Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth | Podcast Summaries

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth artwork

Technology

Business

by Lenny Rachitsky

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.

12 episodes summarized

Episodes

Getting paid to vibe code: Inside the new AI-era job | Lazar Jovanovic (Professional Vibe Coder)

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Lazar Jovanovic is a full-time professional vibe coder at Lovable. His job is to build both internal tools and customer-facing products purely using AI, while not having a coding background. In this conversation, he breaks down the tactics, workflows, and framework that let him ship production-quality products using only AI.We discuss:1. Why having no coding background can be an advantage when building with AI2. Why most of your time should go to planning and chat mode, not prompting3. What to do when you get stuck: his 4x4 debugging workflow4. The PRD and Markdown file system that keeps AI agents aligned across complex builds5. Why kicking off four or five parallel prototypes is the best way to clarify your thinking6. Why design skills and taste are going to be the most important skills in the future7. His “genie and three wishes” mental model for making the most of AI’s limitations8. How product, engineering, and design roles are converging—and what that means for your career—Brought to you by:<a target="_blank" href="https://strella.io/lenny">Strella</a>—The AI-powered customer research platform: <a target="_blank" href="https://strella.io/lenny">https://strella.io/lenny</a><a target="_blank" href="https://samsara.com/lenny">Samsara</a>—Saving lives with AI built for physical operations: <a target="_blank" href="https://samsara.com/lenny">https://samsara.com/lenny</a><a target="_blank" href="https://workos.com/lenny">WorkOS</a>—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs: <a target="_blank" href="https://workos.com/lenny">https://workos.com/lenny</a>—Episode transcript: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/getting-paid-to-vibe-code">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/getting-paid-to-vibe-code</a>—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0">https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0</a>—Where to find Lazar Jovanovic:• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/lakikentaki">https://x.com/lakikentaki</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lazar-jovanovic">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lazar-jovanovic</a>• YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@50in50challenge">https://www.youtube.com/@50in50challenge</a>• Starter Story course: <a target="_blank" href="https://build.starterstory.com/build/ai-build-accelerator?via=lazar">https://build.starterstory.com/build/ai-build-accelerator?via=lazar</a> (code LAZAR15 for 15% off)—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Lazar and professional vibe coding(04:53) What a professional vibe coder actually does day-to-day(09:26) Why non-technical backgrounds can be an advantage(12:24) The importance of self-awareness(14:42) His “genie and three wishes” mental model(17:43) Developing taste and judgment in the age of AI(21:46) The parallel project approach for better outcomes(29:30) Creating dynamic context windows with PRDs(36:56) Why elite vibe coders focus on planning, not coding(44:43) Creating MD files to guide AI development(50:57) Why prototyping still matters(56:50) Why “good enough” is no longer good enough(01:00:53) The future of engineering in an AI world(01:05:14) What to do when you get stuck: his 4x4 debugging workflow(01:14:27) Helping agents learn from their mistakes(01:15:35) Why watching agent output is more important than code(01:19:08) The incredible pace of AI development(01:22:55) Why emotional intelligence will become more valuable(01:28:30) How to become a professional vibe coder(01:30:10) Why building in public is the fastest path to opportunities(01:37:03) Final thoughts on focusing on quality over tech stack—Referenced:• The new AI growth playbook for 2026: How Lovable hit $200M ARR in one year | Elena Verna (Head of Growth): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-new-ai-growth-playbook-for-2026-elena-verna">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-new-ai-growth-playbook-for-2026-elena-verna</a>• Elena Verna on how B2B growth is changing, product-led growth, product-led sales, why you should go freemium not trial, what features to make free, and much more: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/elena-verna-on-why-every-company">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/elena-verna-on-why-every-company</a>• The ultimate guide to product-led sales | Elena Verna: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-product-led">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-product-led</a>• 10 growth tactics that never work | Elena Verna (Amplitude, Miro, Dropbox, SurveyMonkey): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/10-growth-tactics-that-never-work-elena-verna">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/10-growth-tactics-that-never-work-elena-verna</a>• Lovable: <a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev">https://lovable.dev</a>• Lovable + Shopify: <a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev/shopify">https://lovable.dev/shopify</a>• Everyone’s an engineer now: Inside v0’s mission to create a hundred million builders | Guillermo Rauch (founder and CEO of Vercel, creators of v0 and Next.js): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/everyones-an-engineer-now-guillermo-rauch">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/everyones-an-engineer-now-guillermo-rauch</a>• Mobbin: <a target="_blank" href="https://mobbin.com">https://mobbin.com</a>• Dribbble: <a target="_blank" href="https://dribbble.com">https://dribbble.com</a>• <a target="_blank" href="http://21st.dev">21st.dev</a>: <a target="_blank" href="https://21st.dev">https://21st.dev</a>• Lovable base prompt generator: <a target="_blank" href="https://chatgpt.com/g/g-67e1da2c9c988191b52b61084438e8ee-lovable-base-prompt">https://chatgpt.com/g/g-67e1da2c9c988191b52b61084438e8ee-lovable-base-prompt</a>• Lovable PRD generator: <a target="_blank" href="https://chatgpt.com/g/g-67e1e85fbeac8191a69b95c6d5c42ef6-lovable-prd-generator">https://chatgpt.com/g/g-67e1e85fbeac8191a69b95c6d5c42ef6-lovable-prd-generator</a>• Felix Haas’s newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://designplusai.com">https://designplusai.com</a>• Bauhaus: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus</a>• Glassmorphism: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/1197106608665398190/glassmorphism">https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/1197106608665398190/glassmorphism</a>• UI style guide: <a target="_blank" href="http://uistyle.lovable.app">http://uistyle.lovable.app</a>• Cloudflare: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cloudflare.com">https://www.cloudflare.com</a>• Ben Tossell on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/bentossell">https://x.com/bentossell</a>• The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can’t stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell</a>• Peter Thiel says AI will be ‘worse’ for math nerds than for writers: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-ai-worse-for-math-professionals-than-writers-2024-4">https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-ai-worse-for-math-professionals-than-writers-2024-4</a>• Andrej Karpathy on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/karpathy">https://x.com/karpathy</a>• The 100-person AI lab that became Anthropic and Google’s secret weapon | Edwin Chen (Surge AI): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/surge-ai-edwin-chen">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/surge-ai-edwin-chen</a>• Why experts writing AI evals is creating the fastest-growing companies in history | Brendan Foody (CEO of Mercor): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/experts-writing-ai-evals-brendan-foody">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/experts-writing-ai-evals-brendan-foody</a>• Slumdog Millionaire: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010048">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010048</a>—Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=show-notes-no-free-preview-language">www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>

February 8, 2026•1:42:30

A child psychologist’s guide to working with difficult adults | Dr. Becky Kennedy

