Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth
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.
Episodes
An AI state of the union: We’ve passed the inflection point, dark factories are coming, and automation timelines | Simon Willison
<p><strong>Simon Willison</strong> is a prolific independent software developer, a blogger, and one of the most visible and trusted voices on the impact AI is having on builders. He co-created Django, the web framework that powers Instagram, Pinterest, and tens of thousands of other websites. He coined the term “prompt injection,” popularized the terms “AI slop” and “agentic engineering,” and has built over 100 open source projects, including Datasette, a data analysis tool used by investigative journalists worldwide. What makes Simon unique is that he’s made the leap from traditional software engineering to AI-native development more fully and visibly than almost anyone—and he’s been documenting everything he learns in real time on his blog, <a target="_blank" href="http://SimonWillison.net">SimonWillison.net</a>.</p><p></p><p><strong>In our in-depth conversation, Simon shares:</strong></p><p>1. Why November 2025 was the inflection point when AI coding agents crossed from “mostly works” to “actually works”</p><p>2. How Simon writes 95% of his code from his phone now and why he’s mentally exhausted by 11 a.m.</p><p>3. Why mid-career engineers (not juniors) are most at risk right now</p><p>4. The three agentic engineering patterns Simon uses daily (red/green TDD, templates, hoarding)</p><p>5. The next leap: the “dark factory” pattern where nobody writes or reviews code and AI does its own QA</p><p>6. Why prompt injection is an unsolved security problem and the “lethal trifecta” that will likely lead to an AI <em>Challenger</em> disaster</p><p>7. Why the pelican riding a bicycle became the unofficial benchmark for AI model quality</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://workos.com/lenny"><strong>WorkOS</strong></a>—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://vanta.com/lenny"><strong>Vanta</strong></a>—automate compliance, manage risk, and accelerate trust with AI</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript: </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an-ai-state-of-the-union">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an-ai-state-of-the-union</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts:</strong> <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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Simon Willison:</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/simonw">https://x.com/simonw</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonwillison">https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonwillison</a></p><p>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://simonwillison.net">https://simonwillison.net</a></p><p>• Agentic Engineering Patterns: <a target="_blank" href="https://simonwillison.net/guides/agentic-engineering-patterns">https://simonwillison.net/guides/agentic-engineering-patterns</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Simon Willison</p><p>(02:40) The November 2025 inflection point</p><p>(08:01) What’s possible now with AI coding</p><p>(10:42) Vibe coding vs. agentic engineering</p><p>(13:57) The dark-factory pattern</p><p>(20:41) Where bottlenecks have shifted</p><p>(23:36) Where human brains will continue to be valuable</p><p>(25:32) Defending of software engineers</p><p>(29:12) Why experienced engineers get better results</p><p>(30:48) Advice for avoiding the permanent underclass</p><p>(33:52) Leaning into AI to amplify your skills</p><p>(35:12) Why Simon says he’s working harder than ever</p><p>(37:23) The market for pre-2022 human-written code</p><p>(40:01) Prediction: 50% of engineers writing 95% AI code by the end of 2026</p><p>(44:34) The impact of cheap code</p><p>(48:27) Simon’s AI stack</p><p>(54:08) Using AI for research</p><p>(55:12) The pelican-riding-a-bicycle benchmark</p><p>(59:01) The inherent ridiculousness of AI</p><p>(1:00:52) Hoarding things you know how to do</p><p>(1:08:21) Red/green TDD pattern for better AI code</p><p>(1:14:43) Starting projects with good templates</p><p>(1:16:31) The lethal trifecta and prompt injection</p><p>(1:21:53) Why 97% effectiveness is a failing grade</p><p>(1:25:19) The normalization of deviance</p><p>(1:28:32) OpenClaw: the security nightmare everyone is looking past</p><p>(1:34:22) What’s next for Simon</p><p>(1:36:47) Zero-deliverable consulting</p><p>(1:38:05) Good news about Kakapo parrots</p><p>—</p><p><strong>References: </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an-ai-state-of-the-union">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an-ai-state-of-the-union</a></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
From skeptic to true believer: How OpenClaw changed my life | Claire Vo
<p><strong>Claire Vo</strong> is the host of our sister podcast, “How I AI,” a former product executive and engineer, and founder of an AI startup called ChatPRD. Claire now runs her business, podcast, and family life with the help of nine OpenClaw agents running on multiple Mac Minis and old laptops. In this episode, Claire shares her journey from OpenClaw skeptic (it deleted her family calendar the first time she tried it) to true believer, and gives a masterclass in using AI agents in real life.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. The exact step-by-step process to install and set up OpenClaw (it’s easier than you think)</p><p>2. How to avoid the biggest OpenClaw mistakes (don’t install it on your main computer)</p><p>3. Actual use cases that have changed Claire’s life (e.g. family scheduling, inbound sales, podcast prep, and course management)</p><p>4. Why multiple specialized agents beat one general-purpose agent</p><p>5. The security risks everyone worries about—and how to handle them</p><p>6. Browser limitations, memory issues, and practical workarounds</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://mercury.com/?utm_source=lennys&utm_medium=sponsored_newsletter&utm_campaign=26q1_brand_campaign"><strong>Mercury</strong></a>—Radically different banking</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://omni.co/lenny"><strong>Omni</strong></a>—AI analytics your customers can trust</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.orkes.io/"><strong>Orkes</strong></a>—The enterprise platform for reliable applications and agentic workflows</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Claire Vo:</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/clairevo">https://x.com/clairevo</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo">https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo</a></p><p>• Podcast: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@howiaipodcast">https://www.youtube.com/@howiaipodcast</a></p><p>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://clairevo.com">https://clairevo.com</a></p><p>• ChatPRD: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.chatprd.ai">https://www.chatprd.ai</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Claire and OpenClaw</p><p>(08:00) The journey from OpenClaw skeptic to believer</p><p>(11:50) What OpenClaw actually does that’s useful</p><p>(13:35) OpenClaw vs. other AI agent products</p><p>(17:05) How to actually install OpenClaw: the basics</p><p>(18:49) Setting up like you’d onboard a real assistant</p><p>(20:41) Security and privacy considerations</p><p>(24:53) Live demo: Installing OpenClaw step-by-step</p><p>(28:47) Setting up Q: an agent for her kids’ homework</p><p>(34:08) Understanding “soul,” “identity,” and “memory”</p><p>(40:40) The unlock: multiple agents, not just one</p><p>(45:02) How to run multiple agents on one machine</p><p>(47:28) Jesse Genet’s homeschooling use case</p><p>(49:58) Real examples and use cases</p><p>(56:41) Finn, Claire’s family agent</p><p>(1:00:05) Sage the Course Bot</p><p>(1:02:15) Common issues and workarounds</p><p>(1:08:08) The Exa/Perplexity web search workaround</p><p>(1:09:29) Memory management and context overload</p><p>(1:12:09) Pro tip: Screen sharing to manage Mac Minis</p><p>(1:14:18) Using Google Workspace for agent collaboration</p><p>(1:16:24) What makes OpenClaw special</p><p>(1:20:15) The “yappers API” and ramble mode</p><p>(1:22:04) Using Claude Code as your OpenClaw brain surgeon</p><p>(1:25:16) Bringing management skills to AI agents</p><p>(1:29:32) Why this matters</p><p>(1:32:37) Lightning round and final thoughts</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• OpenClaw: <a target="_blank" href="https://openclaw.ai">https://openclaw.ai</a></p><p>• Claude Cowork: <a target="_blank" href="https://claude.com/product/cowork">https://claude.com/product/cowork</a></p><p>• Fry’s Electronics: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fry%27s_Electronics">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fry%27s_Electronics</a></p><p>• Peter Steinberger on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/steipete">https://www.linkedin.com/in/steipete</a></p><p>• Telegram: <a target="_blank" href="https://telegram.org">https://telegram.org</a></p><p>• WhatsApp: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.whatsapp.com">https://www.whatsapp.com</a></p><p>• Fin: <a target="_blank" href="https://fin.ai">https://fin.ai</a></p><p>• Why OpenClaw feels alive even though it’s not (this AI has a heartbeat but not a brain): <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/clairevo/status/2017741569521271175">https://x.com/clairevo/status/2017741569521271175</a></p><p>• 5 OpenClaw agents run my home, finances, and code | Jesse Genet: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Vl8s3EQhk">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Vl8s3EQhk</a></p><p>• Executive Playbook for AI in Engineering, Product, and Design: <a target="_blank" href="https://maven.com/clairevo/ai-native-epd-org">https://maven.com/clairevo/ai-native-epd-org</a></p><p>• Zach Davis on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-m-davis/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-m-davis/</a></p><p>• ChatGPT Atlas: <a target="_blank" href="https://chatgpt.com/atlas">https://chatgpt.com/atlas</a></p><p>• Perplexity Comet: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.perplexity.ai/comet">https://www.perplexity.ai/comet</a></p><p>• Browser (OpenClaw-managed): <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/browser">https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/browser</a></p><p>• Buffer: <a target="_blank" href="https://buffer.com">https://buffer.com</a></p><p>• Brave: <a target="_blank" href="https://brave.com/search/api/">https://brave.com/search/api/</a></p><p>• Exa: <a target="_blank" href="https://exa.ai">https://exa.ai</a></p><p>• Hilary Gridley on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/yourgirlhils">https://x.com/yourgirlhils</a></p><p>• How to become a supermanager with AI: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-become-a-supermanager-with">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-become-a-supermanager-with</a></p><p>• How custom GPTs can make you a better manager | Hilary Gridley (Head of Core Product at Whoop): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDMkkOC-EhI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDMkkOC-EhI</a></p><p>• How to debug a team that isn’t working: the Waterline Model: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-debug-a-team-that-isnt-working">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-debug-a-team-that-isnt-working</a></p><p>• Jensen Huang on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhsunhuang">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhsunhuang</a></p><p>• How I built a 1M+ subscriber newsletter and top 10 tech podcast | Lenny Rachitsky: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-i-built-a-1m-subscriber-newsletter">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-i-built-a-1m-subscriber-newsletter</a></p><p>• <em>Age of Attraction </em>on Netflix: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81779095">https://www.netflix.com/title/81779095</a></p><p>• Oura Ring: <a target="_blank" href="https://ouraring.com/">https://ouraring.com/</a></p><p>• Eight Sleep: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eightsleep.com">https://www.eightsleep.com</a></p><p>• Hoopsalytics: <a target="_blank" href="https://hoopsalytics.com">https://hoopsalytics.com</a></p><p>• DJI Osmo smartphone gimbal: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/DJI-Stabilizer-Tracking-Extension-Stabilization/dp/B0FJ2L67HJ?ref_=ast_sto_dp">https://www.amazon.com/DJI-Stabilizer-Tracking-Extension-Stabilization/dp/B0FJ2L67HJ?ref_=ast_sto_dp</a></p><p>• Silent basketball: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Rzkipdy-Silent-Basketball-Size-27-5/dp/B0FHFSQWPP/ref=sr_1_9">https://www.amazon.com/Rzkipdy-Silent-Basketball-Size-27-5/dp/B0FHFSQWPP/ref=sr_1_9</a></p><p>• Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn’t even started yet: <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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Recommended books:</strong></p><p>• <em>Treasure Island</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Treasure-Island-Robert-Louis-Stevenson/dp/1505297400">https://www.amazon.com/Treasure-Island-Robert-Louis-Stevenson/dp/1505297400</a></p><p>• <em>Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Alices-Adventures-Wonderland-Illustrated-Illustrations/dp/991673268X">https://www.amazon.com/Alices-Adventures-Wonderland-Illustrated-Illustrations/dp/991673268X</a></p><p>• <em>Charts for Babies: A Picture Book</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Charts-Babies-Picture-Book/dp/1419785184">https://www.amazon.com/Charts-Babies-Picture-Book/dp/1419785184</a></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
The art of influence: The single most important skill that AI can’t replace | Jessica Fain (Webflow, ex-Slack)
