstart and scale their performance marketing teams. In every one of those cases, he got them so performant at paid growth that they significantly scale spend and investment in these channels. In our conversation, we cover:
• When and how to start investing in performance marketing
• Common mistakes companies make with paid ads
• How to build and structure a performance marketing team
• How to get your creatives performing better
• Strategies for optimizing workflows and team efficiency
• How AI will change performance marketing
• Much more
—
Brought to you by:
• BuildBetter—AI for product teams
• OneSchema—Import CSV data 10x faster
• Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments
—
Find the transcript and references at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/performance-marketing-timothy-davis
—
Where to find Timothy Davis:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothypatrickdavis/
—
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) Timothy’s background
(02:31) Understanding performance marketing
(06:31) The importance of paid search
(08:39) Identifying growth potential
(09:54) Case studies: Hairstory and Ipsy
(12:22) Experimenting with new platforms
(18:57) Choosing the right platforms
(20:23) LinkedIn for B2B marketing
(27:56) When to start investing in paid growth
(33:33) Common mistakes in performance marketing
(37:41) Working with agencies and consultants
(40:36) Hiring for performance marketing
(47:33) Metrics that matter
(54:43) Competitor analysis and CPC insights
(56:15) Custom reports and data visualization
(56:38) Understanding impression and click share
(59:10) True competition metrics
(01:02:14) Attribution and incrementality
(01:08:52) Building a performance marketing team
(01:10:53) Creative and ad copy collaboration
(01:15:48) Managing workload and hiring strategy
(01:20:52) Training and onboarding new hires
(01:24:41) Impact of ATT on performance marketing
(01:25:56) The power of creative in ads
(01:29:47) Using AI in performance marketing
(01:37:16) Lightning round
—
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
Roger Martin is one of the world’s leading experts on strategy and the author of Playing to Win, one of the most beloved books on strategy. He’s written extensively for the Harvard Business Review; consulted for dozens of Fortune 500 companies, including P&G, Lego, and Ford; and written 11 other books. In our conversation, we discuss:
• The five key questions you need to answer to develop an effective strategy
• Why most companies get strategy wrong
• How to avoid “playing to play” instead of playing to win
• Real-world strategy examples from Procter & Gamble, Southwest Airlines, Lego, and Figma
• How to think about differentiation vs. low cost
• Shortcomings of current strategy education
• Much more
—
Correction: Roger pointed out that he made an error during our chat. When I asked him about Richard Rumelt (~16 mins), he thought I said Richard D'Aveni.
—
Brought to you by:
• Webflow—The web experience platform
• WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs
• Cycle—Your feedback hub, on autopilot
—
Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-strategy-roger-martin
—
Where to find Roger Martin:
• X: https://x.com/RogerLMartin
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roger-martin-9916911a9/
• Website: https://rogerlmartin.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) Roger’s background
(02:20) The importance of strategy
(07:00) Challenges in developing strategy
(08:30) Critique of modern strategy education
(14:00) Hamilton Helmer and Richard Rumelt
(17:40) Defining strategy
(19:12) The Strategy Choice Cascade
(23:20) Playing to win vs. playing to play
(24:57) Examples of strategic success
(30:49) Differentiation and moats
(40:23) Applying strategy to real-world scenarios
(43:47) Customer-centric strategy
(44:45) Defining the market and product
(45:59) Value chain and distribution
(48:28) Cost leadership vs. differentiation
(53:16) Capabilities and management systems
(57:14) Competitive advantage and market positioning
(01:02:41) Counterpositioning and fault lines
(01:05:53) Adapting to AI and market changes
(01:14:11) Betterment over perfection
(01:18:42) Final thoughts on strategy
—
Referenced:
• Nearly 10% of S&P 500 CEOs are alumni of Procter & Gamble: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/02/06/10-of-s-p-500-ceos-pg.html
• FigJam: https://www.figma.com/figjam/
• Figma: https://www.figma.com/
• What Is Resource-Based Theory?: https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/the-impact-of-technological-governance-and-political-capabilities-on-firms-performances-under-economic-turbulence/67915
• Michael Porter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/professorporter/
• Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors: https://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Strategy-Techniques-Industries-Competitors/dp/0684841487
• VRIO Framework Explained: https://strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/vrio/
• Business strategy with Hamilton Helmer (author of 7 Powers): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/business-strategy-with-hamilton-helmer
• Good Strategy, Bad Strategy | Richard Rumelt: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/good-strategy-bad-strategy-richard
• 7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy: https://www.amazon.com/7-Powers-Foundations-Business-Strategy/dp/0998116319
• Boston Consulting Group: https://www.bcg.com/
• Bruce Henderson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Henderson
• Lego: https://www.lego.com
• Vanguard: https://investor.vanguard.com/
• Southwest Airlines: https://www.southwest.com/
• How Amazon Managed to Dethrone Walmart: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/20/technology/how-amazon-beat-walmart.html
• GM Lost a 10-Year Battle with Tesla, Pulling the Plug on a Long Line of EVs: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brookecrothers/2023/07/09/gm-killed-its-electric-cars-and-lost-a-10-year-battle-with-tesla/
• Westlaw: https://www.westlawinternational.com/
• What Is an Economic Moat? Why Warren Buffett Says It Matters for Investors: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/economic-moat-why-warren-buffett-160046125.html
• Salomon Brothers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salomon_Brothers
• US Airways: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways
• Four Seasons: https://www.fourseasons.com/
• Michael Dell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdell/
• Bill Gates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamhgates/
• Mandarin Oriental: https://www.mandarinoriental.com/en/
• Continental Lite: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Lite
• Ted (airline): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_(airline)
• Case Study: Oil of Olay: https://www.studocu.com/es/document/universidad-de-murcia/estrategia-de-marketing/case-study-old-of-olay/95079369
• AG Lafley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ag-lafley-2381b3201/
• Jack Bogle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Bogle
• Seven Ways Windows 95 Changed the World: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ianmorris/2015/08/24/windows-95-changed-the-world/
• Where to Start with Strategy? Focus on Betterment: https://rogermartin.medium.com/where-to-start-with-strategy-bae40506304c
• Brick by brick: The man who rebuilt the house of Lego shares his leadership secrets: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2016/12/08/brick-by-brick-the-man-who-rebuilt-the-house-of-lego-shares-his-leadership-secrets/
• A New Way to Think: Your Guide to Superior Management Effectiveness: https://www.amazon.com/New-Way-Think-Management-Effectiveness/dp/164782351X/
• Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works: https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Win-Strategy-Really-Works/dp/142218739X
• The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking Is the Next Competitive Advantage: https://www.amazon.com/Design-Business-Thinking-Competitive-Advantage/dp/1422177807
• The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking: https://www.amazon.com/Opposable-Mind-Successful-Integrative-Thinking/dp/1422118924
• When More Is Not Better: Overcoming America’s Obsession with Economic Efficiency: https://www.amazon.com/When-More-Not-Better-Overcoming/dp/1647820065
—
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
Rory Sutherland is widely regarded as one of the most influential (and most entertaining) thinkers in marketing and behavioral science. He’s the vice chairman of Ogilvy UK, the author of Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life, and the founder of Nudgestock, the world’s biggest festival of behavioral science and creativity. He champions thinking from first principles and using human psychology—what he calls “thinking psycho-logically”—over mere logic. In our conversation, we cover:
• Why good products don’t always succeed, and bad ones don’t necessarily fail
• Why less functionality can sometimes be more valuable
• The importance of fame in building successful brands
• The importance of timing in product success
• The concept of “most advanced, yet acceptable”
• Why metrics-driven workplaces can be demotivating
• Lots of real-world case studies
• Much more
Note: We encountered some technical difficulties that led to less than ideal video quality for this episode, but the lessons from this conversation made it impossible for me to not publish it anyway. Thanks for your understanding and for bearing with the less-than-ideal video quality.