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Dr. Becky Kennedy is a clinical psychologist, the bestselling author of Good Inside, and the founder of a parenting platform used by millions. Known for her practical, psychology-based approach to parenting, Dr. Becky shares how the same principles that help parents raise resilient children can make you a much more effective leader. In this conversation, she breaks down why all human systems—whether families or companies—operate on the same fundamental principles, and how understanding these dynamics can make you more effective in every relationship.We discuss:1. Why repair—not perfection—defines strong leadership2. Why you need to connect before you correct to build cooperation and trust3. The “most generous interpretation” framework for handling difficult behaviors4. How to correctly set boundaries (vs. making requests)5. The power of “I believe you, and I believe in you”6. What it looks like to be a “sturdy” leader—Brought to you by:<a target="_blank" href="https://merge.dev/lenny">Merge</a>—Fast, secure integrations for your products and agents: <a target="_blank" href="https://merge.dev/lenny">https://merge.dev/lenny</a><a target="_blank" href="https://metaview.ai/lenny">Metaview</a>—The AI platform for recruiting: <a target="_blank" href="https://metaview.ai/lenny">https://metaview.ai/lenny</a><a target="_blank" href="https://framer.com/lenny">Framer</a>—Builder better websites faster: <a target="_blank" href="https://framer.com/lenny">https://framer.com/lenny</a>—Episode transcript: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/dr-becky-on-the-surprising-overlap">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/dr-becky-on-the-surprising-overlap</a>—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0">https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0</a>—Where to find Dr. Becky Kennedy:• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/GoodInside">https://x.com/GoodInside</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbecky">https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbecky</a>• Instagram: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/drbeckyatgoodinside">https://www.instagram.com/drbeckyatgoodinside</a>• TikTok: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@drbeckyatgoodinside">https://www.tiktok.com/@drbeckyatgoodinside</a>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodinside.com">https://www.goodinside.com</a>—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Dr. Becky Kennedy(05:14) Connecting parenting and leadership(08:40) The power of repair(11:05) Connecting before correcting(17:45) Good Inside framework at work(22:08) The most generous interpretation (MGI)(25:46) Curiosity over judgment(27:07) Understanding behavior change(31:08) What potty training can teach us about workplace behavior(34:40) Naming your intention(35:41) Sturdy leadership(40:52) How to set boundaries well(46:33) The role of leadership and consensus(50:50) The importance of being “locatable”(52:40) A powerful story of betrayal and realization(57:12) Building resilience over happiness(01:00:34) The power of the phrase “I believe you, and I believe in you.”(01:09:08) The Good Inside community and resources(01:16:22) AI corner(01:19:52) Good Inside’s mission(01:22:26) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• Shreyas Doshi on pre-mortems, the LNO framework, the three levels of product work, why most execution problems are strategy problems, and ROI vs. opportunity cost thinking: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/episode-3-shreyas-doshi">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/episode-3-shreyas-doshi</a>• Radical Candor: From theory to practice with author Kim Scott: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/radical-candor-from-theory-to-practice">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/radical-candor-from-theory-to-practice</a>• From ChatGPT to Instagram to Uber: The quiet architect behind the world’s most popular products | Peter Deng: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-quiet-architect-peter-deng">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-quiet-architect-peter-deng</a>• Punch: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_(play)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_(play)</a>• Figma: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.figma.com">https://www.figma.com</a>• Andrew Hogan on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahhogan">https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahhogan</a>• Replit: <a target="_blank" href="https://replit.com">https://replit.com</a>• Behind the product: Replit | Amjad Masad (co-founder and CEO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-product-replit-amjad-masad">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-product-replit-amjad-masad</a>• Lovable: <a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev">https://lovable.dev</a>• Building Lovable: $10M ARR in 60 days with 15 people | Anton Osika (co-founder and CEO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-lovable-anton-osika">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-lovable-anton-osika</a>• Claude: <a target="_blank" href="https://claude.ai">https://claude.ai</a>• ChatGPT: <a target="_blank" href="https://chatgpt.com">https://chatgpt.com</a>• Secrets We Keep on Netflix: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81697668">https://www.netflix.com/title/81697668</a>• K Pop Demon Hunters on Netflix: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81498621">https://www.netflix.com/title/81498621</a>• Liberty puzzles: <a target="_blank" href="https://libertypuzzles.com">https://libertypuzzles.com</a>—Recommended books:• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kick-Ass-Humanity/dp/1250235375">https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kick-Ass-Humanity/dp/1250235375</a>• Good Inside: A Practical Guide to Resilient Parenting Prioritizing Connection Over Correction: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Good-Inside-Guide-Becoming-Parent/dp/0063159481">https://www.amazon.com/Good-Inside-Guide-Becoming-Parent/dp/0063159481</a>• Leave Me Alone!: A Good Inside Story About Deeply Feeling Kids: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Leave-Me-Alone-Inside-Feeling/dp/1250413117">https://www.amazon.com/Leave-Me-Alone-Inside-Feeling/dp/1250413117</a>• The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Power-Moments-Certain-Experiences-Extraordinary/dp/1501147765/">https://www.amazon.com/Power-Moments-Certain-Experiences-Extraordinary/dp/1501147765/</a>• The Messy Middle: Finding Your Way Through the Hardest and Most Crucial Part of Any Bold Venture: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Messy-Middle-Finding-Through-Hardest/dp/0735218072">https://www.amazon.com/Messy-Middle-Finding-Through-Hardest/dp/0735218072</a>• Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Expanded-Overcoming-Inspiration/dp/0593594649">https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Expanded-Overcoming-Inspiration/dp/0593594649</a>—Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=show-notes-no-free-preview-language">www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>

February 1, 2026•1:31:56

Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn’t even started yet

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Marc Andreessen is a founder, investor, and co-founder of Netscape, as well as co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). In this conversation, we dig into why we’re living through a unique and one of the most incredible times in history, and what comes next.We discuss:1. Why AI is arriving at the perfect moment to counter demographic collapse and declining productivity2. How Marc has raised his 10-year-old kid to thrive in an AI-driven world3. What’s actually going to happen with AI and jobs (spoiler: he thinks the panic is “totally off base”)4. The “Mexican standoff” that’s happening between product managers, designers, and engineers5. Why you should still learn to code (even with AI)6. How to develop an “E-shaped” career that combines multiple skills, with AI as a force multiplier7. The career advice he keeps coming back to (“Don’t be fungible”)8. How AI can democratize one-on-one tutoring, potentially transforming education9. His media diet: X and old books, nothing in between—Brought to you by:<a target="_blank" href="https://getdx.com/lenny">DX</a>—The developer intelligence platform designed by leading researchers<a target="_blank" href="https://www.brex.com/product/business-account?ref_code=bmk_dp_brand1H25_ln_new_fs">Brex</a>—The banking solution for startups<a target="_blank" href="https://www.datadoghq.com/lenny">Datadog</a>—Now home to Eppo, the leading experimentation and feature flagging platform—Episode transcript: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/marc-andreessen-the-real-ai-boom">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/marc-andreessen-the-real-ai-boom</a>—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0">https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0</a>—Where to find Marc Andreessen:• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/pmarca">https://x.com/pmarca</a>• Substack: <a target="_blank" href="https://pmarca.substack.com">https://pmarca.substack.com</a>• Andreessen Horowitz’s website: <a target="_blank" href="https://a16z.com">https://a16z.com</a>• Andreessen Horowitz’s YouTube channel: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@a16z">https://www.youtube.com/@a16z</a>—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Marc Andreessen(04:27) The historic moment we’re living in(06:52) The impact of AI on society(11:14) AI’s role in education and parenting(22:15) The future of jobs in an AI-driven world(30:15) Marc's past predictions(35:35) The Mexican standoff of tech roles(39:28) Adapting to changing job tasks(42:15) The shift to scripting languages(44:50) The importance of understanding code(51:37) The value of design in the AI era(53:30) The T-shaped skill strategy(01:02:05) AI’s impact on founders and companies(01:05:58) The concept of one-person billion-dollar companies(01:08:33) Debating AI moats and market dynamics(01:14:39) The rapid evolution of AI models(01:18:05) Indeterminate optimism in venture capital(01:22:17) The concept of AGI and its implications(01:30:00) Marc's media diet(01:36:18) Favorite movies and AI voice technology(01:39:24) Marc's product diet(01:43:16) Closing thoughts and recommendations—Referenced:• Linus Torvalds on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/linustorvalds">https://www.linkedin.com/in/linustorvalds</a>• The philosopher’s stone: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosopher%27s_stone">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosopher%27s_stone</a>• Alexander the Great: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great</a>• Aristotle: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle</a>• Bloom’s 2 sigma problem: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_2_sigma_problem">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_2_sigma_problem</a>• Alpha School: <a target="_blank" href="https://alpha.school">https://alpha.school</a>• In Tech We Trust? A Debate with Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen: <a target="_blank" href="https://a16z.com/in-tech-we-trust-a-debate-with-peter-thiel-and-marc-andreessen">https://a16z.com/in-tech-we-trust-a-debate-with-peter-thiel-and-marc-andreessen</a>• John Woo: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Woo">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Woo</a>• Assembly: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_language">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_language</a>• C programming language: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_(programming_language)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_(programming_language)</a>• Python: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.python.org">https://www.python.org</a>• Netscape: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape</a>• Perl: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.perl.org">https://www.perl.org</a>• Scott Adams: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Adams">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Adams</a>• Larry Summers’s website: <a target="_blank" href="https://larrysummers.com">https://larrysummers.com</a>• Nano Banana: <a target="_blank" href="https://gemini.google/overview/image-generation">https://gemini.google/overview/image-generation</a>• Bitcoin: <a target="_blank" href="https://bitcoin.org">https://bitcoin.org</a>• Ethereum: <a target="_blank" href="https://ethereum.org">https://ethereum.org</a>• Satoshi Nakamoto: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_Nakamoto">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_Nakamoto</a>• Inside ChatGPT: The fastest-growing product in history | Nick Turley (Head of ChatGPT at OpenAI): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-chatgpt-nick-turley">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-chatgpt-nick-turley</a>• Anthropic co-founder on quitting OpenAI, AGI predictions, $100M talent wars, 20% unemployment, and the nightmare scenarios keeping him up at night | Ben Mann: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/anthropic-co-founder-benjamin-mann">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/anthropic-co-founder-benjamin-mann</a>• Inside Google’s AI turnaround: The rise of AI Mode, strategy behind AI Overviews, and their vision for AI-powered search | Robby Stein (VP of Product, Google Search): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-google-built-ai-mode-in-under-a-year">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-google-built-ai-mode-in-under-a-year</a>• DeepSeek: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.deepseek.com">https://www.deepseek.com</a>• Cowork: <a target="_blank" href="https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13345190-getting-started-with-cowork">https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13345190-getting-started-with-cowork</a>• Definite vs. indefinite thinking: Notes from Zero to One by Peter Thiel: <a target="_blank" href="https://boxkitemachine.net/posts/zero-to-one-peter-thiel-definite-vs-indefinite-thinking">https://boxkitemachine.net/posts/zero-to-one-peter-thiel-definite-vs-indefinite-thinking</a>• Henry Ford: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thehenryford.org/explore/stories-of-innovation/visionaries/henry-ford">https://www.thehenryford.org/explore/stories-of-innovation/visionaries/henry-ford</a>• Lex Fridman Podcast: <a target="_blank" href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a>• $46B of hard truths from Ben Horowitz: Why founders fail and why you need to run toward fear (a16z co-founder): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/46b-of-hard-truths-from-ben-horowitz">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/46b-of-hard-truths-from-ben-horowitz</a>• Eddington: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31176520">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31176520</a>• Joaquin Phoenix: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaquin_Phoenix">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaquin_Phoenix</a>• Pedro Pascal: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Pascal">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Pascal</a>• George Floyd: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd</a>• Replit: <a target="_blank" href="https://replit.com">https://replit.com</a>• Behind the product: Replit | Amjad Masad (co-founder and CEO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-product-replit-amjad-masad">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-product-replit-amjad-masad</a>• Grok Bad Rudi: <a target="_blank" href="https://grok.com/badrudi">https://grok.com/badrudi</a>• Wispr Flow: <a target="_blank" href="https://wisprflow.ai">https://wisprflow.ai</a>• Star Trek: The Next Generation: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455</a>• Star Trek: Starfleet Academy: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8622160">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8622160</a>• a16z: The Power Brokers: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.notboring.co/p/a16z-the-power-brokers">https://www.notboring.co/p/a16z-the-power-brokers</a>—Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=show-notes-no-free-preview-language">www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>