<p><strong>Jessica Fain</strong> is a product leader at Webflow and former Chief of Staff to the CPO at Slack, where she worked alongside April Underwood and many past podcast guests including Stewart Butterfield, Annie Pearl, Tamar Yehoshua, and Noah Weiss. She’s spent her career learning how executives actually make decisions—and why most people completely misunderstand the process.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. Why great ideas often don’t get buy-in</p><p>2. Why executive calendars are “like strobe lights” and why the first 30 seconds of a meeting matter so much</p><p>3. Why executives are usually optimizing for a global maximum while you are often optimizing locally</p><p>4. The best question Jessica uses when a leader says something that seems wrong: “That’s so interesting. What led you to believe that?”</p><p>5. Why you should go in to learn, not to convince</p><p>6. Why showing only one option is a mistake</p><p>7. Why AI will make influence more important, not less</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://omni.co/lenny"><strong>Omni</strong></a>—AI analytics your customers can trust</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev/"><strong>Lovable</strong></a>—Build apps by simply chatting with AI</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://vanta.com/lenny"><strong>Vanta</strong></a>—Automate compliance, manage risk, and accelerate trust with AI</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-of-influence-jessica-fain">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-of-influence-jessica-fain</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts:</strong> <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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Jessica Fain:</strong></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-fain-79b8989">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-fain-79b8989</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Jessica Fain</p><p>(03:53) Why influence is the highest-leverage skill in product</p><p>(04:47) Why great ideas fail without executive buy-in</p><p>(06:00) How executives actually think</p><p>(09:05) The fundamentals: context-setting, communication, and empathy</p><p>(10:22) Stop pitching for approval—start co-creating with execs</p><p>(12:59) Influence vs. politics (and why people get it wrong)</p><p>(15:44) How to disagree with execs without losing trust</p><p>(17:20) Going in to learn, not to convince</p><p>(19:08) How to present ideas</p><p>(26:05) The Minto-style approach and tailoring your communication to each exec</p><p>(28:22) Why Jessica doesn’t like the question “What’s top of mind for you?”</p><p>(30:24) Understanding incentives to unlock buy-in</p><p>(32:10) Aligning product work with company strategy</p><p>(35:10) Quick summary</p><p>(37:31) Disarming the executive</p><p>(40:49) Speed matters: why fast follow-up builds momentum</p><p>(43:32) How to run high-impact meetings (the 60-second rule)</p><p>(47:00) Why influencing execs is part of your job</p><p>(49:15) Asking for more resources and thinking in 10x bets</p><p>(52:23) What to do when your idea gets rejected</p><p>(54:18) Clarifying information</p><p>(56:50) How to build trust and make ideas stick</p><p>(58:30) Shrinking big ideas into experiments</p><p>(01:02:27) Common mistakes people make when influencing leaders</p><p>(01:06:00) How to grow into your next role</p><p>(01:09:32) How AI is changing influence and product work</p><p>(01:17:55) Using AI to simulate exec feedback and improve pitches</p><p>(01:21:15) Protecting our brains from overwhelm</p><p>(01:22:44) Lightning round and final thoughts</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• Box: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.box.com">https://www.box.com</a></p><p>• Slack: <a target="_blank" href="https://slack.com">https://slack.com</a></p><p>• Brightwheel: <a target="_blank" href="https://mybrightwheel.com">https://mybrightwheel.com</a></p><p>• Webflow: <a target="_blank" href="https://webflow.com">https://webflow.com</a></p><p>• April Underwood on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprilunderwood">https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprilunderwood</a></p><p>• Lessons in product leadership and AI strategy from Glean, Google, Amazon, and Slack | Tamar Yehoshua (Product at Glean, ex-Google and Slack): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/you-dont-need-to-be-a-well-run-company-to-win-tamar-yehoshua">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/you-dont-need-to-be-a-well-run-company-to-win-tamar-yehoshua</a></p><p>• Atlassian: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.atlassian.com">https://www.atlassian.com</a></p><p>• Behind the scenes of Calendly’s rapid growth | Annie Pearl (CPO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-scenes-of-calendlys-rapid">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-scenes-of-calendlys-rapid</a></p><p>• Calendly: <a target="_blank" href="https://calendly.com">https://calendly.com</a></p><p>• Glassdoor: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.glassdoor.co.in/index.htm">https://www.glassdoor.co.in/index.htm</a></p><p>• The 10 traits of great PMs, how AI will impact your product, and Slack’s product development process | Noah Weiss (Slack, Foursquare, Google): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-10-traits-of-great-pms-how-ai">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-10-traits-of-great-pms-how-ai</a></p><p>• Ethan Eismann on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/eeismann">https://x.com/eeismann</a></p><p>• Slack founder: Mental models for building products people love ft. Stewart Butterfield: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/slack-founder-stewart-butterfield">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/slack-founder-stewart-butterfield</a></p><p>• Ilan Frank on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilanfrank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilanfrank</a></p><p>• Checkr: <a target="_blank" href="https://checkr.com">https://checkr.com</a></p><p>• Ali Rayl on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alirayl">https://www.linkedin.com/in/alirayl</a></p><p>• Rachel Wolan on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelwolan">https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelwolan</a></p><p>• How Webflow’s CPO built an AI chief of staff to manage her calendar, prep for meetings, and drive AI adoption | Rachel Wolan: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-webflows-cpo-built-an-ai-chief">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-webflows-cpo-built-an-ai-chief</a></p><p>• Barbara Minto’s website: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.barbaraminto.com">https://www.barbaraminto.com</a></p><p>• How Slack invests in big little details through Customer Love Sprints: <a target="_blank" href="https://slack.design/articles/sweating-the-small-stuff">https://slack.design/articles/sweating-the-small-stuff</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• The Enneagram Institute: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions">https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions</a></p><p>• <em>The Pitt </em>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></p><p>• Towel warmer: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/FLYHIT-Large-Towel-Warmer-Bathroom/dp/B0CB5K34L2">https://www.amazon.com/FLYHIT-Large-Towel-Warmer-Bathroom/dp/B0CB5K34L2</a></p><p>• Casa: <a target="_blank" href="https://getcasa.com">https://getcasa.com</a></p><p>• Jimi Hendrix: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix</a></p><p>• Greek Theatre: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Theatre_(Los_Angeles)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Theatre_(Los_Angeles)</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Recommended books:</strong></p><p>• <em>Pachinko</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Pachinko-National-Book-Award-Finalist/dp/1455563927">https://www.amazon.com/Pachinko-National-Book-Award-Finalist/dp/1455563927</a></p><p>• <em>Homegoing</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Homegoing-Yaa-Gyasi/dp/1101971061">https://www.amazon.com/Homegoing-Yaa-Gyasi/dp/1101971061</a></p><p>• <em>A History of Burning</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/History-Burning-Janika-Oza/dp/1538724243">https://www.amazon.com/History-Burning-Janika-Oza/dp/1538724243</a></p><p>• <em>The Overstory</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Overstory-Novel-Richard-Powers/dp/039335668X">https://www.amazon.com/Overstory-Novel-Richard-Powers/dp/039335668X</a></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
The tactical playbook for getting 20-40% more comp (without sounding greedy) | Jacob Warwick (Executive Negotiator)
<p><strong>Jacob Warwick</strong> is an executive negotiation coach who helps senior operators negotiate better salary, equity, titles, and severance packages. He has worked with leaders across tech and Hollywood, was previously a founder and CEO himself, and has helped clients secure millions in additional compensation. His approach focuses on collaboration over confrontation, understanding motivations, and treating job searches like enterprise sales processes.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. Why a simple “What’s the chance there’s a little more here?” often unlocks a 20% bump</p><p>2. Why Jacob sees 40% average movement when negotiations are run well</p><p>3. When negotiation actually starts (hint: it’s much earlier than you think)</p><p>4. Why information + timing create power</p><p>5. The biggest mistakes people make when negotiating</p><p>6. How to navigate the important “What’s your comp expectation?” question without anchoring too low</p><p>7. Why the best interviews feel more like discovery calls than interrogations</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.orkes.io/"><strong>Orkes</strong></a>—The enterprise platform for reliable applications and agentic workflows</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://mercury.com/?utm_source=lennys&utm_medium=sponsored_newsletter&utm_campaign=26q1_brand_campaign"><strong>Mercury</strong></a>—Radically different banking</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://omni.co/lenny"><strong>Omni</strong></a>—AI analytics your customers can trust</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-tactical-playbook-for-getting-more-comp">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-tactical-playbook-for-getting-more-comp</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: </strong><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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Jacob Warwick:</strong></p><p>• Substack: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.execsandthecity.com">https://www.execsandthecity.com</a></p><p>• YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@ExecsandtheCity">https://www.youtube.com/@ExecsandtheCity</a></p><p>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thinkwarwick.com">https://www.thinkwarwick.com</a></p><p>• Complete Job Search Course: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.execsandthecity.com/p/complete-job-search-course">https://www.execsandthecity.com/p/complete-job-search-course</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Jacob Warwick</p><p>(04:12) How much comp people leave on the table</p><p>(07:52) Why you shouldn’t feel greedy asking for more</p><p>(09:45) What founders should know about negotiation</p><p>(13:03) How Jacob works behind the scenes</p><p>(15:35) The biggest mistakes people make when negotiating</p><p>(19:30) Home-field advantage and controlling the conversation</p><p>(23:02) The step-by-step approach to negotiating an offer</p><p>(30:17) Jacob’s passion and why these tips don’t work on kids</p><p>(32:04) Who should speak first about compensation</p><p>(35:36) Understanding power</p><p>(39:52) Breaking out of salary bands by focusing on pain points</p><p>(45:45) Brief summary</p><p>(47:20) Selling the vacation: How to visualize success</p><p>(50:07) Controlling the narrative and planting seeds</p><p>(59:01) Jacob’s role as hype man</p><p>(01:01:05) Positioning yourself like a product</p><p>(01:02:49) Making the process frictionless for hiring managers</p><p>(01:06:20) Flipping the interview to extract information</p><p>(01:12:17) Five tactical tips for negotiating comp</p><p>(01:21:45) What to do when negotiations fall apart</p><p>(01:25:05) Why negotiation is different for every individual</p><p>(01:28:55) Why outcomes aren’t predetermined</p><p>(01:32:52) Wild Hollywood negotiation stories</p><p>(01:37:35) The first step you should take after getting an offer</p><p>(01:40:30) Jacob’s personal mission</p><p>(01:44:42) Lightning round and final thoughts</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• The ultimate guide to negotiating your comp: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-negotiating">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-negotiating</a></p><p>• Sam Altman on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/sama">https://x.com/sama</a></p><p>• Tom Brady on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/TomBrady">https://x.com/TomBrady</a></p><p>• Career Huddle: Interview & Negotiation Master Class with Jacob Warwick: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgjWTiSj8E8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgjWTiSj8E8</a></p><p>• Salesforce: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.salesforce.com">https://www.salesforce.com</a></p><p>• Julia Roberts: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Roberts">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Roberts</a></p><p>• Matt Damon: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Damon">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Damon</a></p><p>• Steven Spielberg: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Spielberg">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Spielberg</a></p><p>• Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn’t even started yet: <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></p><p>• Chris Voss’s quote: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/10181396-remember-never-be-so-sure-of-what-you-want-that">https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/10181396-remember-never-be-so-sure-of-what-you-want-that</a></p><p>• Chris Voss on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/fbinegotiator">https://x.com/fbinegotiator</a></p><p>• Werewolf: <a target="_blank" href="https://playwerewolf.co">https://playwerewolf.co</a></p><p>• Modes of persuasion: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modes_of_persuasion">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modes_of_persuasion</a></p><p>• How to use tactical empathy: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/christophervoss_tacticalempathy-negotiation-customerexperience-activity-7361004118808670212-oeRy">https://www.linkedin.com/posts/christophervoss_tacticalempathy-negotiation-customerexperience-activity-7361004118808670212-oeRy</a></p><p>• ZOPA, BATNA and Win-Win in Negotiation: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.parallelprojecttraining.com/blog/zopa-batna-and-win-win-in-negotiation">https://www.parallelprojecttraining.com/blog/zopa-batna-and-win-win-in-negotiation</a></p><p>• Marvel: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.marvel.com">https://www.marvel.com</a></p><p>• Negotiation Made Simple podcast: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2227030">https://www.buzzsprout.com/2227030</a></p><p>• <em>Luca </em>on Disney+: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-f28b825f-c207-406b-923a-67f85e6d90e0">https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-f28b825f-c207-406b-923a-67f85e6d90e0</a></p><p>• <em>Minuscule</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Minuscule">https://www.youtube.com/user/Minuscule</a></p><p>• Claude Cowork: <a target="_blank" href="https://claude.com/product/cowork">https://claude.com/product/cowork</a></p><p>• Macrofactor: <a target="_blank" href="https://macrofactor.com">https://macrofactor.com</a></p><p>• Whoop: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.whoop.com">https://www.whoop.com</a></p><p>• Gemini: <a target="_blank" href="https://gemini.google.com/app">https://gemini.google.com/app</a></p><p>• The Cody Dieruf Foundation: <a target="_blank" href="https://breathinisbelievin.org">https://breathinisbelievin.org</a></p><p>• Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cff.org">https://www.cff.org</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Recommended books:</strong></p><p>• <em>Negotiation Games</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Negotiation-Games-Routledge-Advances-Theory/dp/0415308941">https://www.amazon.com/Negotiation-Games-Routledge-Advances-Theory/dp/0415308941</a></p><p>• <em>Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Robert-Cialdini/dp/006124189X">https://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Robert-Cialdini/dp/006124189X</a></p><p>• <em>You Can Negotiate Anything: How to Get What You Want</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/You-Negotiate-Anything-Herb-Cohen/dp/0806541229">https://www.amazon.com/You-Negotiate-Anything-Herb-Cohen/dp/0806541229</a></p><p>• <em>Negotiation Made Simple: A Practical Guide for Solving Problems, Building Relationships, and Delivering the Deal</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Negotiation-Made-Simple-Relationships-Delivering/dp/1400336325">https://www.amazon.com/Negotiation-Made-Simple-Relationships-Delivering/dp/1400336325</a></p><p>• <em>Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509">https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509</a></p><p>• <em>High Output Management</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884">https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884</a></p><p>• <em>How to Win Friends and Influence People</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034">https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034</a></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