—
Brought to you by:
• Pendo—The only all-in-one product experience platform for any type of application
• Cycle—Your feedback hub, on autopilot
• Coda—The all-in-one collaborative workspace
—
Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/what-most-people-miss-about-marketing
—
Where to find Rory Sutherland:
• X: https://x.com/rorysutherland
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorysutherland
• Book: Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Alchemy-Curious-Science-Creating-Business/dp/006238841X
—
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) Rory’s background
(02:37) The success and failure of products
(04:08) Why the urge to appear serious can be a disaster in marketing
(08:05) The role of distinctiveness in product design
(12:29) The MAYA principle
(15:50) How thinking irrationally can be advantageous
(17:40) The fault of multiple-choice tests
(21:31) Companies that have successfully implemented out-of-the-box thinking
(30:31) “Psycho-logical” thinking
(31:45) The hare and the dog metaphor
(38:51) Marketing’s crucial role in product adoption
(49:21) The quirks of Google Glass
(55:44) Survivorship bias
(56:09) Balancing rational ideas with irrational ideas
(01:06:19) The rise and fall of tech innovations
(01:09:54) Consistency, distinctiveness, and clarity
(01:21:12) Considering psychological, technological, and economic factors in parallel
(01:23:35) Where to find Rory
—
Referenced:
• Google Glass: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Glass
• Meta Portal TV: https://www.meta.com/portal/products/portal-tv/
• Rory’s quote in a LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/brad-jackson-04766642_the-urge-to-appear-serious-is-a-disaster-activity-7093497742710210560-1LYN/
• The MAYA Principle: Design for the Future, but Balance It with Your Users’ Present: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/design-for-the-future-but-balance-it-with-your-users-present
• Ogilvy: https://www.ogilvy.com/
• MCI: https://www.mci.world/
• Veuve Clicquot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veuve_Clicquot
• Why do the French call the British ‘the roast beefs’?: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/2913151.stm
• The Killing on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/the-killing-f5da5c2d-4626-4ba9-bcf3-ff5f891771fb
• Original The Killing on BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017h7m1
• The Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong: https://www.mandarinoriental.com/en/hong-kong/victoria-harbour
• SAT: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat
• The Widening Racial Scoring Gap on the SAT College Admissions Test: https://www.jbhe.com/features/49_college_admissions-test.html
• What is the age of the captain?: https://www.icopilots.com/what-is-the-age-of-the-captain/
• Octopus Energy: https://octopus.energy/
• Kraken: https://octopusenergy.group/kraken-technologies
• Toby Shannan: https://theorg.com/org/shopify/org-chart/toby-shannan
• Dunbar’s number: Why we can only maintain 150 relationships: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191001-dunbars-number-why-we-can-only-maintain-150-relationships
• AO: https://ao.com/
• Zappos: https://www.zappos.com/
• Joe Cano on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeycano/
• John Ralston Saul’s website: https://www.johnralstonsaul.com/
• Voltaire’s Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West: https://www.amazon.com/Voltaires-Bastards-Dictatorship-Reason-West/dp/0679748199
• Psycho-Logic: Why Too Much Logic Deters Magic: https://coffeeandjunk.com/psycho-logic/
• Herbert Simon’s Decision-Making Approach: https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/4995/1/Fulltext.pdf
• Robert Trivers’s website: https://roberttrivers.com/Welcome.html
• Crazy Ivan: https://jollycontrarian.com/index.php?title=Crazy_Ivan
• The Joys of Being a Late Tech Adopter: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/technology/personaltech/joys-late-tech-adopter.html
• Jean-Claude Van Damme: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Claude_Van_Damme
• Tim Berners-Lee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee
• Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1200696/
• The real story behind penicillin: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/the-real-story-behind-the-worlds-first-antibiotic
• What Are Japanese Toilets?: https://www.bigbathroomshop.co.uk/info/blog/japanese-toilets/
• reMarkable: https://remarkable.com/
• Chumby: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumby
• Survivorship bias: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias
• Jony Ive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jony_Ive
• Marc Newson’s website: https://marc-newson.com/
• Designing Men: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/business/2013/11/jony-ive-marc-newson-design-auction
• Qantas A330: https://marc-newson.com/qantas-a330/
• Herodotus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herodotus
• Big Decision? Consider It Both Drunk and Sober: https://www.forbes.com/sites/chunkamui/2016/03/22/wine-and-sleep-make-for-better-decisions/?sh=5c97fdc524b1
• How Henry Ford and Thomas Edison killed the electric car: https://www.speakev.com/threads/how-henry-ford-and-thomas-edison-killed-the-electric-car.4270/
• Watch Jay Leno get nostalgic and swoon over this 1909 EV: https://thenextweb.com/news/jay-leno-talk-about-electric-car-1909-baker