January 29, 2026•1:44:35

5 questions to ask when your product stops growing | Jason Cohen (2x unicorn founder)

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Jason Cohen is a four-time founder (including two unicorns, one being WP Engine) and an investor in over 60 startups, and has been sharing his lessons on company building at A Smart Bear for nearly 20 years. In this episode, Jason shares his methodical five-step framework for diagnosing stalled growth—a problem that faces almost every team.We discuss:1. Jason’s five-step framework: logo retention, pricing, NRR, marketing channels, target market2. A small tweak that’ll double response rates on your cancellation surveys3. Why “it’s too expensive” is almost never the real reason customers cancel4. The “elephant curve” of growth5. How repositioning the same product can increase revenue 8x6. When to reconsider if growth is even the right goal for your business—Brought to you by:<a target="_blank" href="https://10web.io/lenny">10Web</a>—Vibe coding platform as an API<a target="_blank" href="https://strella.io/lenny">Strella</a>—The AI-powered customer research platform<a target="_blank" href="https://www.brex.com/product/business-account?ref_code=bmk_dp_brand1H25_ln_new_fs">Brex</a>—The banking solution for startups—Episode transcript: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/why-your-product-stopped-growing">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/why-your-product-stopped-growing</a>—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0">https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0</a>—Where to find Jason Cohen:• Preorder Jason’s book: <a target="_blank" href="https://preorder.hiddenmultipliers.com/">https://preorder.hiddenmultipliers.com/</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/asmartbear">https://x.com/asmartbear</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncohen">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncohen</a>• Blog: <a target="_blank" href="https://longform.asmartbear.com">https://longform.asmartbear.com</a>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://wpengine.com">https://wpengine.com</a>—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Jason Cohen(05:19) Jason’s writing journey(08:25) Questions to ask when your product stops growing(18:17) Getting real customer feedback(20:27) Analyzing cancellation reasons(26:54) Onboarding and activation(29:35) Quick summary(35:46) Revisiting pricing strategies(41:46) Positioning strategies(47:52) Why pricing is inseparable from your strategy(52:06) The importance of net revenue retention (NRR)(01:00:25) Asking whether or not this is good for the customer(01:04:34) Leveraging existing customers(01:06:42) Are your acquisition channels saturated? The “elephant curve”(1:09:41) Why all marketing channels eventually decline(01:12:04) Direct vs. indirect marketing channels(1:13:36) Getting creative with new channels(01:19:04) Do you actually need to grow?(01:25:57) Deciding when to quit(01:29:27) Book announcement(01:33:21) AI corner(01:34:35) Contrarian corner(01:37:43) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• Tyler Cowen’s website: <a target="_blank" href="https://tylercowen.com">https://tylercowen.com</a>• How to Perform a Customer Churn Analysis (and Why You Should): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.groovehq.com/blog/learn-from-customer-churn">https://www.groovehq.com/blog/learn-from-customer-churn</a>• Linear: <a target="_blank" href="https://linear.app">https://linear.app</a>• Jira: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira">https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira</a>• Patrick Campbell’s post on X about pricing: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/Patticus/status/1702313260547006942">https://x.com/Patticus/status/1702313260547006942</a>• The art and science of pricing | Madhavan Ramanujam (Monetizing Innovation, Simon-Kucher): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan</a>• Pricing your AI product: Lessons from 400+ companies and 50 unicorns | Madhavan Ramanujam: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/pricing-and-scaling-your-ai-product-madhavan-ramanujam">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/pricing-and-scaling-your-ai-product-madhavan-ramanujam</a>• Pricing your SaaS product: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/saas-pricing-strategy">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/saas-pricing-strategy</a>• M&A, competition, pricing, and investing | Julia Schottenstein (dbt Labs): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/m-and-a-competition-pricing-and-investing">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/m-and-a-competition-pricing-and-investing</a>• “Sell the alpha, not the feature”: The enterprise sales playbook for $1M to $10M ARR | Jen Abel: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-enterprise-sales-playbook-1m-to-10m-arr">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-enterprise-sales-playbook-1m-to-10m-arr</a>• Buffer: <a target="_blank" href="https://buffer.com">https://buffer.com</a>• AG1: <a target="_blank" href="https://drinkag1.com">https://drinkag1.com</a>• How to find hidden growth opportunities in your product | Albert Cheng (Duolingo, Grammarly, <a target="_blank" href="http://Chess.com">Chess.com</a>): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-find-hidden-growth-opportunities-albert-cheng">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-find-hidden-growth-opportunities-albert-cheng</a>• How Duolingo reignited user growth: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-duolingo-reignited-user-growth">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-duolingo-reignited-user-growth</a>• The Elephant in the room: The myth of exponential hypergrowth: <a target="_blank" href="https://longform.asmartbear.com/exponential-growth">https://longform.asmartbear.com/exponential-growth</a>• HubSpot: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hubspot.com">https://www.hubspot.com</a>• Zigging vs. zagging: How HubSpot built a $30B company | Dharmesh Shah (co-founder/CTO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-30-years-of-building">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-30-years-of-building</a>• Adjacency Matrix: How to expand after PMF: <a target="_blank" href="https://longform.asmartbear.com/adjacency/">https://longform.asmartbear.com/adjacency/</a>• Ecosystem is the next big growth channel: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ecosystem-is-the-next-big-growth">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ecosystem-is-the-next-big-growth</a>• ChatGPT apps are about to be the next big distribution channel: Here’s how to build one: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/chatgpt-apps-are-about-to-be-the">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/chatgpt-apps-are-about-to-be-the</a>• 10 contrarian leadership truths every leader needs to hear | Matt MacInnis (Rippling): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/10-contrarian-leadership-truths">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/10-contrarian-leadership-truths</a>• Breaking the rules of growth: Why Shopify bans KPIs, optimizes for churn, prioritizes intuition, and builds toward a 100-year vision | Archie Abrams (VP Product, Head of Growth at Shopify): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/shopifys-growth-archie-abrams">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/shopifys-growth-archie-abrams</a>• Geoffrey Moore on finding your beachhead, crossing the chasm, and dominating a market: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/geoffrey-moore-on-finding-your-beachhead">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/geoffrey-moore-on-finding-your-beachhead</a>• ER on Prime Video: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/ER-Season-1/dp/B0FWK5WJQ4">https://www.amazon.com/ER-Season-1/dp/B0FWK5WJQ4</a>• The Pitt on Prime Video: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/The-Pitt-Season-1/dp/B0DNRR8QWD">https://www.amazon.com/The-Pitt-Season-1/dp/B0DNRR8QWD</a>• Wispr Flow: <a target="_blank" href="https://wisprflow.ai">https://wisprflow.ai</a>• Anker: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.anker.com">https://www.anker.com</a>—Recommended books:• Will: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Will-Smith/dp/1984877925">https://www.amazon.com/Will-Smith/dp/1984877925</a>• Monetizing Innovation: How Smart Companies Design the Product Around the Price: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Monetizing-Innovation-Companies-Design-Product/dp/1119240867">https://www.amazon.com/Monetizing-Innovation-Companies-Design-Product/dp/1119240867</a>• Hidden Multipliers: Small Things That Accelerate Growth: <a target="_blank" href="https://preorder.hiddenmultipliers.com">https://preorder.hiddenmultipliers.com</a>• On Writing Well: The Essential Guide to Mastering Nonfiction Writing and Effective Communication: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-Classic-Guide-Nonfiction/dp/0060891548">https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-Classic-Guide-Nonfiction/dp/0060891548</a>• Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: The Updated Version of the Insightful Guide on Bringing Cutting-Edge Products to the Mainstream: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Chasm-3rd-Disruptive-Mainstream/dp/0062292986">https://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Chasm-3rd-Disruptive-Mainstream/dp/0062292986</a>—Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=show-notes-no-free-preview-language">www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>