How I built a 1M+ subscriber newsletter and top 10 tech podcast | Lenny Rachitsky
<p>People have been asking me to sit on the other side of the mic for a long time. With my wife’s debut children’s book, <em>Charts for Babies</em>, coming out next month, we figured: why not do it together? What followed was one of the most honest conversations I’ve had on this podcast. Michelle asked things no one else would think to ask—and many things I’ve never shared publicly. You’ll hear about the specific moments that pushed me to start the newsletter, how I think about quality and iteration, what most stresses me out, and the scariest moment of my life. This was so fun, and so special, and I hope you like it.</p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. The collection of moments that led me to what I do now</p><p>2. When I added a paywall, and how I knew it was working</p><p>3. The hidden treadmill behind shipping a newsletter post and podcast episode every week</p><p>4. The most stressful moments I’ve had in business and in life</p><p>5. How I think about stress, consistency, and keeping the business small</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Pre-order </strong><strong><em>Charts for Babies</em></strong><strong>:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Charts-Babies-Picture-Book/dp/1419785184">https://www.amazon.com/Charts-Babies-Picture-Book/dp/1419785184</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://workos.com/lenny"><strong>WorkOS</strong></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></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://metaview.ai/lenny"><strong>Metaview</strong></a>—The AI platform for recruiting: <a target="_blank" href="https://metaview.ai/lenny">https://metaview.ai/lenny</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://getdx.com/lenny"><strong>DX</strong></a>—The developer intelligence platform designed by leading researchers: <a target="_blank" href="https://getdx.com/lenny">https://getdx.com/lenny</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-i-built-a-1m-subscriber-newsletter">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-i-built-a-1m-subscriber-newsletter</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts:</strong> <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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Michelle Rial:</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/TheRialMichelle">https://x.com/TheRialMichelle</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellerial">https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellerial</a></p><p>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.michellerial.com">https://www.michellerial.com</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction and role reversal</p><p>(04:06) What would Lenny be doing without the newsletter?</p><p>(07:20) The moments that led to starting the newsletter</p><p>(09:58) Does Lenny still enjoy the work?</p><p>(12:42) Stress management and misophonia</p><p>(14:00) The psychedelic trip that changed everything</p><p>(15:45) Online happiness course and baseline optimization</p><p>(17:30) Thunder round: Lenny’s misophonia worst sounds</p><p>(20:20) What makes Michelle’s charts so shareable</p><p>(23:55) Where chart ideas come from (and why meditation helps)</p><p>(26:59) Where does “Lenny” come from?</p><p>(28:54) Being recognized in public</p><p>(31:24) Early projects</p><p>(36:30) Michelle and Lenny’s yin and yang</p><p>(37:49) Missing office culture (but not really)</p><p>(39:37) Lenny’s face blindness</p><p>(40:47) The $100M fraud attack story</p><p>(42:50) Michelle’s childbirth emergency</p><p>(47:22) Michelle’s creative process</p><p>(51:58) Lenny’s favorite children’s books</p><p>(54:00) Product management lessons in parenting</p><p>(55:31) Defining product management in five words</p><p>(58:23) Why Michelle pivoted to children’s books</p><p>(01:01:30) The power of iteration and real experience</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Resources and episode mentions: </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-i-built-a-1m-subscriber-newsletter">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-i-built-a-1m-subscriber-newsletter</a></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p> <br/><br/>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>
The most successful AI company you’ve never heard of | Qasar Younis
<p><strong>Qasar Younis</strong> is the co-founder and CEO of Applied Intuition, a $15 billion AI company that adds intelligence to cars, tractors, planes, submarines, and other vehicles—essentially, Tesla or Waymo without the hardware. He was previously COO of Y Combinator, started his career as an engineer at GM and Bosch, and was born on a farm in Pakistan.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. Why the biggest AI revolution will play out in mining, farming, construction, and trucking over the next 5 to 10 years, not in software</p><p>2. Why Qasar intentionally stayed under the radar for nearly a decade while building Applied Intuition, and why most founders shouldn’t do that</p><p>3. The truth about China’s AI capabilities and why comparisons to American companies are fundamentally flawed</p><p>4. The company values that drive Applied Intuition: speed above everything, laugh a lot, half the work is follow-up, never disappoint the customer</p><p>5. The biggest lessons from Qasar’s stint as YC’s COO, including that the most successful companies show traction very early</p><p>6. How reading old books is the best way to build taste</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://omni.co/lenny"><strong>Omni</strong></a>—AI analytics your customers can trust</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://vanta.com/lenny"><strong>Vanta</strong></a>—Automate compliance. Simplify security.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev/"><strong>Lovable</strong></a>—Build apps by simply chatting with AI</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript: </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-most-successful-ai-company-youve-never-heard-of">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-most-successful-ai-company-youve-never-heard-of</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: </strong><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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Qasar Younis:</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/qasar">https://x.com/qasar</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/qasar">https://www.linkedin.com/in/qasar</a></p><p>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://qy.co">https://qy.co</a></p><p>• Reading list: <a target="_blank" href="https://qy.co/books">https://qy.co/books</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Qasar and Applied Intuition</p><p>(04:01) The optimistic vision: How AI will create abundance</p><p>(08:49) Why anxiety about AI comes from misunderstanding—and how to fight fear with knowledge</p><p>(12:58) The market sell-off explained</p><p>(16:31) Self-driving cars: Why 30,000 annual deaths prove we need autonomy now</p><p>(20:22) The spectrum of physical AI</p><p>(28:00) How AI is coming just in time</p><p>(33:26) Why comparing Chinese AI companies to American AI companies is a category error</p><p>(39:12) Why Qasar finally joined Twitter after staying silent for a decade</p><p>(45:08) Why successful companies almost always show early signs of traction</p><p>(50:40) Applied Intuition’s core values</p><p>(56:00) Why the company cleans its own office—and never spent a dollar of raised capital</p><p>(58:50) Quasar’s reading philosophy</p><p>(01:06:14) How to operationalize listening to naysayers</p><p>(01:12:53) The importance of decisiveness</p><p>(01:14:55) Removing emotions from decisions</p><p>(01:19:02) Why most Silicon Valley CEOs don’t have great taste—and how to develop it</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• Applied Intuition: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.appliedintuition.com">https://www.appliedintuition.com</a></p><p>• Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn’t even started yet: <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></p><p>• Elad Gil’s website: <a target="_blank" href="https://eladgil.com">https://eladgil.com</a></p><p>• Bosch: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bosch.com">https://www.bosch.com</a></p><p>• Berkshire Hathaway: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.berkshirehathaway.com">https://www.berkshirehathaway.com</a></p><p>• Naval Ravikant on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/naval">https://x.com/naval</a></p><p>• Y Combinator: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ycombinator.com">https://www.ycombinator.com</a></p><p>• Waymo: <a target="_blank" href="https://waymo.com/">https://waymo.com/</a></p><p>• Tesla: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tesla.com">https://www.tesla.com</a></p><p>• DeepSeek: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.deepseek.com">https://www.deepseek.com</a></p><p>• Rivian: <a target="_blank" href="https://rivian.com">https://rivian.com</a></p><p>• Crate & Barrel: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.crateandbarrel.com">https://www.crateandbarrel.com</a></p><p>• OpenClaw: <a target="_blank" href="https://openclaw.ai">https://openclaw.ai</a></p><p>• Sam Altman on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/sama">https://x.com/sama</a></p><p>• Peter Ludwig on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwludwig">https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwludwig</a></p><p>• What Steve Jobs really meant when he said ‘Good artists copy; great artists steal’: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/what-steve-jobs-really-meant-when-he-said-good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal">https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/what-steve-jobs-really-meant-when-he-said-good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal</a></p><p>• 7 quotes on the power of reading from Charlie Munger: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.neil.blog/articles/7-quotes-power-reading-charlie-munger">https://www.neil.blog/articles/7-quotes-power-reading-charlie-munger</a></p><p>• Andreessen Horowitz: <a target="_blank" href="https://a16z.com">https://a16z.com</a></p><p>• John Doerr on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-doerr-03248211">https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-doerr-03248211</a></p><p>• Gandhi’s quote: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.azquotes.com/author/5308-Mahatma_Gandhi/tag/truth#google_vignette">https://www.azquotes.com/author/5308-Mahatma_Gandhi/tag/truth#google_vignette</a></p><p>• Steve Ballmer on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/Steven_Ballmer">https://x.com/Steven_Ballmer</a></p><p>• General Motors: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gm.com">https://www.gm.com</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Recommended books:</strong></p><p>• <em>House of Huawei: The Secret History of China’s Most Powerful Company</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/House-Huawei-History-Powerful-Company/dp/0593544633">https://www.amazon.com/House-Huawei-History-Powerful-Company/dp/0593544633</a></p><p>• <em>Maintenance: Of Everything, Part One</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://press.stripe.com/maintenance-part-one">https://press.stripe.com/maintenance-part-one</a></p><p>• <em>The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Malcolm-Told-Alex-Haley/dp/0345350685">https://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Malcolm-Told-Alex-Haley/dp/0345350685</a></p><p>• <em>High Output Management</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884">https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884</a></p><p>• <em>The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Emperor-All-Maladies-Biography-Cancer/dp/1439170916">https://www.amazon.com/Emperor-All-Maladies-Biography-Cancer/dp/1439170916</a></p><p>• <em>Made in America</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Sam-Walton-Made-America/dp/0553562835">https://www.amazon.com/Sam-Walton-Made-America/dp/0553562835</a></p><p>• <em>My American Journey</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/American-Journey-Autobiography-Colin-Powell/dp/0679432965">https://www.amazon.com/American-Journey-Autobiography-Colin-Powell/dp/0679432965</a></p><p>• <em>Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-Steel-Fates-Societies/dp/0393317552">https://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-Steel-Fates-Societies/dp/0393317552</a></p><p>• <em>Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Collapse-Societies-Choose-Succeed-Revised/dp/0143117009">https://www.amazon.com/Collapse-Societies-Choose-Succeed-Revised/dp/0143117009</a></p><p>• <em>SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/SPQR-History-Ancient-Mary-Beard/dp/0871404230">https://www.amazon.com/SPQR-History-Ancient-Mary-Beard/dp/0871404230</a></p><p>• <em>A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/World-Appears-Journey-into-Consciousness/dp/198488199X">https://www.amazon.com/World-Appears-Journey-into-Consciousness/dp/198488199X</a></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