• Jay Leno’s Garage: https://www.youtube.com/@jaylenosgarage
• Nudgestock: https://nudgestock.com/
• Akio Morita: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akio_Morita
• Don Norman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnorman/
• What Makes Tesla’s Business Model Different: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/active-trading/072115/what-makes-teslas-business-model-different.asp
• Monica Lewinsky on X: https://x.com/MonicaLewinsky
• Blindsight: The (Mostly) Hidden Ways Marketing Reshapes Our Brains: azon.com/Blindsight-Mostly-Hidden-Marketing-Reshapes-ebook/dp/B07ZKZ5DWF
• Branding That Means Business: https://www.amazon.com/Branding-that-Means-Business-Economist-ebook/dp/B09QBCCH9N
• PwC: https://www.pwc.com
• Ryanair: https://www.ryanair.com
• British Airways: https://www.britishairways.com/
• Wrigley’s began as a soap business: know when to pivot: https://theamericangenius.com/entrepreneur/wrigleys-began-as-soap-know-when-to-pivot/
• Transport for Humans: https://www.amazon.com/Transport-Humans-Perspectives-Pete-Dyson/dp/1913019357
—
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
Jessica Lachs is the global head of analytics and data science at DoorDash, where she’s built one of the largest and most respected data organizations in tech. In her more than 10 years at DoorDash, she has served as the first general manager, responsible for launching new markets; the head of business ops and analytics; and the VP of analytics and data science. Previously, Jessica founded GiftSimple, a social gifting startup, and started her career at Lehman Brothers as an investment banking analyst. In our conversation, she shares:
• How to structure and scale a high-impact analytics organization
• Centralized vs. decentralized data teams
• How to pick the right metric and aligning incentives
• Advice for data people on how and when to push back
• Lessons learned from building a global data team
• How to foster a culture of extreme ownership
• The role of AI in improving analytics team productivity
• Advice for aspiring data leaders without formal training
—
Brought to you by:
• Webflow—The web experience platform
• Anvil—The fastest way to build software for documents
• Attio—The powerful, flexible CRM for fast-growing startups
—
Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-a-world-class-data-org-jessica-lachs
—
Where to find Jessica Lachs:
• X: https://x.com/jesslachs
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-lachs/
—
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) Jessica’s background
(04:59) Centralized vs. embedded analytics teams
(10:52) The benefits of a centralized analytics team
(15:10) Balancing proactive and reactive work
(20:45) Advice on how to push back effectively
(24:20) Hiring for curiosity and problem solving
(28:57) Coming from a non-traditional background
(34:40) The early days and culture at DoorDash
(40:39) Encouraging cross-functional roles
(44:39) Defining effective metrics
(46:30) Simplifying metrics for better outcomes
(55:28) Focusing on edge cases and fail states
(01:00:12) Managing a global data organization
(01:02:31) Leveraging AI for productivity
(01:05:25) Building diverse and skilled data teams
(01:08:40) Lightning round
—
Referenced:
• How Netflix builds a culture of excellence | Elizabeth Stone (CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-netflix-builds-a-culture-of-excellence
• Riley Newman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rileynewman/
• Tony Xu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xutony/
• Imposter Syndrome: Why You May Feel Like a Fraud: https://www.verywellmind.com/imposter-syndrome-and-social-anxiety-disorder-4156469
• Stanley Tang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanleytang/
• Andy Fang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fangsterr/
• Evan Moore on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanmoore/
• How WeDash became the flagship employee program for DoorDash: https://careers.doordash.com/blog/wedash-doordash-employee-program-how-does-it-work
• Leading with empathy | Keith Yandell (DoorDash, Uber): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/leading-with-empathy-keith-yandell
• The Rose Code: https://www.amazon.com/Rose-Code-Novel-Kate-Quinn/dp/006305941X
• Libby app: https://libbyapp.com/
• The West Wing on Prime: https://www.amazon.com/West-Wing-Complete-First-Season/dp/B000KZPG04
• Alias on Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Alias-Season-1/dp/B00748O13S
• Joseon sunscreens: https://beautyofjoseon.com/
• Innisfree sunscreens: https://us.innisfree.com/
• John Steinbeck quote: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_steinbeck_103825
• Vanessa Roberts on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-roberts-b8a509a/
• Tia Sherringham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiasherringham/
• Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-jarvis-shean-141a7966/
• Regina (Gina) Tarone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/regina-tarone-a565a2/overlay/about-this-profile/
• My Journey (Part 1): I have a job that I would never be hired for: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jessica-lachs_anniversary-datascience-finance-activity-7216912300056727553-mEv6/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