January 25, 2026•1:46:04

The non-technical PM’s guide to building with Cursor | Zevi Arnovitz (Meta)

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Zevi Arnovitz is a product manager at Meta with no technical background who has figured out how to build and ship real products using AI. His engineering team at Meta asks him to teach them how he does what he does. In this episode, Zevi breaks down his complete AI workflow that allows non-technical people to build sophisticated products with Cursor.We discuss:1. The complete AI workflow that lets non-technical people build real products in Cursor2. How to use multiple AI models for different tasks (Claude for planning, Gemini for UI)3. Using slash commands to automate prompts4. Zevi’s “peer review” technique, which uses different AI models to review each other’s code5. Why this might be the best time to be a junior in tech, despite the challenging job market6. How Zevi used AI to prepare for his Meta PM interviews—Brought to you by:<a target="_blank" href="https://10web.io/lenny">10Web</a>—Vibe coding platform as an API<a target="_blank" href="https://getdx.com/lenny">DX</a>—The developer intelligence platform designed by leading researchers<a target="_blank" href="https://framer.com/lenny">Framer</a>—Build better websites faster—Episode transcript: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-non-technical-pms-guide-to-building-with-cursor">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-non-technical-pms-guide-to-building-with-cursor</a>—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts:<a target="_blank" href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0">https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0</a>—Where to find Zevi Arnovitz• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/ArnovitzZevi">https://x.com/ArnovitzZevi</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/zev-arnovitz">https://www.linkedin.com/in/zev-arnovitz</a>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://zeviarnovitz.com">https://zeviarnovitz.com</a>—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Zevi Arnovitz(04:48) Zevi’s background and journey into AI(07:41) Overview of Zevi’s AI workflow(14:41) Screenshare: Exploring Zevi’s workflow in detail(17:18) Building a feature live: StudyMate app(30:52) Executing the plan with Cursor(38:32) Using multiple AI models for code review(40:40) Personifying AI models(43:37) Peer review process(45:40) The importance of postmortems(51:05) Integrating AI in large companies(53:42) How AI has impacted the PM role(57:02) How to improve AI outputs(58:15) AI-assisted job interviews(01:02:57) Failure corner(01:06:20) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• Becoming a super IC: Lessons from 12 years as a PM individual contributor | Tal Raviv (Product Lead at Riverside): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-super-ic-pm-tal-raviv">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-super-ic-pm-tal-raviv</a>• Wix: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wix.com">https://www.wix.com</a>• Building AI Apps: From Idea to Viral in 30 Days: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2w4y7pDi8w">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2w4y7pDi8w</a>• Riley Brown on YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMcoud_ZW7cfxeIugBflSBw">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMcoud_ZW7cfxeIugBflSBw</a>• Greg Isenberg on YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@GregIsenberg">https://www.youtube.com/@GregIsenberg</a>• Bolt: <a target="_blank" href="https://bolt.new">https://bolt.new</a>• Inside Bolt: From near-death to ~$40m ARR in 5 months—one of the fastest-growing products in history | Eric Simons (founder and CEO of StackBlitz): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-bolt-eric-simons">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-bolt-eric-simons</a>• Lovable: <a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev">https://lovable.dev</a>• Building Lovable: $10M ARR in 60 days with 15 people | Anton Osika (co-founder and CEO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-lovable-anton-osika">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-lovable-anton-osika</a>• StudyMate: <a target="_blank" href="https://studymate.live">https://studymate.live</a>• Dibur2text: <a target="_blank" href="https://dibur2text.app">https://dibur2text.app</a>• Claude: <a target="_blank" href="https://claude.ai">https://claude.ai</a>• Everyone should be using Claude Code more: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/everyone-should-be-using-claude-code">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/everyone-should-be-using-claude-code</a>• Bun: <a target="_blank" href="https://bun.com">https://bun.com</a>• Zustand: <a target="_blank" href="https://zustand.docs.pmnd.rs/getting-started/introduction">https://zustand.docs.pmnd.rs/getting-started/introduction</a>• Cursor: <a target="_blank" href="https://cursor.com">https://cursor.com</a>• The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can’t stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell</a>• Wispr Flow: <a target="_blank" href="https://wisprflow.ai">https://wisprflow.ai</a>• Linear: <a target="_blank" href="https://linear.app">https://linear.app</a>• Linear’s secret to building beloved B2B products | Nan Yu (Head of Product): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/linears-secret-to-building-beloved-b2b-products-nan-yu">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/linears-secret-to-building-beloved-b2b-products-nan-yu</a>• Cursor Composer: <a target="_blank" href="https://cursor.com/blog/composer">https://cursor.com/blog/composer</a>• Replit: <a target="_blank" href="https://replit.com">https://replit.com</a>• Behind the product: Replit | Amjad Masad (co-founder and CEO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-product-replit-amjad-masad">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-product-replit-amjad-masad</a>• Base44: <a target="_blank" href="https://base44.com">https://base44.com</a>• Solo founder, $80M exit, 6 months: The Base44 bootstrapped startup success story | Maor Shlomo: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-base44-bootstrapped-startup-success-story-maor-shlomo">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-base44-bootstrapped-startup-success-story-maor-shlomo</a>• v0: <a target="_blank" href="https://v0.app">https://v0.app</a>• Everyone’s an engineer now: Inside v0’s mission to create a hundred million builders | Guillermo Rauch (founder & CEO of Vercel, creators of v0 and Next.js): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/everyones-an-engineer-now-guillermo-rauch">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/everyones-an-engineer-now-guillermo-rauch</a>• Cursor Browser mode: <a target="_blank" href="https://cursor.com/docs/agent/browser">https://cursor.com/docs/agent/browser</a>• Google Antigravity: <a target="_blank" href="https://antigravity.google">https://antigravity.google</a>• Grok: <a target="_blank" href="https://grok.com">https://grok.com</a>• Zapier: <a target="_blank" href="https://zapier.com">https://zapier.com</a>• Airtable: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.airtable.com">https://www.airtable.com</a>• Build Your Personal PM Productivity System & AI Copilot: <a target="_blank" href="https://maven.com/tal-raviv/product-manager-productivity-system">https://maven.com/tal-raviv/product-manager-productivity-system</a>• The definitive guide to mastering analytical thinking interviews: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-definitive-guide-to-mastering-f81">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-definitive-guide-to-mastering-f81</a>• AI tools are overdelivering: results from our large-scale AI productivity survey: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ai-tools-are-overdelivering-results-c08">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ai-tools-are-overdelivering-results-c08</a>• Yaara Asaf on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaarasaf">https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaarasaf</a>• The Pitt on Prime Video: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/The-Pitt-Season-1/dp/B0DNRR8QWD">https://www.amazon.com/The-Pitt-Season-1/dp/B0DNRR8QWD</a>• Severance on AppleTV+: <a target="_blank" href="https://tv.apple.com/us/show/severance/umc.cmc.1srk2goyh2q2zdxcx605w8vtx">https://tv.apple.com/us/show/severance/umc.cmc.1srk2goyh2q2zdxcx605w8vtx</a>• Loom: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.loom.com">https://www.loom.com</a>• Cap: <a target="_blank" href="https://cap.so">https://cap.so</a>• Supercut: <a target="_blank" href="https://supercut.ai">https://supercut.ai</a>...References continued at: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-non-technical-pms-guide-to-building-with-cursor">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-non-technical-pms-guide-to-building-with-cursor</a>—Recommended books:• The Fountainhead: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Fountainhead-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451191153">https://www.amazon.com/Fountainhead-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451191153</a>• Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike/dp/1501135910">https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike/dp/1501135910</a>• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0345472322">https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0345472322</a>—Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=show-notes-no-free-preview-language">www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>