The design process is dead. Here’s what’s replacing it. | Jenny Wen (head of design at Claude)
<p><strong>Jenny Wen</strong> leads design for Claude at Anthropic. Prior to this, she was Director of Design at Figma, where she led the teams behind FigJam and Slides. Before that, she was a designer at Dropbox, Square, and Shopify.</p><p>—</p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. Why the classic discovery → mock → iterate design process is becoming obsolete</p><p>2. What a day in the life of a designer at Anthropic looks like, including her AI tool stack</p><p>3. Whether AI will eventually surpass humans in taste and judgment</p><p>4. Why Jenny left a director role at Figma to return to IC work at Anthropic</p><p>5. The three archetypes Jenny is hiring for now</p><p>6. Why chatbot interfaces may be more durable than most people expect</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://mercury.com/?utm_source=lennys&utm_medium=sponsored_newsletter&utm_campaign=26q1_brand_campaign"><strong>Mercury</strong></a>—Radically different banking: <a target="_blank" href="https://mercury.com/?utm_source=lennys&utm_medium=sponsored_newsletter&utm_campaign=26q1_brand_campaign">https://mercury.com/?utm_source=lennys&utm_medium=sponsored_newsletter&utm_campaign=26q1_brand_campaign</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.orkes.io/"><strong>Orkes</strong></a>—The enterprise platform for reliable applications and agentic workflows: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.orkes.io/">https://www.orkes.io/</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://omni.co/lenny"><strong>Omni</strong></a>—AI analytics your customers can trust: <a target="_blank" href="https://omni.co/lenny">https://omni.co/lenny</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-design-process-is-dead">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-design-process-is-dead</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts:</strong> <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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Jenny Wen:</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/jenny_wen">https://x.com/jenny_wen</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennywen">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennywen</a></p><p>• Substack: <a target="_blank" href="https://jennywen.substack.com">https://jennywen.substack.com</a></p><p>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://jennywen.ca">https://jennywen.ca</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Jenny Wen</p><p>(04:23) Why the traditional design process is dead</p><p>(06:33) The two new types of design work</p><p>(10:00) How widespread this shift will be</p><p>(13:00) Day-to-day life as a designer at Anthropic</p><p>(18:45) Jenny’s AI stack</p><p>(20:03) Why Figma still matters for exploration</p><p>(22:25) Advice for working with engineers</p><p>(24:19) How to maintain craft, quality, and trust in the AI era</p><p>(27:35) Will AI ever have “taste”?</p><p>(31:38) The future of chatbot interfaces</p><p>(35:33) Moving from director back to IC</p><p>(41:00) The 10-day build of Claude Cowork</p><p>(46:06) Hiring: the three archetypes</p><p>(50:44) Advice for new and senior designers</p><p>(54:42) The value of “low leverage” tasks for managers</p><p>(57:52) Why the best teams roast each other</p><p>(01:01:45) The legibility framework</p><p>(01:07:22) Lightning round and final thoughts</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• Figma: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.figma.com">https://www.figma.com</a></p><p>• Anthropic: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.anthropic.com">https://www.anthropic.com</a></p><p>• v0: <a target="_blank" href="https://v0.app">https://v0.app</a></p><p>• Navigating a Design Career with Jenny Wen | Figma at Waterloo: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHcBPMh2ivk">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHcBPMh2ivk</a></p><p>• Claude Cowork: <a target="_blank" href="https://claude.com/product/cowork">https://claude.com/product/cowork</a></p><p>• Use Claude Code in VS Code: <a target="_blank" href="https://code.claude.com/docs/en/vs-code">https://code.claude.com/docs/en/vs-code</a></p><p>• Claude Code in Slack: <a target="_blank" href="https://code.claude.com/docs/en/slack">https://code.claude.com/docs/en/slack</a></p><p>• Lex Fridman’s website: <a target="_blank" href="https://lexfridman.com">https://lexfridman.com</a></p><p>• Head of Claude Code: What happens after coding is solved | Boris Cherny: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/head-of-claude-code-what-happens">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/head-of-claude-code-what-happens</a></p><p>• OpenClaw: <a target="_blank" href="https://openclaw.ai">https://openclaw.ai</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn’t even started yet: <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></p><p>• Socratica: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.socratica.info">https://www.socratica.info</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Evan Tana’s ‘legibility matrix’ on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/evantana/status/1927404374252269667">https://x.com/evantana/status/1927404374252269667</a></p><p>• How to spot a top 1% startup early: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-spot-a-top-1-startup-early">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-spot-a-top-1-startup-early</a></p><p>• Palantir: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.palantir.com">https://www.palantir.com</a></p><p>• Stripe: <a target="_blank" href="https://stripe.com">https://stripe.com</a></p><p>• Linear: <a target="_blank" href="https://linear.app">https://linear.app</a></p><p>• Notion: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.notion.com">https://www.notion.com</a></p><p>• Julie Zhuo’s website: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.juliezhuo.com">https://www.juliezhuo.com</a></p><p>• <em>Sentimental Value</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27714581">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27714581</a></p><p>• <em>The Pitt </em>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></p><p>• Noah Wyle: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Wyle">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Wyle</a></p><p>• <em>ER</em> on Prime Video: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0FWZSDYRP">https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0FWZSDYRP</a></p><p>• Retro: <a target="_blank" href="https://retro.app">https://retro.app</a></p><p>• Granola: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.granola.ai">https://www.granola.ai</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Recommended books:</strong></p><p>• <em>Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509">https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509</a></p><p>• <em>The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Power-Broker-Robert-Moses-Fall/dp/0394480767">https://www.amazon.com/Power-Broker-Robert-Moses-Fall/dp/0394480767</a></p><p>• <em>Insomniac City: New York, Oliver Sacks, and Me</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Insomniac-City-New-York-Oliver/dp/162040494X">https://www.amazon.com/Insomniac-City-New-York-Oliver/dp/162040494X</a></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
AI is critical for humanity’s survival: Cisco president on the AI revolution | Jeetu Patel
<p><strong>Jeetu Patel</strong> is the president and chief product officer at Cisco, where he leads a team of 30,000 people and is playing a central role in the massive AI infrastructure buildout happening right now. Previously, he spent five years as CPO at Box and 17 years running his own startup. Recently Jeetu organized an AI summit featuring industry leaders like Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, Marc Andreessen, and Fei-Fei Li.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. How Cisco went AI-first across 90,000 employees</p><p>2. His six-part framework for building great companies: timing, market, team, product, brand, distribution</p><p>3. Why he says he couldn’t have done this job without AI</p><p>4. His “right to win” strategic framework</p><p>5. His communication framework for preventing “packet loss” across an organization</p><p>6. Why he flips “praise in public, criticize in private” and does the exact opposite</p><p>7. The important communication lesson his mother taught him</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://sentry.io/lenny"><strong>Sentry</strong></a>—Code breaks, fix it faster: <a target="_blank" href="https://sentry.io/lenny">https://sentry.io/lenny</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://framer.com/lenny"><strong>Framer</strong></a>—Build better websites faster: <a target="_blank" href="https://framer.com/lenny">https://framer.com/lenny</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://samsara.com/lenny"><strong>Samsara</strong></a>—Saving lives with AI built for physical operations: <a target="_blank" href="https://samsara.com/lenny">https://samsara.com/lenny</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript: </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ai-is-critical-for-humanitys-survival">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ai-is-critical-for-humanitys-survival</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts:</strong> <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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Jeetu Patel:</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/jpatel41">https://x.com/jpatel41</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeetupatel">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeetupatel</a></p><p>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.cisco.com/author/jeetupatel">https://blogs.cisco.com/author/jeetupatel</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction and welcome</p><p>(04:15) Insights from Cisco’s Al summit</p><p>(08:45) Transforming Cisco into an Al-first company</p><p>(15:33) What Cisco actually does in the Al infrastructure stack</p><p>(19:09) The future of Al</p><p>(24:36) Raising kids in the AI era</p><p>(29:46) “Permission to play” framework</p><p>(36:50) Lessons from great CEOs</p><p>(42:02) Leading at scale</p><p>(50:54) Why Jeetu inverts the ‘praise in public, criticize in private’ rule</p><p>(57:45) Surrounding yourself with good human beings</p><p>(58:35) Lessons from loss</p><p>(01:03:21) Career advice: platforms, hunger, and preparation</p><p>(01:10:21) The six-part framework for building great companies</p><p>(01:19:05) Lightning round and final thoughts</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Resources and episode mentions: </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ai-is-critical-for-humanitys-survival">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ai-is-critical-for-humanitys-survival</a></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
Head of Claude Code: What happens after coding is solved | Boris Cherny
<p><strong>Boris Cherny</strong> is the creator and head of Claude Code at Anthropic. What began as a simple terminal-based prototype just a year ago has transformed the role of software engineering and is increasingly transforming all professional work.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. How Claude Code grew from a quick hack to 4% of public GitHub commits, with daily active users doubling last month</p><p>2. The counterintuitive product principles that drove Claude Code’s success</p><p>3. Why Boris believes coding is “solved”</p><p>4. The latent demand that shaped Claude Code and Cowork</p><p>5. Practical tips for getting the most out of Claude Code and Cowork</p><p>6. How underfunding teams and giving them unlimited tokens leads to better AI products</p><p>7. Why Boris briefly left Anthropic for Cursor, then returned after just two weeks</p><p>8. Three principles Boris shares with every new team member</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://getdx.com/lenny"><strong>DX</strong></a>—The developer intelligence platform designed by leading researchers: <a target="_blank" href="https://getdx.com/lenny">https://getdx.com/lenny</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://sentry.io/lenny"><strong>Sentry</strong></a>—Code breaks, fix it faster: <a target="_blank" href="https://sentry.io/lenny">https://sentry.io/lenny</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://metaview.ai/lenny"><strong>Metaview</strong></a>—The AI platform for recruiting: <a target="_blank" href="https://metaview.ai/lenny">https://metaview.ai/lenny</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/head-of-claude-code-what-happens">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/head-of-claude-code-what-happens</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: </strong><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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Boris Cherny:</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/bcherny">https://x.com/bcherny</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bcherny">https://www.linkedin.com/in/bcherny</a></p><p>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://borischerny.com">https://borischerny.com</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Boris and Claude Code</p><p>(03:45) Why Boris briefly left Anthropic for Cursor (and what brought him back)</p><p>(05:35) One year of Claude Code</p><p>(08:41) The origin story of Claude Code</p><p>(13:29) How fast AI is transforming software development</p><p>(15:01) The importance of experimentation in AI innovation</p><p>(16:17) Boris’s current coding workflow (100% AI-written)</p><p>(17:32) The next frontier</p><p>(22:24) The downside of rapid innovation </p><p>(24:02) Principles for the Claude Code team</p><p>(26:48) Why you should give engineers unlimited tokens</p><p>(27:55) Will coding skills still matter in the future?</p><p>(32:15) The printing press analogy for AI’s impact</p><p>(36:01) Which roles will AI transform next?</p><p>(40:41) Tips for succeeding in the AI era</p><p>(44:37) Poll: Which roles are enjoying their jobs more with AI</p><p>(46:32) The principle of latent demand in product development</p><p>(51:53) How Cowork was built in just 10 days</p><p>(54:04) The three layers of AI safety at Anthropic</p><p>(59:35) Anxiety when AI agents aren’t working</p><p>(01:02:25) Boris’s Ukrainian roots</p><p>(01:03:21) Advice for building AI products</p><p>(01:08:38) Pro tips for using Claude Code effectively</p><p>(01:11:16) Thoughts on Codex</p><p>(01:12:13) Boris’s post-AGI plans</p><p>(01:14:02) Lightning round and final thoughts</p><p>—</p><p><strong>References: </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/head-of-claude-code-what-happens">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/head-of-claude-code-what-happens</a></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
Sequoia CEO coach: Why it’s never been easier to start a company, and never been harder to scale one | Brian Halligan (co-founder, HubSpot)