• Starting an Analytics Org From Scratch — Lessons From a Decade at DoorDash: https://review.firstround.com/starting-an-analytics-org-from-scratch-lessons-from-a-decade-at-doordash/
—
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe -
Jeff Weinstein is a product lead at Stripe, where he helped grow their payment APIs to hundreds of billions in volume and transformed the way founders start companies into a few simple clicks with Atlas. Prior to Stripe, Jeff led several startups and sold companies to Groupon and Box. He’s known for his customer obsession, craft, quality, and building beloved products businesses rely on. In our conversation, we discuss:
• The power of customer obsession and how to operationalize it in the product development process
• How to pick the right metrics and use them to drive impact
• Techniques for getting things done at big companies
• A group practice Jeff started to uplevel product craft, called Study Group
• The story behind Stripe Atlas and its mission to increase entrepreneurship globally
• Lessons from working with the founders of Stripe
—
Brought to you by:
• Pendo—The only all-in-one product experience platform for any type of application
• Cycle—Your feedback hub, on autopilot
• Anvil—The fastest way to build software for documents
—
Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/creating-a-culture-of-excellence
—
Where to find Jeff Weinstein:
• X: https://x.com/jeff_weinstein
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwweinstein/
• Email: [email protected]
—
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) Jeff’s background
(10:16) The “go, go, go ASAP + optimistic, long-term compounding” approach
(15:38) The importance of craft and quality
(24:15) Effective customer communication strategies
(28:57) The importance of speed in customer interactions
(33:19) Narrowing your focus
(36:53) Why you should pay attention only to paying-customer feedback
(40:24) Practicing silence when communicating
(45:33) The role of metrics in product success
(54:08) Empowering teams with a single metric
(58:23) Picking the right metric for your audience
(01:05:10) The importance of metric hygiene
(01:11:33) How Stripe uses “study groups” for product improvement
(01:37:20) Stripe’s Atlas: simplifying company formation
(01:50:38) Automation and operational efficiency
(01:55:13) Diversity and team building
(02:03:09) Building new products within a large company
(02:21:10) Lightning round
—
Referenced:
• Atlas: https://stripe.com/atlas
• Stripe: https://stripe.com/
• SQL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL
• GitHub: https://github.com/
• Linear: https://linear.app/
• Figma: https://www.figma.com/
• Jeff’s tweet about Stripe’s bug-finder program: https://x.com/jeff_weinstein/status/1777487507934040300
• The “Collison installation”: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18400504
• How we use friction logs to improve products at Stripe: https://dev.to/stripe/how-we-use-friction-logs-to-improve-products-at-stripe-i6p
• Fidelity: https://www.fidelity.com/
• 83(b) election: https://docs.stripe.com/atlas/83b-election
• Jeff’s tweet about Atlas’s NPS score: https://x.com/jeff_weinstein/status/1788644576330469638
• What is a Delaware corporation? Here’s what makes this state so attractive to businesses: https://stripe.com/resources/more/what-is-a-delaware-corporation
• Incorporating in Delaware explained: Why it’s such a popular option for businesses: https://stripe.com/resources/more/incorporating-in-delaware-explained
• 7 of Pixar’s Best Storyboard Examples and the Stories Behind Them: https://boords.com/blog/7-of-pixars-best-storyboard-examples-and-the-stories-behind-them
• Alex Kehayias on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexkehayias/
• Patrick McKenzie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmckenzie/
• AngelList: https://www.angellist.com/
• Dan Hightower on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danhighto/
• Stripe Atlas perks partners: https://support.stripe.com/questions/stripe-atlas-perks-partners
• Vision, conviction, and hype: How to build 0 to 1 inside a company | Mihika Kapoor (Product at Figma): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/vision-conviction-hype-mihika-kapoor
• High Output Management: https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884
• Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace: https://www.amazon.com/Orbiting-Giant-Hairball-Corporate-Surviving/dp/0670879835
• 7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy: https://www.amazon.com/7-Powers-Foundations-Business-Strategy/dp/0998116319
• Business strategy with Hamilton Helmer (author of 7 Powers): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/business-strategy-with-hamilton-helmer
• Box: https://www.box.com/
• Patrick Collison on X: https://x.com/patrickc
• How to with John Wilson on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/how-to-with-john-wilson
• The Quiet Girl on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/movie/the-quiet-girl-b50a4b8e-d3ff-4635-b806-5e7dbd292ca4
• Raycast: https://www.raycast.com/
• Quicksilver: https://qsapp.com/
• Alfred: https://www.alfredapp.com/help/workflows/automations/
• CleanShot: https://cleanshot.com/
• John Collison on X: https://x.com/collision
—
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
—
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe - Show more