January 18, 2026•1:15:12

How to show up in any room with a low heart rate: Silicon Valley’s missing etiquette playbook | Sam Lessin

FULL

Sam Lessin is a partner at Slow Ventures, a former VP of Product at Facebook, and a two-time founder who’s now teaching etiquette to Silicon Valley’s founders. In this unconventional episode, Sam explains why proper etiquette has become a vital skill for founders in 2026—especially as technology becomes more central to society and trust becomes harder to build. His etiquette book and courses have become surprisingly popular, teaching founders how to “show up in a room with a low heart rate” and quickly build trust.We discuss:1. Why etiquette matters2. Sam’s framework for showing up confidently, with a low heart rate, in any room3. How to navigate introductions, small talk, meetings, and meals like a pro4. Simple hacks for remembering names and handling awkward social situations5. 30+ specific etiquette tips—Brought to you by:<a target="_blank" href="https://10web.io/">10Web</a>—Vibe-coding platform as an API<a target="_blank" href="https://getdx.com/lenny">DX</a>—The developer intelligence platform designed by leading researchers<a target="_blank" href="https://workos.com/lenny">WorkOS</a>—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs—Episode transcript: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/silicon-valleys-missing-etiquette-playbook">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/silicon-valleys-missing-etiquette-playbook</a>—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts:<a target="_blank" href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0">https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0</a>—Where to find Sam Lessin:• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/lessin">https://x.com/lessin</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/wlessin">https://www.linkedin.com/in/wlessin</a>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wlessin.com">https://www.wlessin.com</a>• Podcast: <a target="_blank" href="https://moreorlesspod.com">https://moreorlesspod.com</a>• Lettermeme: <a target="_blank" href="https://lettermeme.com/lessin">https://lettermeme.com/lessin</a>—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Sam’s background(04:18) The role of etiquette in business success(09:30) Introductions and entering a room(16:20) Engaging conversations and building relationships(23:55) Hygiene and dress code essentials(33:42) Dining etiquette(37:15) Tipping etiquette(41:36) The “B&D trick”(43:05) Humor in social settings(45:18) Self-deprecating humor(47:42) Winding down conversations(49:20) Scheduling etiquette(55:23) Communication and email etiquette(01:02:28) Meeting etiquette tips(01:04:03) Virtual meeting best practices(01:05:15) The importance of cleaning up after yourself(01:05:58) Exiting and follow-up etiquette(01:07:24) Final thoughts(01:09:20) AI corner(01:11:13) Contrarian corner(01:16:25) Lightning round—Referenced:• Y Combinator: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ycombinator.com">https://www.ycombinator.com</a>• Kleiner Perkins: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kleinerperkins.com">https://www.kleinerperkins.com</a>• “Lose Yourself” by Eminem on Spotify: <a target="_blank" href="https://open.spotify.com/track/7MJQ9Nfxzh8LPZ9e9u68Fq">https://open.spotify.com/track/7MJQ9Nfxzh8LPZ9e9u68Fq</a>• Alison Gopnik on Childhood Learning, AI as a Cultural Technology, and Rethinking Nature vs. Nurture: <a target="_blank" href="https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/alison-gopnik">https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/alison-gopnik</a>• Garry Tan on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrytan">https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrytan</a>• Bain & Company: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bain.com">https://www.bain.com</a>• Evernote: <a target="_blank" href="https://evernote.com">https://evernote.com</a>• Calendly: <a target="_blank" href="https://calendly.com">https://calendly.com</a>• Morning Brew: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.morningbrew.com">https://www.morningbrew.com</a>• Cursor: <a target="_blank" href="https://cursor.com">https://cursor.com</a>• The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can’t stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell</a>• DigitalOcean: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.digitalocean.com">https://www.digitalocean.com</a>• Cloudflare: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cloudflare.com">https://www.cloudflare.com</a>• SpaceX: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.spacex.com">https://www.spacex.com</a>• Marc Andreessen on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/pmarca">https://x.com/pmarca</a>• Landman on Prime Video: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Landman-Season-1/dp/B0D4D8RTMD">https://www.amazon.com/Landman-Season-1/dp/B0D4D8RTMD</a>• Dave Morin on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/davemorin">https://x.com/davemorin</a>—Recommended books:• Modern Etiquette in Technology, Finance, Society, and at Home: A Slow Ventures Handbook: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Etiquette-Technology-Finance-Society-ebook/dp/B0G4HSKSY5">https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Etiquette-Technology-Finance-Society-ebook/dp/B0G4HSKSY5</a>• Life, the Universe and Everything: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Everything-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-ebook/dp/B001ODEQ7A">https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Everything-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-ebook/dp/B001ODEQ7A</a>• The Ancient City: A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-City-Religion-Institutions-Greece/dp/0801823048">https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-City-Religion-Institutions-Greece/dp/0801823048</a>• Man’s Search for Meaning: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl-ebook/dp/B009U9S6FI">https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl-ebook/dp/B009U9S6FI</a>• Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Area-51-Uncensored-Americas-Military-ebook/dp/B004THU68Q">https://www.amazon.com/Area-51-Uncensored-Americas-Military-ebook/dp/B004THU68Q</a>• The Lessons of History: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-History-Will-Durant/dp/143914995X">https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-History-Will-Durant/dp/143914995X</a>• The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America’s Banana King: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Fish-That-Ate-Whale-Americas/dp/1250033314">https://www.amazon.com/Fish-That-Ate-Whale-Americas/dp/1250033314</a>• The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Last-Kings-Shanghai-Jewish-Dynasties/dp/0735224439">https://www.amazon.com/Last-Kings-Shanghai-Jewish-Dynasties/dp/0735224439</a>—Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=show-notes-no-free-preview-language">www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>

January 15, 2026•1:26:35

Why LinkedIn is turning PMs into AI-powered "full stack builders” | Tomer Cohen (LinkedIn CPO)