<p><strong>Brian Halligan</strong> co-founded HubSpot, ran it as CEO for about 15 years, and now coaches Sequoia’s fastest-growing founders as their in-house CEO coach.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. His LOCKS framework for evaluating founders</p><p>2. Why you should build your team like the 2004 Red Sox</p><p>3. Why hiring “spicy” candidates beats consensus picks</p><p>4. Why enterprise sales will be the last white-collar job AI replaces</p><p>5. Some of my favorite “Halliganisms”</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="http://sentry.io/lenny"><strong>Sentry</strong></a>—Code breaks, fix it faster: <a target="_blank" href="http://sentry.io/lenny">http://sentry.io/lenny</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.datadoghq.com/lenny"><strong>Datadog</strong></a>—Now home to Eppo, the leading experimentation and feature flagging platform: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.datadoghq.com/lenny">https://www.datadoghq.com/lenny</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://workos.com/lenny"><strong>WorkOS</strong></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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/sequoia-ceo-coach-why-its-never-been">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/sequoia-ceo-coach-why-its-never-been</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts:</strong> <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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Brian Halligan</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/bhalligan">https://x.com/bhalligan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="http://linkedin.com/in/brianhalligan">linkedin.com/in/brianhalligan</a></p><p>• Delphi: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.delphi.ai/bhalligan">https://www.delphi.ai/bhalligan</a></p><p>• Podcast: <a target="_blank" href="https://sequoiacap.com/series/long-strange-trip">https://sequoiacap.com/series/long-strange-trip</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Brian Halligan</p><p>(03:56) The perpetual state of constructive dissatisfaction</p><p>(05:25) Coaching CEOs</p><p>(07:49) The art of interviewing and hiring</p><p>(11:21) Getting the most out of reference calls</p><p>(13:10) Homegrown talent vs. big company hires</p><p>(16:31) Traits of successful CEOs</p><p>(19:40) Brian’s LOCKS framework for evaluating founders</p><p>(21:34) Are great CEO’s born or made?</p><p>(23:41) Giving effective feedback</p><p>(25:54) The future of go-to-market strategies</p><p>(31:56) Understanding forward deployed engineers</p><p>(34:17) How the CEO role has evolved over the last 20 years</p><p>(38:10) Halliganisms</p><p>(01:01:18) The CEO’s role in scaling a company</p><p>(01:02:41) Lightning round and final thoughts</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• Dev Ittycheria on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dittycheria">https://www.linkedin.com/in/dittycheria</a></p><p>• HubSpot: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hubspot.com">https://www.hubspot.com</a></p><p>• Parker Conrad on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/parkerconrad">https://www.linkedin.com/in/parkerconrad</a></p><p>• McKinsey & Company: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mckinsey.com">https://www.mckinsey.com</a></p><p>• Brian Chesky’s new playbook: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach</a></p><p>• Jensen Huang on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhsunhuang">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhsunhuang</a></p><p>• Winston Weinberg on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/winston-weinberg">https://www.linkedin.com/in/winston-weinberg</a></p><p>• James Cadwallader on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsca">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsca</a></p><p>• Gabriel Stengel on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabestengel">https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabestengel</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures: <a target="_blank" href="https://orbit.mit.edu/classes/scaling-entrepreneurial-ventures-15.392">https://orbit.mit.edu/classes/scaling-entrepreneurial-ventures-15.392</a></p><p>• OpenClaw: <a target="_blank" href="https://openclaw.ai">https://openclaw.ai</a></p><p>• Ruth Porat on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-porat">https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-porat</a></p><p>• Mike Krzyzewski: <a target="_blank" href="https://goduke.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mike-krzyzewski/4159">https://goduke.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mike-krzyzewski/4159</a></p><p>• Dalai Lama’s 18 Rules for Living: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.prm.nau.edu/prm205/Dalai-Lama-18-rules-for-living.htm">https://www.prm.nau.edu/prm205/Dalai-Lama-18-rules-for-living.htm</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Kareem Amin on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kareemamin">https://www.linkedin.com/in/kareemamin</a></p><p>• Glassdoor: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.glassdoor.com">https://www.glassdoor.com</a></p><p>• Tobi Lütke’s leadership playbook: Playing infinite games, operating from first principles, and maximizing human potential (founder and CEO of Shopify): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/tobi-lutkes-leadership-playbook">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/tobi-lutkes-leadership-playbook</a></p><p>• Katie Burke on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-burke-965767a">https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-burke-965767a</a></p><p>• Jerry Garcia: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Garcia">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Garcia</a></p><p>• Bob Weir: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Weir">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Weir</a></p><p>• Phil Lesh: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Lesh">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Lesh</a></p><p>• Ron “Pigpen” McKernan: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_%22Pigpen%22_McKernan">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_%22Pigpen%22_McKernan</a></p><p>• Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn’t even started yet: <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></p><p>• <em>The American Revolution</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution">https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution</a></p><p>• Delphi: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.delphi.ai">https://www.delphi.ai</a></p><p>• Sonos: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sonos.com">https://www.sonos.com</a></p><p>• Yamini Rangan on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaminirangan">https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaminirangan</a></p><p>• The Boston Red Sox: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mlb.com/redsox">https://www.mlb.com/redsox</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Recommended book:</strong></p><p>• <em>Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Lessons-Grateful-Dead-Business/dp/0470900520">https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Lessons-Grateful-Dead-Business/dp/0470900520</a></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
“Engineers are becoming sorcerers” | The future of software development with OpenAI’s Sherwin Wu
<p><strong>Sherwin Wu</strong> leads engineering for OpenAI’s API platform, where roughly 95% of engineers use Codex, often working with fleets of 10 to 20 parallel AI agents.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. What OpenAI did to cut code review times from 10-15 minutes to 2-3 minutes</p><p>2. How AI is changing the role of managers</p><p>3. Why the productivity gap between AI power users and everyone else is widening</p><p>4. Why “models will eat your scaffolding for breakfast”</p><p>5. Why the next 12 to 24 months are a rare window where engineers can leap ahead before the role fully transforms</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://getdx.com/lenny"><strong>DX</strong></a>—The developer intelligence platform designed by leading researchers</p><p><a target="_blank" href="http://sentry.io/lenny"><strong>Sentry</strong></a>—Code breaks, fix it faster</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.datadoghq.com/lenny"><strong>Datadog</strong></a>—Now home to Eppo, the leading experimentation and feature flagging platform</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/engineers-are-becoming-sorcerers">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/engineers-are-becoming-sorcerers</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: </strong><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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Sherwin Wu:</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/sherwinwu">https://x.com/sherwinwu</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherwinwu1">https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherwinwu1</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Sherwin Wu</p><p>(03:10) AI’s role in coding at OpenAI</p><p>(06:53) The future of software engineering with AI</p><p>(12:26) The stress of managing agents</p><p>(15:07) Codex and code review automation</p><p>(19:29) The changing role of engineering managers</p><p>(24:14) The one-person billion-dollar startup</p><p>(31:40) Management lessons</p><p>(37:28) Challenges and best practices in AI deployment</p><p>(43:56) Hot takes on AI and customer feedback</p><p>(48:57) Building for future AI capabilities</p><p>(50:16) Where models are headed in the next 18 months</p><p>(53:35) Business process automation</p><p>(57:22) OpenAI’s ecosystem and platform strategy</p><p>(01:00:50) OpenAI’s mission and global impact</p><p>(01:05:21) Building on OpenAI’s API and tools</p><p>(01:08:16) Lightning round and final thoughts</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• Codex: <a target="_blank" href="https://openai.com/codex">https://openai.com/codex</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• OpenClaw: <a target="_blank" href="https://openclaw.ai">https://openclaw.ai</a></p><p>• The creator of Clawd: “I ship code I don’t read”: <a target="_blank" href="https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/the-creator-of-clawd-i-ship-code">https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/the-creator-of-clawd-i-ship-code</a></p><p>• <em>The Sorcerer’s Apprentice</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorcerer%27s_Apprentice_(Dukas)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorcerer%27s_Apprentice_(Dukas)</a></p><p>• Quora: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.quora.com">https://www.quora.com</a></p><p>• Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn’t even started yet: <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></p><p>• Sarah Friar on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-friar">https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-friar</a></p><p>• Sam Altman on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/sama">https://x.com/sama</a></p><p>• Nicolas Bustamante’s “LLMs Eat Scaffolding for Breakfast” post on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/nicbstme/status/2015795605524901957">https://x.com/nicbstme/status/2015795605524901957</a></p><p>• The Bitter Lesson: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.incompleteideas.net/IncIdeas/BitterLesson.html">http://www.incompleteideas.net/IncIdeas/BitterLesson.html</a></p><p>• Overton window: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window</a></p><p>• Developers can now submit apps to ChatGPT: <a target="_blank" href="https://openai.com/index/developers-can-now-submit-apps-to-chatgpt">https://openai.com/index/developers-can-now-submit-apps-to-chatgpt</a></p><p>• Responses: <a target="_blank" href="https://platform.openai.com/docs/api-reference/responses">https://platform.openai.com/docs/api-reference/responses</a></p><p>• Agents SDK: <a target="_blank" href="https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/agents-sdk">https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/agents-sdk</a></p><p>• AgentKit: <a target="_blank" href="https://openai.com/index/introducing-agentkit">https://openai.com/index/introducing-agentkit</a></p><p>• Ubiquiti: <a target="_blank" href="https://ui.com">https://ui.com</a></p><p>• <em>Jujutsu Kaisen </em>on Crunchyroll: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GRDV0019R/jujutsu-kaisen?srsltid=AfmBOoqvfzKQ6SZOgzyJwNQ43eceaJTQA2nUxTQfjA1Ko4OxlpUoBNRB">https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GRDV0019R/jujutsu-kaisen?srsltid=AfmBOoqvfzKQ6SZOgzyJwNQ43eceaJTQA2nUxTQfjA1Ko4OxlpUoBNRB</a></p><p>• eero: <a target="_blank" href="https://eero.com">https://eero.com</a></p><p>• Opendoor: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.opendoor.com">https://www.opendoor.com</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Recommended books:</strong></p><p>• <em>Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Structure-Interpretation-Computer-Programs-Engineering/dp/0262510871">https://www.amazon.com/Structure-Interpretation-Computer-Programs-Engineering/dp/0262510871</a></p><p>• <em>The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Mythical-Man-Month-Software-Engineering-Anniversary/dp/0201835959">https://www.amazon.com/Mythical-Man-Month-Software-Engineering-Anniversary/dp/0201835959</a></p><p>• <em>There Is No Antimemetics Division: A Novel</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/There-No-Antimemetics-Division-Novel/dp/0593983750">https://www.amazon.com/There-No-Antimemetics-Division-Novel/dp/0593983750</a></p><p>• <em>Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Breakneck-Chinas-Quest-Engineer-Future/dp/1324106034">https://www.amazon.com/Breakneck-Chinas-Quest-Engineer-Future/dp/1324106034</a></p><p>• <em>Apple in China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Apple-China-Capture-Greatest-Company/dp/1668053373">https://www.amazon.com/Apple-China-Capture-Greatest-Company/dp/1668053373</a></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
The rise of the professional vibe coder (a new AI-era job) | Lazar Jovanovic (Professional Vibe Coder)
<p><strong>Lazar Jovanovic</strong> 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.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. Why having no coding background can be an advantage when building with AI</p><p>2. Why most of your time should go to planning and chat mode, not prompting</p><p>3. What to do when you get stuck: his 4x4 debugging workflow</p><p>4. The PRD and Markdown file system that keeps AI agents aligned across complex builds</p><p>5. Why kicking off four or five parallel prototypes is the best way to clarify your thinking</p><p>6. Why design skills and taste are going to be the most important skills in the future</p><p>7. His “genie and three wishes” mental model for making the most of AI’s limitations</p><p>8. How product, engineering, and design roles are converging—and what that means for your career</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://strella.io/lenny"><strong>Strella</strong></a>—The AI-powered customer research platform: <a target="_blank" href="https://strella.io/lenny">https://strella.io/lenny</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://samsara.com/lenny"><strong>Samsara</strong></a>—Saving lives with AI built for physical operations: <a target="_blank" href="https://samsara.com/lenny">https://samsara.com/lenny</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://workos.com/lenny"><strong>WorkOS</strong></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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript:</strong> <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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: </strong><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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lazar Jovanovic:</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/lakikentaki">https://x.com/lakikentaki</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lazar-jovanovic">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lazar-jovanovic</a></p><p>• YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@50in50challenge">https://www.youtube.com/@50in50challenge</a></p><p>• 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)</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Lazar and professional vibe coding</p><p>(04:53) What a professional vibe coder actually does day-to-day</p><p>(09:26) Why non-technical backgrounds can be an advantage</p><p>(12:24) The importance of self-awareness</p><p>(14:42) His “genie and three wishes” mental model</p><p>(17:43) Developing taste and judgment in the age of AI</p><p>(21:46) The parallel project approach for better outcomes</p><p>(29:30) Creating dynamic context windows with PRDs</p><p>(36:56) Why elite vibe coders focus on planning, not coding</p><p>(44:43) Creating MD files to guide AI development</p><p>(50:57) Why prototyping still matters</p><p>(56:50) Why “good enough” is no longer good enough</p><p>(01:00:53) The future of engineering in an AI world</p><p>(01:05:14) What to do when you get stuck: his 4x4 debugging workflow</p><p>(01:14:27) Helping agents learn from their mistakes</p><p>(01:15:35) Why watching agent output is more important than code</p><p>(01:19:08) The incredible pace of AI development</p><p>(01:22:55) Why emotional intelligence will become more valuable</p><p>(01:28:30) How to become a professional vibe coder</p><p>(01:30:10) Why building in public is the fastest path to opportunities</p><p>(01:37:03) Final thoughts on focusing on quality over tech stack</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Lovable: <a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev">https://lovable.dev</a></p><p>• Lovable + Shopify: <a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev/shopify">https://lovable.dev/shopify</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Mobbin: <a target="_blank" href="https://mobbin.com">https://mobbin.com</a></p><p>• Dribbble: <a target="_blank" href="https://dribbble.com">https://dribbble.com</a></p><p>• <a target="_blank" href="http://21st.dev">21st.dev</a>: <a target="_blank" href="https://21st.dev">https://21st.dev</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Felix Haas’s newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://designplusai.com">https://designplusai.com</a></p><p>• Bauhaus: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus</a></p><p>• Glassmorphism: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/1197106608665398190/glassmorphism">https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/1197106608665398190/glassmorphism</a></p><p>• UI style guide: <a target="_blank" href="http://uistyle.lovable.app">http://uistyle.lovable.app</a></p><p>• Cloudflare: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cloudflare.com">https://www.cloudflare.com</a></p><p>• Ben Tossell on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/bentossell">https://x.com/bentossell</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Andrej Karpathy on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/karpathy">https://x.com/karpathy</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• <em>Slumdog Millionaire</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010048">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010048</a></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
A child psychologist’s guide to working with difficult adults | Dr. Becky Kennedy
<p><strong>Dr. Becky Kennedy</strong> is a clinical psychologist, the bestselling author of <em>Good Inside</em>, 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.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. Why repair—not perfection—defines strong leadership</p><p>2. Why you need to connect before you correct to build cooperation and trust</p><p>3. The “most generous interpretation” framework for handling difficult behaviors</p><p>4. How to correctly set boundaries (vs. making requests)</p><p>5. The power of “I believe you, and I believe in you”</p><p>6. What it looks like to be a “sturdy” leader</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://merge.dev/lenny"><strong>Merge</strong></a>—Fast, secure integrations for your products and agents: <a target="_blank" href="https://merge.dev/lenny">https://merge.dev/lenny</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://metaview.ai/lenny"><strong>Metaview</strong></a>—The AI platform for recruiting: <a target="_blank" href="https://metaview.ai/lenny">https://metaview.ai/lenny</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://framer.com/lenny"><strong>Framer</strong></a>—Builder better websites faster: <a target="_blank" href="https://framer.com/lenny">https://framer.com/lenny</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript:</strong> <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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: </strong><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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Dr. Becky Kennedy:</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/GoodInside">https://x.com/GoodInside</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbecky">https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbecky</a></p><p>• Instagram: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/drbeckyatgoodinside">https://www.instagram.com/drbeckyatgoodinside</a></p><p>• TikTok: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@drbeckyatgoodinside">https://www.tiktok.com/@drbeckyatgoodinside</a></p><p>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodinside.com">https://www.goodinside.com</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Dr. Becky Kennedy</p><p>(05:14) Connecting parenting and leadership</p><p>(08:40) The power of repair</p><p>(11:05) Connecting before correcting</p><p>(17:45) Good Inside framework at work</p><p>(22:08) The most generous interpretation (MGI)</p><p>(25:46) Curiosity over judgment</p><p>(27:07) Understanding behavior change</p><p>(31:08) What potty training can teach us about workplace behavior</p><p>(34:40) Naming your intention</p><p>(35:41) Sturdy leadership</p><p>(40:52) How to set boundaries well</p><p>(46:33) The role of leadership and consensus</p><p>(50:50) The importance of being “locatable”</p><p>(52:40) A powerful story of betrayal and realization</p><p>(57:12) Building resilience over happiness</p><p>(01:00:34) The power of the phrase “I believe you, and I believe in you.”</p><p>(01:09:08) The Good Inside community and resources</p><p>(01:16:22) AI corner</p><p>(01:19:52) Good Inside’s mission</p><p>(01:22:26) Lightning round and final thoughts</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• <em>Punch</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_(play)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_(play)</a></p><p>• Figma: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.figma.com">https://www.figma.com</a></p><p>• Andrew Hogan on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahhogan">https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahhogan</a></p><p>• Replit: <a target="_blank" href="https://replit.com">https://replit.com</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Lovable: <a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev">https://lovable.dev</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Claude: <a target="_blank" href="https://claude.ai">https://claude.ai</a></p><p>• ChatGPT: <a target="_blank" href="https://chatgpt.com">https://chatgpt.com</a></p><p>• <em>Secrets We Keep </em>on Netflix: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81697668">https://www.netflix.com/title/81697668</a></p><p>• <em>K Pop Demon Hunters </em>on Netflix: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81498621">https://www.netflix.com/title/81498621</a></p><p>• Liberty puzzles: <a target="_blank" href="https://libertypuzzles.com">https://libertypuzzles.com</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Recommended books:</strong></p><p>• <em>Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>Good Inside: A Practical Guide to Resilient Parenting Prioritizing Connection Over Correction</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>Leave Me Alone!: A Good Inside Story About Deeply Feeling Kids</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>The Messy Middle: Finding Your Way Through the Hardest and Most Crucial Part of Any Bold Venture</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration</em>: <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></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn’t even started yet
<p>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.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. Why AI is arriving at the perfect moment to counter demographic collapse and declining productivity</p><p>2. How Marc has raised his 10-year-old kid to thrive in an AI-driven world</p><p>3. What’s actually going to happen with AI and jobs (spoiler: he thinks the panic is “totally off base”)</p><p>4. The “Mexican standoff” that’s happening between product managers, designers, and engineers</p><p>5. Why you should still learn to code (even with AI)</p><p>6. How to develop an “E-shaped” career that combines multiple skills, with AI as a force multiplier</p><p>7. The career advice he keeps coming back to (“Don’t be fungible”)</p><p>8. How AI can democratize one-on-one tutoring, potentially transforming education</p><p>9. His media diet: X and old books, nothing in between</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://getdx.com/lenny"><strong>DX</strong></a>—The developer intelligence platform designed by leading researchers</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.brex.com/product/business-account?ref_code=bmk_dp_brand1H25_ln_new_fs"><strong>Brex</strong></a>—The banking solution for startups</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.datadoghq.com/lenny"><strong>Datadog</strong></a>—Now home to Eppo, the leading experimentation and feature flagging platform</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript:</strong> <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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: </strong><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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Marc Andreessen:</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/pmarca">https://x.com/pmarca</a></p><p>• Substack: <a target="_blank" href="https://pmarca.substack.com">https://pmarca.substack.com</a></p><p>• Andreessen Horowitz’s website: <a target="_blank" href="https://a16z.com">https://a16z.com</a></p><p>• Andreessen Horowitz’s YouTube channel: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@a16z">https://www.youtube.com/@a16z</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Marc Andreessen</p><p>(04:27) The historic moment we’re living in</p><p>(06:52) The impact of AI on society</p><p>(11:14) AI’s role in education and parenting</p><p>(22:15) The future of jobs in an AI-driven world</p><p>(30:15) Marc's past predictions</p><p>(35:35) The Mexican standoff of tech roles</p><p>(39:28) Adapting to changing job tasks</p><p>(42:15) The shift to scripting languages</p><p>(44:50) The importance of understanding code</p><p>(51:37) The value of design in the AI era</p><p>(53:30) The T-shaped skill strategy</p><p>(01:02:05) AI’s impact on founders and companies</p><p>(01:05:58) The concept of one-person billion-dollar companies</p><p>(01:08:33) Debating AI moats and market dynamics</p><p>(01:14:39) The rapid evolution of AI models</p><p>(01:18:05) Indeterminate optimism in venture capital</p><p>(01:22:17) The concept of AGI and its implications</p><p>(01:30:00) Marc's media diet</p><p>(01:36:18) Favorite movies and AI voice technology</p><p>(01:39:24) Marc's product diet</p><p>(01:43:16) Closing thoughts and recommendations</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• Linus Torvalds on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/linustorvalds">https://www.linkedin.com/in/linustorvalds</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Alexander the Great: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great</a></p><p>• Aristotle: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Alpha School: <a target="_blank" href="https://alpha.school">https://alpha.school</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• John Woo: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Woo">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Woo</a></p><p>• Assembly: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_language">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_language</a></p><p>• C programming language: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_(programming_language)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_(programming_language)</a></p><p>• Python: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.python.org">https://www.python.org</a></p><p>• Netscape: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape</a></p><p>• Perl: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.perl.org">https://www.perl.org</a></p><p>• Scott Adams: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Adams">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Adams</a></p><p>• Larry Summers’s website: <a target="_blank" href="https://larrysummers.com">https://larrysummers.com</a></p><p>• Nano Banana: <a target="_blank" href="https://gemini.google/overview/image-generation">https://gemini.google/overview/image-generation</a></p><p>• Bitcoin: <a target="_blank" href="https://bitcoin.org">https://bitcoin.org</a></p><p>• Ethereum: <a target="_blank" href="https://ethereum.org">https://ethereum.org</a></p><p>• Satoshi Nakamoto: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_Nakamoto">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_Nakamoto</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• DeepSeek: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.deepseek.com">https://www.deepseek.com</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Definite vs. indefinite thinking: Notes from <em>Zero to One</em> 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Lex Fridman Podcast: <a target="_blank" href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a></p><p>• $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></p><p>• <em>Eddington</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31176520">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31176520</a></p><p>• Joaquin Phoenix: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaquin_Phoenix">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaquin_Phoenix</a></p><p>• Pedro Pascal: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Pascal">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Pascal</a></p><p>• George Floyd: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd</a></p><p>• Replit: <a target="_blank" href="https://replit.com">https://replit.com</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Grok Bad Rudi: <a target="_blank" href="https://grok.com/badrudi">https://grok.com/badrudi</a></p><p>• Wispr Flow: <a target="_blank" href="https://wisprflow.ai">https://wisprflow.ai</a></p><p>• <em>Star Trek: The Next Generation</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455</a></p><p>• <em>Star Trek: Starfleet Academy</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8622160">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8622160</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