Tomer Cohen is the longtime chief product officer at LinkedIn, where he’s pioneering the Full Stack Builder program, a radical new approach to product development that fully embraces what AI makes possible. Under his leadership, LinkedIn has scrapped its traditional Associate Product Manager program and replaced it with an Associate Product Builder program that teaches coding, design, and PM skills together. He’s also introduced a formal “Full Stack Builder” title and career ladder, enabling anyone from any function to take products from idea to launch. In this conversation, Tomer explains why product development has become too complex at most companies and how LinkedIn is building an AI-powered product team that can move faster, adapt more quickly, and do more with less.We discuss:1. How 70% of the skills needed for jobs will change by 20302. The broken traditional model: organizational bloat slows features to a six-month cycle3. The Full Stack Builder model4. Three pillars of making FSB work: platform, agents, and culture (culture matters most)5. Building specialized agents that critique ideas and find vulnerabilities6. Why off-the-shelf AI tools never work on enterprise code without customization7. Top performers adopt AI tools fastest, contrary to expectations about leveling effects8. Change management tactics: celebrating wins, making tools exclusive, updating performance reviews—Brought to you by:<a target="_blank" href="https://vanta.com/lenny">Vanta</a>—Automate compliance. Simplify security: <a target="_blank" href="https://vanta.com/lenny">https://vanta.com/lenny</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.figma.com/lenny/">Figma Make</a>—A prompt-to-code tool for making ideas real: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.figma.com/lenny/">https://www.figma.com/lenny/</a><a target="_blank" href="https://miro.com/lenny">Miro</a>—The AI Innovation Workspace where teams discover, plan, and ship breakthrough products: <a target="_blank" href="https://miro.com/lenny">https://miro.com/lenny</a>—Transcript: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/why-linkedin-is-replacing-pms">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/why-linkedin-is-replacing-pms</a>—My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/180042347/my-takeaways-from-this-conversation">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/180042347/my-takeaways-from-this-conversation</a>—Where to find Tomer Cohen:• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomercohen">https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomercohen</a>• Podcast: <a target="_blank" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/building-one-with-tomer-cohen/id1726672498">https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/building-one-with-tomer-cohen/id1726672498</a>—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Tomer Cohen(04:42) The need for change in product development(11:52) The full-stack builder model explained(16:03) Implementing AI and automation in product development(19:17) Building and customizing AI tools(27:51) The timeline to launch(31:46) Pilot program and early results(37:04) Feedback from top talent(39:48) Change management and adoption(46:53) Encouraging people to play with AI tools(41:21) Performance reviews and full-stack builders(48:00) Challenges and specialization(50:05) Finding talent(52:46) Tips for implementing in your own company(56:43) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• How LinkedIn became interesting: The inside story | Tomer Cohen (CPO at LinkedIn): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-linkedin-became-interesting-tomer-cohen">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-linkedin-became-interesting-tomer-cohen</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com">https://www.linkedin.com</a>• Cursor: <a target="_blank" href="https://cursor.com">https://cursor.com</a>• The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can’t stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell</a>• Devin: <a target="_blank" href="https://devin.ai">https://devin.ai</a>• Figma: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.figma.com">https://www.figma.com</a>• Microsoft Copilot: <a target="_blank" href="https://copilot.microsoft.com">https://copilot.microsoft.com</a>• Windsurf: <a target="_blank" href="https://windsurf.com">https://windsurf.com</a>• Building a magical AI code editor used by over 1 million developers in four months: The untold story of Windsurf | Varun Mohan (co-founder and CEO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-untold-story-of-windsurf-varun-mohan">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-untold-story-of-windsurf-varun-mohan</a>• Lovable: <a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev">https://lovable.dev</a>• Building Lovable: $10M ARR in 60 days with 15 people | Anton Osika (co-founder and CEO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-lovable-anton-osika">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-lovable-anton-osika</a>• APB program at LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://careers.linkedin.com/pathways-programs/entry-level/apb">https://careers.linkedin.com/pathways-programs/entry-level/apb</a>• Naval Ravikant on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/naval">https://x.com/naval</a>• One Song podcast: <a target="_blank" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8-%D7%90%D7%97%D7%93-one-song/id1201883177">https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8-%D7%90%D7%97%D7%93-one-song/id1201883177</a>• Song Exploder podcast: <a target="_blank" href="https://songexploder.net">https://songexploder.net</a>• Grok on Tesla: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tesla.com/support/grok">https://www.tesla.com/support/grok</a>• Reid Hoffman on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/reidhoffman">https://x.com/reidhoffman</a>—Recommended books:• Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Why-Nations-Fail-Origins-Prosperity/dp/0307719227">https://www.amazon.com/Why-Nations-Fail-Origins-Prosperity/dp/0307719227</a>• Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Outlive-Longevity-Peter-Attia-MD/dp/0593236599">https://www.amazon.com/Outlive-Longevity-Peter-Attia-MD/dp/0593236599</a>• The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Infinity-Explanations-Transform-World/dp/0143121359">https://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Infinity-Explanations-Transform-World/dp/0143121359</a>—Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=show-notes-no-free-preview-language">www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>

December 4, 2025•1:07:32

Slack founder: Mental models for building products people love ft. Stewart Butterfield

Stewart Butterfield is the co-founder of Slack and Flickr, two of the most influential products in internet history. After selling Slack to Salesforce in one of tech’s biggest acquisitions, he’s been focused on family, philanthropy, and creative projects. In this rare podcast appearance, Stewart shares the product frameworks and leadership principles that most contributed to his success. From “utility curves” to “the owner’s delusion” to “hyper-realistic work-like activities,” his thoughts on craft, strategy, and leadership apply to anyone building products or leading teams.We discuss:1. Hyper-realistic work-like activities2. The owner’s delusion3. Utility curves4. “Don’t make me think”5. “We don’t sell saddles here”6. Tilting your umbrella7. When to pivot—Brought to you by:<a target="_blank" href="https://workos.com/lenny">WorkOS</a>—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs<a target="_blank" href="https://metronome.com/">Metronome</a>—Monetization infrastructure for modern software companies<a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev/">Lovable</a>—Build apps by simply chatting with AI—Transcript: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/slack-founder-stewart-butterfield">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/slack-founder-stewart-butterfield</a>—My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/178320649/my-biggest-takeaways-from-this-conversation">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/178320649/my-biggest-takeaways-from-this-conversation</a>—Where to find Stewart Butterfield:• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/stewart">https://x.com/stewart</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/butterfield">https://www.linkedin.com/in/butterfield</a>—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Stewart Butterfield(04:58) Stewart’s current life and reflections(06:44) Understanding utility curves(10:13) The concept of divine discontent(15:11) The importance of taste in product design(19:03) Tilting your umbrella(28:32) Balancing friction and comprehension(45:07) The value of constant dissatisfaction(47:06) Embracing continuous improvement(50:03) The complexity of making things work(54:27) Parkinson’s law and organizational growth(01:03:17) Hyper-realistic work-like activities(01:13:23) Advice on when to pivot(01:18:36) The importance of generosity in leadership(01:26:34) The owner’s delusion—Referenced:• Slack: <a target="_blank" href="https://slack.com">https://slack.com</a>• Flickr: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.flickr.com">https://www.flickr.com</a>• Cal Henderson on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamcal">https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamcal</a>• Blok: <a target="_blank" href="https://blok.so">https://blok.so</a>• Brandon Velestuk on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-velestuk-6018721b">https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-velestuk-6018721b</a>• Magic Link: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Link">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Link</a>• Ticketmaster: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ticketmaster.com">https://www.ticketmaster.com</a>• John Collison on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/collision">https://x.com/collision</a>• Patrick Collison on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/patrickc">https://x.com/patrickc</a>• Sundar Pichai on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sundarpichai">https://www.linkedin.com/in/sundarpichai</a>• Three Questions with Slack’s CEO: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2014/11/21/170330/three-questions-with-slacks-ceo">https://www.technologyreview.com/2014/11/21/170330/three-questions-with-slacks-ceo</a>• Six Sigma: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.6sigma.us">https://www.6sigma.us</a>• What is kaizen and how does Toyota use it?: <a target="_blank" href="https://mag.toyota.co.uk/kaizen-toyota-production-system">https://mag.toyota.co.uk/kaizen-toyota-production-system</a>• John Collison’s post on X about passion projects: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/collision/status/1529452415346302976">https://x.com/collision/status/1529452415346302976</a>• Parkinson’s law: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.economist.com/news/1955/11/19/parkinsons-law">https://www.economist.com/news/1955/11/19/parkinsons-law</a>• We Don’t Sell Saddles Here: <a target="_blank" href="https://medium.com/@stewart/we-dont-sell-saddles-here-4c59524d650d">https://medium.com/@stewart/we-dont-sell-saddles-here-4c59524d650d</a>• Glitch: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitch_(video_game)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitch_(video_game)</a>• IRC: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC</a>• This will make you a better decision-maker | Annie Duke (author of “Thinking in Bets” and “Quit,” former pro poker player): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/making-better-decisions-annie-duke">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/making-better-decisions-annie-duke</a>• The woman behind Canva shares how she built a $42B company from nothing | Melanie Perkins: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-making-of-canva">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-making-of-canva</a>• Prisoner’s dilemma: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma</a>• Stewart Little: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Little">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Little</a>• Dharma and Greg: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma_%26_Greg">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma_%26_Greg</a>• Stewart’s post on X referencing “the owner’s delusion”: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/stewart/status/1223286626991796224">https://x.com/stewart/status/1223286626991796224</a>—Recommended books:• Principles: Life and Work: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Life-Work-Ray-Dalio/dp/1501124021">https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Life-Work-Ray-Dalio/dp/1501124021</a>• Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress―and How to Bring It Back: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Why-Nothing-Works-Killed-Progress_and/dp/154170021X">https://www.amazon.com/Why-Nothing-Works-Killed-Progress_and/dp/154170021X</a>• Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Positioning-Battle-Your-Al-Ries/dp/0071373586">https://www.amazon.com/Positioning-Battle-Your-Al-Ries/dp/0071373586</a>• Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Quit-Power-Knowing-When-Walk/dp/0593422996">https://www.amazon.com/Quit-Power-Knowing-When-Walk/dp/0593422996</a>—Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=show-notes-no-free-preview-language">www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>