5 questions to ask when your product stops growing | Jason Cohen (2x unicorn founder)
<p><strong>Jason Cohen</strong> 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.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. Jason’s five-step framework: logo retention, pricing, NRR, marketing channels, target market</p><p>2. A small tweak that’ll double response rates on your cancellation surveys</p><p>3. Why “it’s too expensive” is almost never the real reason customers cancel</p><p>4. The “elephant curve” of growth</p><p>5. How repositioning the same product can increase revenue 8x</p><p>6. When to reconsider if growth is even the right goal for your business</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://10web.io/lenny"><strong>10Web</strong></a>—Vibe coding platform as an API</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://strella.io/lenny"><strong>Strella</strong></a>—The AI-powered customer research platform</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.brex.com/product/business-account?ref_code=bmk_dp_brand1H25_ln_new_fs"><strong>Brex</strong></a>—The banking solution for startups</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript:</strong> <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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: </strong><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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Jason Cohen:</strong></p><p>• Preorder Jason’s book: <a target="_blank" href="https://preorder.hiddenmultipliers.com/">https://preorder.hiddenmultipliers.com/</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/asmartbear">https://x.com/asmartbear</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncohen">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncohen</a></p><p>• Blog: <a target="_blank" href="https://longform.asmartbear.com">https://longform.asmartbear.com</a></p><p>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://wpengine.com">https://wpengine.com</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Jason Cohen</p><p>(05:19) Jason’s writing journey</p><p>(08:25) Questions to ask when your product stops growing</p><p>(18:17) Getting real customer feedback</p><p>(20:27) Analyzing cancellation reasons</p><p>(26:54) Onboarding and activation</p><p>(29:35) Quick summary</p><p>(35:46) Revisiting pricing strategies</p><p>(41:46) Positioning strategies</p><p>(47:52) Why pricing is inseparable from your strategy</p><p>(52:06) The importance of net revenue retention (NRR)</p><p>(01:00:25) Asking whether or not this is good for the customer</p><p>(01:04:34) Leveraging existing customers</p><p>(01:06:42) Are your acquisition channels saturated? The “elephant curve”</p><p>(1:09:41) Why all marketing channels eventually decline</p><p>(01:12:04) Direct vs. indirect marketing channels</p><p>(1:13:36) Getting creative with new channels</p><p>(01:19:04) Do you actually need to grow?</p><p>(01:25:57) Deciding when to quit</p><p>(01:29:27) Book announcement</p><p>(01:33:21) AI corner</p><p>(01:34:35) Contrarian corner</p><p>(01:37:43) Lightning round and final thoughts</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• Tyler Cowen’s website: <a target="_blank" href="https://tylercowen.com">https://tylercowen.com</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Linear: <a target="_blank" href="https://linear.app">https://linear.app</a></p><p>• Jira: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira">https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• “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></p><p>• Buffer: <a target="_blank" href="https://buffer.com">https://buffer.com</a></p><p>• AG1: <a target="_blank" href="https://drinkag1.com">https://drinkag1.com</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• HubSpot: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hubspot.com">https://www.hubspot.com</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Adjacency Matrix: How to expand after PMF: <a target="_blank" href="https://longform.asmartbear.com/adjacency/">https://longform.asmartbear.com/adjacency/</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• <em>ER </em>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></p><p>• <em>The Pitt</em> 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></p><p>• Wispr Flow: <a target="_blank" href="https://wisprflow.ai">https://wisprflow.ai</a></p><p>• Anker: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.anker.com">https://www.anker.com</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Recommended books:</strong></p><p>• <em>Will</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Will-Smith/dp/1984877925">https://www.amazon.com/Will-Smith/dp/1984877925</a></p><p>• <em>Monetizing Innovation: How Smart Companies Design the Product Around the Price</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>Hidden Multipliers</em>: <em>Small Things That Accelerate Growth</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://preorder.hiddenmultipliers.com">https://preorder.hiddenmultipliers.com</a></p><p>• <em>On Writing Well: The Essential Guide to Mastering Nonfiction Writing and Effective Communication</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: The Updated Version of the Insightful Guide on Bringing Cutting-Edge Products to the Mainstream</em>: <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></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
The non-technical PM’s guide to building with Cursor | Zevi Arnovitz (Meta)
<p><strong>Zevi Arnovitz</strong> 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.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. The complete AI workflow that lets non-technical people build real products in Cursor</p><p>2. How to use multiple AI models for different tasks (Claude for planning, Gemini for UI)</p><p>3. Using slash commands to automate prompts</p><p>4. Zevi’s “peer review” technique, which uses different AI models to review each other’s code</p><p>5. Why this might be the best time to be a junior in tech, despite the challenging job market</p><p>6. How Zevi used AI to prepare for his Meta PM interviews</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://10web.io/lenny"><strong>10Web</strong></a>—Vibe coding platform as an API</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://getdx.com/lenny"><strong>DX</strong></a>—The developer intelligence platform designed by leading researchers</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://framer.com/lenny"><strong>Framer</strong></a>—Build better websites faster</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript: </strong><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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts:</strong></p><p><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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Zevi Arnovitz</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/ArnovitzZevi">https://x.com/ArnovitzZevi</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/zev-arnovitz">https://www.linkedin.com/in/zev-arnovitz</a></p><p>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://zeviarnovitz.com">https://zeviarnovitz.com</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Zevi Arnovitz</p><p>(04:48) Zevi’s background and journey into AI</p><p>(07:41) Overview of Zevi’s AI workflow</p><p>(14:41) Screenshare: Exploring Zevi’s workflow in detail</p><p>(17:18) Building a feature live: StudyMate app</p><p>(30:52) Executing the plan with Cursor</p><p>(38:32) Using multiple AI models for code review</p><p>(40:40) Personifying AI models</p><p>(43:37) Peer review process</p><p>(45:40) The importance of postmortems</p><p>(51:05) Integrating AI in large companies</p><p>(53:42) How AI has impacted the PM role</p><p>(57:02) How to improve AI outputs</p><p>(58:15) AI-assisted job interviews</p><p>(01:02:57) Failure corner</p><p>(01:06:20) Lightning round and final thoughts</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Wix: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wix.com">https://www.wix.com</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Riley Brown on YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMcoud_ZW7cfxeIugBflSBw">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMcoud_ZW7cfxeIugBflSBw</a></p><p>• Greg Isenberg on YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@GregIsenberg">https://www.youtube.com/@GregIsenberg</a></p><p>• Bolt: <a target="_blank" href="https://bolt.new">https://bolt.new</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Lovable: <a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev">https://lovable.dev</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• StudyMate: <a target="_blank" href="https://studymate.live">https://studymate.live</a></p><p>• Dibur2text: <a target="_blank" href="https://dibur2text.app">https://dibur2text.app</a></p><p>• Claude: <a target="_blank" href="https://claude.ai">https://claude.ai</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Bun: <a target="_blank" href="https://bun.com">https://bun.com</a></p><p>• Zustand: <a target="_blank" href="https://zustand.docs.pmnd.rs/getting-started/introduction">https://zustand.docs.pmnd.rs/getting-started/introduction</a></p><p>• Cursor: <a target="_blank" href="https://cursor.com">https://cursor.com</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Wispr Flow: <a target="_blank" href="https://wisprflow.ai">https://wisprflow.ai</a></p><p>• Linear: <a target="_blank" href="https://linear.app">https://linear.app</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Cursor Composer: <a target="_blank" href="https://cursor.com/blog/composer">https://cursor.com/blog/composer</a></p><p>• Replit: <a target="_blank" href="https://replit.com">https://replit.com</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Base44: <a target="_blank" href="https://base44.com">https://base44.com</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• v0: <a target="_blank" href="https://v0.app">https://v0.app</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Cursor Browser mode: <a target="_blank" href="https://cursor.com/docs/agent/browser">https://cursor.com/docs/agent/browser</a></p><p>• Google Antigravity: <a target="_blank" href="https://antigravity.google">https://antigravity.google</a></p><p>• Grok: <a target="_blank" href="https://grok.com">https://grok.com</a></p><p>• Zapier: <a target="_blank" href="https://zapier.com">https://zapier.com</a></p><p>• Airtable: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.airtable.com">https://www.airtable.com</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Yaara Asaf on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaarasaf">https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaarasaf</a></p><p>• <em>The Pitt </em>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></p><p>• <em>Severance </em>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></p><p>• Loom: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.loom.com">https://www.loom.com</a></p><p>• Cap: <a target="_blank" href="https://cap.so">https://cap.so</a></p><p>• Supercut: <a target="_blank" href="https://supercut.ai">https://supercut.ai</a></p><p>...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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Recommended books:</strong></p><p>• <em>The Fountainhead</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Fountainhead-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451191153">https://www.amazon.com/Fountainhead-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451191153</a></p><p>• <em>Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>Mindset: The New Psychology of Success</em>: <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></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
How to show up in any room with a low heart rate: Silicon Valley’s missing etiquette playbook | Sam Lessin