November 20, 2025•1:30:35

The Godmother of AI on jobs, robots & why world models are next | Dr. Fei-Fei Li

Dr. Fei-Fei Li is known as the “godmother of AI.” She’s been at the center of AI’s biggest breakthroughs for over two decades. She spearheaded ImageNet, the dataset that sparked the deep-learning revolution we’re living right now, served as Google Cloud’s Chief AI Scientist, directed Stanford’s Artificial Intelligence Lab, and co-founded Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered AI. In this conversation, Fei-Fei shares the rarely told history of how we got here—including the wild fact that just nine years ago, calling yourself an AI company was basically a death sentence.We discuss:1. How ImageNet helped spark the AI explosion we’re living through2. Why world models and spatial intelligence represent the next frontier in AI, beyond large language models3. Why Fei-Fei believes AI won’t replace humans but will require us to take responsibility for ourselves4. The surprising applications of Marble, from movie production to psychological research5. Why robotics faces unique challenges compared with language models and what’s needed to overcome them6. How to participate in AI regardless of your role—Brought to you by:<a target="_blank" href="https://www.figma.com/lenny/">Figma Make</a>—A prompt-to-code tool for making ideas real<a target="_blank" href="https://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/trackclk/N9515.5688857LENNYSPODCAST/B33689522.424106370;dc_trk_aid=616284521;dc_trk_cid=237010502;dc_lat=;dc_rdid=;tag_for_child_directed_treatment=;tfua=;gdpr=$%7BGDPR%7D;gdpr_consent=$%7BGDPR_CONSENT_755%7D;ltd=;dc_tdv=1">Justworks</a>—The all-in-one HR solution for managing your small business with confidence<a target="_blank" href="https://sinch.com/lenny">Sinch</a>—Build messaging, email, and calling into your product—Transcript: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-godmother-of-ai">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-godmother-of-ai</a>—My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers):<a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/178223233/my-biggest-takeaways-from-this-conversation">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/178223233/my-biggest-takeaways-from-this-conversation</a>—Where to find Dr. Fei-Fei Li• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/drfeifei">https://x.com/drfeifei</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/fei-fei-li-4541247">https://www.linkedin.com/in/fei-fei-li-4541247</a>• World Labs: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.worldlabs.ai">https://www.worldlabs.ai</a>—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Dr. Fei-Fei Li(05:31) The evolution of AI(09:37) The birth of ImageNet(17:25) The rise of deep learning(23:53) The future of AI and AGI(29:51) Introduction to world models(40:45) The bitter lesson in AI and robotics(48:02) Introducing Marble, a revolutionary product(51:00) Applications and use cases of Marble(01:01:01) The founder’s journey and insights(01:10:05) Human-centered AI at Stanford(01:14:24) The role of AI in various professions(01:18:16) Conclusion and final thoughts—References: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-godmother-of-ai">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-godmother-of-ai</a>—Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=show-notes-no-free-preview-language">www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>

November 16, 2025•1:19:34

“Dumbest idea I’ve heard” to $100M ARR: Inside the rise of Gamma | Grant Lee (CEO)

Grant Lee is the co-founder of Gamma, the AI-powered presentation tool that’s one of the hottest and most interesting AI startups in the world right now. They’re valued at over $2 billion, and they hit $100 million ARR in just over two years, with a lean team of just around 30 people. Unlike many fast-growing AI startups, Gamma has been profitable for most of its history, has not raised significant funding, and they built a massive business in a category most investors dismissed. In fact, one investor told Grant his idea was “the dumbest idea he had ever heard.”We discuss:• How Gamma found product-market fit by rethinking their onboarding• Their process for building a “word-of-mouth machine”• How they leveraged more than 1,000 micro-influencers instead of big names• Why focusing on the “first 30 seconds” transformed their business• Their approach to pricing that led to profitability within months• How Grant thinks about building a durable “GPT wrapper” business—Brought to you by:<a target="_blank" href="https://vanta.com/lenny">Vanta</a>—Automate compliance. Simplify security.<a target="_blank" href="https://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/trackclk/N9515.5688857LENNYSPODCAST/B33689522.424104507;dc_trk_aid=616483002;dc_trk_cid=237010502;dc_lat=;dc_rdid=;tag_for_child_directed_treatment=;tfua=;gdpr=${GDPR};gdpr_consent=${GDPR_CONSENT_755};ltd=;dc_tdv=1">Justworks</a>—The all-in-one HR solution for managing your small business with confidence<a target="_blank" href="https://miro.com/lenny">Miro</a>—A collaborative visual platform where your best work comes to life—Where to find Grant Lee:• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/thisisgrantlee">https://x.com/thisisgrantlee</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantslee/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantslee</a>—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Grant Lee and Gamma(05:59) The founding story of Gamma(09:52) Achieving product-market fit(15:43) Self-awareness as a founder(17:17) The power of onboarding(20:41) The original insight that led to Gamma(22:42) Founder-led marketing and growth tactics(29:20) Sharing online(37:40) Getting to $100M ARR(41:19) Influencer marketing as a growth strategy(54:08) Virality is not an accident(58:30) Investing in brand before paid ads(01:02:04) Tips for getting started with performance marketing(01:04:49) Prototyping and user feedback(01:16:12) Adapting and moving quickly(01:19:21) The concept of GPT wrapper companies(01:22:16) Deep dive into workflow and model utilization(01:29:06) Pricing strategies(01:34:53) Hiring philosophy and practices(01:43:24) Betting big on high performers(01:45:03) Final thoughts and lightning round—References: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-50-people-built-a-profitable-ai-unicorn">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-50-people-built-a-profitable-ai-unicorn</a>—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=show-notes-no-free-preview-language">www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>

November 13, 2025•1:53:54

"Sell the alpha, not the feature": The enterprise sales playbook for $1M to $10M ARR | Jen Abel

Jen Abel is GM of Enterprise at State Affairs and co-founded Jellyfish, a consultancy that helps founders learn zero-to-one enterprise sales. She’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met on learning enterprise sales, and in this follow-up to our first chat two years ago (covering the zero to $1 million ARR founder-led sales phase), we focus on the skills founders need to learn to go from $1M to $10M ARR.We discuss:1. Why the “mid-market” doesn’t exist2. Why tier-one logos like Stripe and Tesla counterintuitively make the best early customers3. The dangers of pricing your product at $10K-$20K4. Why you need to vision-cast instead of problem-solve to win enterprise deals5. Why services are the fastest way to get your foot in the door with enterprises6. How to find and work with design partners7. When to hire your first salesperson and what profile to look for—Brought to you by:<a target="_blank" href="https://workos.com/lenny">WorkOS</a>—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs<a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev/">Lovable</a>—Build apps by simply chatting with AI<a target="_blank" href="https://coda.io/lenny">Coda</a>—The all-in-one collaborative workspace—Where to find Jen Abel:• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/jjen_abel">https://x.com/jjen_abel</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/earlystagesales">https://www.linkedin.com/in/earlystagesales</a>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jjellyfish.com">https://www.jjellyfish.com</a>—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Welcome back, Jen!(04:38) The myth of the mid-market(08:08) Targeting tier-one logos(10:50) Vision-casting vs. problem-selling(15:35) The importance of high ACVs(20:45) Don’t play the small business game with an enterprise company(25:09) Design partners: the double-edged sword(28:11) Finding the right company(36:55) Enterprise sales: the art of the deal(43:21) The problem with channel partnerships(44:41) Quick summary(50:24) Hiring the right enterprise salespeople(56:49) Structuring sales compensation(01:01:01) Building relationships in enterprise sales(01:02:07) The art of cold outreach(01:07:31) Outbound tooling and AI(01:14:08) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• The ultimate guide to founder-led sales | Jen Abel (co-founder of JJELLYFISH): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/master-founder-led-sales-jen-abel">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/master-founder-led-sales-jen-abel</a>• Mario meme: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/missing-meme-led-me-woman-johann-van-tonder-im6df/">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/missing-meme-led-me-woman-johann-van-tonder-im6df</a>• Kathy Sierra: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Sierra">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Sierra</a>• Cursor: <a target="_blank" href="https://cursor.com">https://cursor.com</a>• The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can’t stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell</a>• Justin Lawson on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/jjustin_lawson">https://x.com/jjustin_lawson</a>• Stripe: <a target="_blank" href="https://stripe.com">https://stripe.com</a>• Building product at Stripe: craft, metrics, and customer obsession | Jeff Weinstein (Product lead): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-product-at-stripe-jeff-weinstein">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-product-at-stripe-jeff-weinstein</a>• He saved OpenAI, invented the “Like” button, and built Google Maps: Bret Taylor on the future of careers, coding, agents, and more: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/he-saved-openai-bret-taylor">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/he-saved-openai-bret-taylor</a>• OpenAI’s CPO on how AI changes must-have skills, moats, coding, startup playbooks, more | Kevin Weil (CPO at OpenAI, ex-Instagram, Twitter): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/kevin-weil-open-ai">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/kevin-weil-open-ai</a>• Anthropic’s CPO on what comes next | Mike Krieger (co-founder of Instagram): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/anthropics-cpo-heres-what-comes-next">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/anthropics-cpo-heres-what-comes-next</a>• Linear: <a target="_blank" href="https://linear.app">https://linear.app</a>• Linear’s secret to building beloved B2B products | Nan Yu (Head of Product): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/linears-secret-to-building-beloved-b2b-products-nan-yu">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/linears-secret-to-building-beloved-b2b-products-nan-yu</a>• Gemini: <a target="_blank" href="https://gemini.google.com">https://gemini.google.com</a>• Microsoft Copilot: <a target="_blank" href="https://copilot.microsoft.com">https://copilot.microsoft.com</a>• How Palantir built the ultimate founder factory | Nabeel S. Qureshi (founder, writer, ex-Palantir): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-palantir-nabeel-qureshi">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-palantir-nabeel-qureshi</a>• McKinsey & Company: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mckinsey.com">https://www.mckinsey.com</a>• Deloitte: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.deloitte.com">https://www.deloitte.com</a>• Accenture: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.accenture.com">https://www.accenture.com</a>• Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-a-world-class-sales-org">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-a-world-class-sales-org</a>• Peter Dedene on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/peterdedene">https://x.com/peterdedene</a>• Hang Huang on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/HH_HangHuang">https://x.com/HH_HangHuang</a>• Hugo Alves on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/Ugo_alves">https://x.com/Ugo_alves</a>• A step-by-step guide to crafting a sales pitch that wins | April Dunford (author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/a-step-by-step-guide-to-crafting">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/a-step-by-step-guide-to-crafting</a>• Clay: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.clay.com">https://www.clay.com</a>• Apollo: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.apollo.io">https://www.apollo.io</a>• Jason Lemkin on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/jasonlk">https://x.com/jasonlk</a>• Gavin Baker on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/GavinSBaker">https://x.com/GavinSBaker</a>• Jason Cohen on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/asmartbear">https://x.com/asmartbear</a>• Baywatch on Prime Video: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Baywatch/0NU9YS8WWRNQO1NZD5DOQ3I8W6">https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Baywatch/0NU9YS8WWRNQO1NZD5DOQ3I8W6</a>• Playground: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tryplayground.com">https://www.tryplayground.com</a>• ClassDojo: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.classdojo.com">https://www.classdojo.com</a>• Jason Lemkin’s post about Replit: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/jasonlk/status/1946069562723897802">https://x.com/jasonlk/status/1946069562723897802</a>—Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=show-notes-no-free-preview-language">www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>

November 9, 2025•1:21:35

How to find hidden growth opportunities in your product | Albert Cheng (Duolingo, Grammarly, Chess.com)

Albert Cheng has led growth at three of the world’s most successful consumer subscription companies: Duolingo, Grammarly, and Chess.com. A former Google product manager (and serious pianist!), Albert developed a unique approach to finding and scaling growth opportunities through rapid experimentation and deep user psychology. His teams run 1,000 experiments a year, discovering counterintuitive insights that have driven tens of millions in revenue.What you’ll learn:1. How to use the explore-exploit framework to find new growth opportunities2. How showing premium features to free users doubled Grammarly’s upgrades to paid plans3. What good retention looks like for a consumer subscription app4. Why resurrected users drive 80% of mature product growth5. Why “reverse trials” work better than time-based trials6. The three pillars of successful gamification: core loop, metagame, and profile —Brought to you by:<a target="_blank" href="https://vanta.com/lenny">Vanta</a>—Automate compliance. Simplify security.<a target="_blank" href="https://atlassian.com/lenny/?utm_source=lennypodcast&utm_medium=paid-audio&utm_campaign=fy24q1-jpd-imc">Jira Product Discovery</a>—Confidence to build the right thing<a target="_blank" href="https://miro.com/lenny">Miro</a>—A collaborative visual platform where your best work comes to life—Where to find Albert Cheng:• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/albertc248">https://x.com/albertc248</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertcheng1/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertcheng1/</a>• Chess.com: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.chess.com/member/Goniners">https://www.chess.com/member/Goniners</a>—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—Referenced:• How Duolingo reignited user growth: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-duolingo-reignited-user-growth">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-duolingo-reignited-user-growth</a>• Inside ChatGPT: The fastest-growing product in history | Nick Turley (Head of ChatGPT at OpenAI): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-chatgpt-nick-turley">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-chatgpt-nick-turley</a>• Explore vs. Exploit: <a target="_blank" href="https://brianbalfour.com/quick-takes/explore-vs-exploit">https://brianbalfour.com/quick-takes/explore-vs-exploit</a>• Grammarly: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.grammarly.com/">https://www.grammarly.com/</a>• Reforge: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reforge.com/">https://www.reforge.com/</a>• Chess.com: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.chess.com/">https://www.chess.com/</a>• Everyone’s an engineer now: Inside v0’s mission to create a hundred million builders | Guillermo Rauch (founder & CEO of Vercel, creators of v0 and <a target="_blank" href="http://next.js">Next.js</a>): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/everyones-an-engineer-now-guillermo-rauch">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/everyones-an-engineer-now-guillermo-rauch</a>• Building Lovable: $10M ARR in 60 days with 15 people | Anton Osika (CEO and co-founder): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-lovable-anton-osika">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-lovable-anton-osika</a>• Figma: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.figma.com/">https://www.figma.com/</a>• Cursor: <a target="_blank" href="https://cursor.com/">https://cursor.com/</a>• The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can’t stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell</a>• Claude Code: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code">https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code</a>• GitHub Copilot: <a target="_blank" href="https://github.com/features/copilot">https://github.com/features/copilot</a>• Noam Lovinsky on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/noaml/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/noaml/</a>• The happiness and pain of product management | Noam Lovinsky (Grammarly, Facebook, YouTube, Thumbtack): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-happiness-and-pain-of-product">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-happiness-and-pain-of-product</a>• Kyla Siedband on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylasiedband/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylasiedband/</a>• The Duolingo handbook: <a target="_blank" href="https://blog.duolingo.com/handbook/">https://blog.duolingo.com/handbook/</a>• Lenny’s post on X about the Duolingo handbook: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/lennysan/status/1889008405584683091">https://x.com/lennysan/status/1889008405584683091</a>• The rituals of great teams | Shishir Mehrotra of Coda, YouTube, Microsoft: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rituals-of-great-teams-shishir">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rituals-of-great-teams-shishir</a>• Duolingo on TikTok: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@duolingo">https://www.tiktok.com/@duolingo</a>• Kasparov vs. Deep Blue | The Match That Changed History: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.chess.com/article/view/deep-blue-kasparov-chess">https://www.chess.com/article/view/deep-blue-kasparov-chess</a>• Magnus Carlsen: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_Carlsen">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_Carlsen</a>• Elo rating system: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.chess.com/terms/elo-rating-chess">https://www.chess.com/terms/elo-rating-chess</a>• Stockfish: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockfish_(chess)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockfish_(chess)</a>• AlphaGo on Prime Video: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.primevideo.com/detail/AlphaGo/0KNQHKKDAOE8OCYKQS9WSSDYN0">https://www.primevideo.com/detail/AlphaGo/0KNQHKKDAOE8OCYKQS9WSSDYN0</a>• Statsig: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.statsig.com/">https://www.statsig.com/</a>• The State of Product in 2026: Navigating Change, Challenge, and Opportunity: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.atlassian.com/blog/announcements/state-of-product-2026">https://www.atlassian.com/blog/announcements/state-of-product-2026</a>• Erik Allebest on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikallebest/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikallebest/</a>• Daniel Rensch on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/danielrensch">https://x.com/danielrensch</a>• Chariot: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chariot_(company)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chariot_(company)</a>• San Francisco 49ers: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.49ers.com/">https://www.49ers.com/</a>• Breville Barista Express: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.breville.com/en-us/product/bes870">https://www.breville.com/en-us/product/bes870</a>—Recommended books:• Snuggle Puppy!: A Little Love Song: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Snuggle-Puppy-Little-Boynton-Board/dp/1665924985">https://www.amazon.com/Snuggle-Puppy-Little-Boynton-Board/dp/1665924985</a>• Ogilvy on Advertising: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Ogilvy-Advertising-David/dp/039472903X">https://www.amazon.com/Ogilvy-Advertising-David/dp/039472903X</a>• Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Squares-Chess-Saved-Life/dp/1541703286">https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Squares-Chess-Saved-Life/dp/1541703286</a>—Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=show-notes-no-free-preview-language">www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>

October 5, 2025•1:25:25