<p><strong>Sam Lessin</strong> 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.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. Why etiquette matters</p><p>2. Sam’s framework for showing up confidently, with a low heart rate, in any room</p><p>3. How to navigate introductions, small talk, meetings, and meals like a pro</p><p>4. Simple hacks for remembering names and handling awkward social situations</p><p>5. 30+ specific etiquette tips</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://10web.io/"><strong>10Web</strong></a>—Vibe-coding platform as an API</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://getdx.com/lenny"><strong>DX</strong></a>—The developer intelligence platform designed by leading researchers</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://workos.com/lenny"><strong>WorkOS</strong></a>—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Episode transcript:</strong> <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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts:</strong></p><p><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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Sam Lessin:</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/lessin">https://x.com/lessin</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/wlessin">https://www.linkedin.com/in/wlessin</a></p><p>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wlessin.com">https://www.wlessin.com</a></p><p>• Podcast: <a target="_blank" href="https://moreorlesspod.com">https://moreorlesspod.com</a></p><p>• Lettermeme: <a target="_blank" href="https://lettermeme.com/lessin">https://lettermeme.com/lessin</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Sam’s background</p><p>(04:18) The role of etiquette in business success</p><p>(09:30) Introductions and entering a room</p><p>(16:20) Engaging conversations and building relationships</p><p>(23:55) Hygiene and dress code essentials</p><p>(33:42) Dining etiquette</p><p>(37:15) Tipping etiquette</p><p>(41:36) The “B&D trick”</p><p>(43:05) Humor in social settings</p><p>(45:18) Self-deprecating humor</p><p>(47:42) Winding down conversations</p><p>(49:20) Scheduling etiquette</p><p>(55:23) Communication and email etiquette</p><p>(01:02:28) Meeting etiquette tips</p><p>(01:04:03) Virtual meeting best practices</p><p>(01:05:15) The importance of cleaning up after yourself</p><p>(01:05:58) Exiting and follow-up etiquette</p><p>(01:07:24) Final thoughts</p><p>(01:09:20) AI corner</p><p>(01:11:13) Contrarian corner</p><p>(01:16:25) Lightning round</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• Y Combinator: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ycombinator.com">https://www.ycombinator.com</a></p><p>• Kleiner Perkins: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kleinerperkins.com">https://www.kleinerperkins.com</a></p><p>• “Lose Yourself”<em> </em>by Eminem on Spotify: <a target="_blank" href="https://open.spotify.com/track/7MJQ9Nfxzh8LPZ9e9u68Fq">https://open.spotify.com/track/7MJQ9Nfxzh8LPZ9e9u68Fq</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Garry Tan on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrytan">https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrytan</a></p><p>• Bain & Company: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bain.com">https://www.bain.com</a></p><p>• Evernote: <a target="_blank" href="https://evernote.com">https://evernote.com</a></p><p>• Calendly: <a target="_blank" href="https://calendly.com">https://calendly.com</a></p><p>• Morning Brew: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.morningbrew.com">https://www.morningbrew.com</a></p><p>• Cursor: <a target="_blank" href="https://cursor.com">https://cursor.com</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• DigitalOcean: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.digitalocean.com">https://www.digitalocean.com</a></p><p>• Cloudflare: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cloudflare.com">https://www.cloudflare.com</a></p><p>• SpaceX: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.spacex.com">https://www.spacex.com</a></p><p>• Marc Andreessen on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/pmarca">https://x.com/pmarca</a></p><p>• <em>Landman </em>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></p><p>• Dave Morin on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/davemorin">https://x.com/davemorin</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Recommended books:</strong></p><p>• <em>Modern Etiquette in Technology, Finance, Society, and at Home: A Slow Ventures Handbook</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>Life, the Universe and Everything</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>The Ancient City: A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>Man’s Search for Meaning</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>The Lessons of History</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America’s Banana King</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China</em>: <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></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
Why LinkedIn is turning PMs into AI-powered "full stack builders” | Tomer Cohen (LinkedIn CPO)
<p><strong>Tomer Cohen</strong> 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.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. How 70% of the skills needed for jobs will change by 2030</p><p>2. The broken traditional model: organizational bloat slows features to a six-month cycle</p><p>3. The Full Stack Builder model</p><p>4. Three pillars of making FSB work: platform, agents, and culture (culture matters most)</p><p>5. Building specialized agents that critique ideas and find vulnerabilities</p><p>6. Why off-the-shelf AI tools never work on enterprise code without customization</p><p>7. Top performers adopt AI tools fastest, contrary to expectations about leveling effects</p><p>8. Change management tactics: celebrating wins, making tools exclusive, updating performance reviews</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://vanta.com/lenny"><strong>Vanta</strong></a>—Automate compliance. Simplify security: <a target="_blank" href="https://vanta.com/lenny">https://vanta.com/lenny</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.figma.com/lenny/"><strong>Figma Make</strong></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></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://miro.com/lenny"><strong>Miro</strong></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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Transcript: </strong><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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers): </strong><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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Tomer Cohen:</strong></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomercohen">https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomercohen</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Tomer Cohen</p><p>(04:42) The need for change in product development</p><p>(11:52) The full-stack builder model explained</p><p>(16:03) Implementing AI and automation in product development</p><p>(19:17) Building and customizing AI tools</p><p>(27:51) The timeline to launch</p><p>(31:46) Pilot program and early results</p><p>(37:04) Feedback from top talent</p><p>(39:48) Change management and adoption</p><p>(46:53) Encouraging people to play with AI tools</p><p>(41:21) Performance reviews and full-stack builders</p><p>(48:00) Challenges and specialization</p><p>(50:05) Finding talent</p><p>(52:46) Tips for implementing in your own company</p><p>(56:43) Lightning round and final thoughts</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• 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></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com">https://www.linkedin.com</a></p><p>• Cursor: <a target="_blank" href="https://cursor.com">https://cursor.com</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Devin: <a target="_blank" href="https://devin.ai">https://devin.ai</a></p><p>• Figma: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.figma.com">https://www.figma.com</a></p><p>• Microsoft Copilot: <a target="_blank" href="https://copilot.microsoft.com">https://copilot.microsoft.com</a></p><p>• Windsurf: <a target="_blank" href="https://windsurf.com">https://windsurf.com</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Lovable: <a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev">https://lovable.dev</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Naval Ravikant on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/naval">https://x.com/naval</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Song Exploder podcast: <a target="_blank" href="https://songexploder.net">https://songexploder.net</a></p><p>• Grok on Tesla: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tesla.com/support/grok">https://www.tesla.com/support/grok</a></p><p>• Reid Hoffman on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/reidhoffman">https://x.com/reidhoffman</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Recommended books:</strong></p><p>• <em>Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World</em>: <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></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
Slack founder: Mental models for building products people love ft. Stewart Butterfield
<p><strong>Stewart Butterfield</strong> 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.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. Hyper-realistic work-like activities</p><p>2. The owner’s delusion</p><p>3. Utility curves</p><p>4. “Don’t make me think”</p><p>5. “We don’t sell saddles here”</p><p>6. Tilting your umbrella</p><p>7. When to pivot</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://workos.com/lenny"><strong>WorkOS</strong></a>—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://metronome.com/"><strong>Metronome</strong></a>—Monetization infrastructure for modern software companies</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://lovable.dev/"><strong>Lovable</strong></a>—Build apps by simply chatting with AI</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Transcript:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/slack-founder-stewart-butterfield">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/slack-founder-stewart-butterfield</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers):</strong> <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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Stewart Butterfield:</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/stewart">https://x.com/stewart</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/butterfield">https://www.linkedin.com/in/butterfield</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Stewart Butterfield</p><p>(04:58) Stewart’s current life and reflections</p><p>(06:44) Understanding utility curves</p><p>(10:13) The concept of divine discontent</p><p>(15:11) The importance of taste in product design</p><p>(19:03) Tilting your umbrella</p><p>(28:32) Balancing friction and comprehension</p><p>(45:07) The value of constant dissatisfaction</p><p>(47:06) Embracing continuous improvement</p><p>(50:03) The complexity of making things work</p><p>(54:27) Parkinson’s law and organizational growth</p><p>(01:03:17) Hyper-realistic work-like activities</p><p>(01:13:23) Advice on when to pivot</p><p>(01:18:36) The importance of generosity in leadership</p><p>(01:26:34) The owner’s delusion</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• Slack: <a target="_blank" href="https://slack.com">https://slack.com</a></p><p>• Flickr: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.flickr.com">https://www.flickr.com</a></p><p>• Cal Henderson on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamcal">https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamcal</a></p><p>• Blok: <a target="_blank" href="https://blok.so">https://blok.so</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Magic Link: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Link">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Link</a></p><p>• Ticketmaster: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ticketmaster.com">https://www.ticketmaster.com</a></p><p>• John Collison on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/collision">https://x.com/collision</a></p><p>• Patrick Collison on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/patrickc">https://x.com/patrickc</a></p><p>• Sundar Pichai on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sundarpichai">https://www.linkedin.com/in/sundarpichai</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Six Sigma: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.6sigma.us">https://www.6sigma.us</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Glitch: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitch_(video_game)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitch_(video_game)</a></p><p>• IRC: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>• 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></p><p>• Prisoner’s dilemma: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma</a></p><p>• <em>Stewart Little</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Little">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Little</a></p><p>• <em>Dharma and Greg</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma_%26_Greg">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma_%26_Greg</a></p><p>• 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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Recommended books:</strong></p><p>• <em>Principles: Life and Work</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress―and How to Bring It Back</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind</em>: <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></p><p>• <em>Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away</em>: <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></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>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>
The Godmother of AI on jobs, robots & why world models are next | Dr. Fei-Fei Li
<p><strong>Dr. Fei-Fei Li </strong>is<strong> </strong>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.</p><p></p><p><strong>We discuss:</strong></p><p>1. How ImageNet helped spark the AI explosion we’re living through</p><p>2. Why world models and spatial intelligence represent the next frontier in AI, beyond large language models</p><p>3. Why Fei-Fei believes AI won’t replace humans but will require us to take responsibility for ourselves</p><p>4. The surprising applications of Marble, from movie production to psychological research</p><p>5. Why robotics faces unique challenges compared with language models and what’s needed to overcome them</p><p>6. How to participate in AI regardless of your role</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.figma.com/lenny/"><strong>Figma Make</strong></a>—A prompt-to-code tool for making ideas real</p><p><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"><strong>Justworks</strong></a>—The all-in-one HR solution for managing your small business with confidence</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://sinch.com/lenny"><strong>Sinch</strong></a>—Build messaging, email, and calling into your product</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Transcript: </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-godmother-of-ai">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-godmother-of-ai</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers):</strong></p><p><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></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Dr. Fei-Fei Li</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/drfeifei">https://x.com/drfeifei</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/fei-fei-li-4541247">https://www.linkedin.com/in/fei-fei-li-4541247</a></p><p>• World Labs: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.worldlabs.ai">https://www.worldlabs.ai</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Dr. Fei-Fei Li</p><p>(05:31) The evolution of AI</p><p>(09:37) The birth of ImageNet</p><p>(17:25) The rise of deep learning</p><p>(23:53) The future of AI and AGI</p><p>(29:51) Introduction to world models</p><p>(40:45) The bitter lesson in AI and robotics</p><p>(48:02) Introducing Marble, a revolutionary product</p><p>(51:00) Applications and use cases of Marble</p><p>(01:01:01) The founder’s journey and insights</p><p>(01:10:05) Human-centered AI at Stanford</p><p>(01:14:24) The role of AI in various professions</p><p>(01:18:16) Conclusion and final thoughts</p><p>—</p><p><strong>References: </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-godmother-of-ai">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-godmother-of-ai</a></p><p>—</p><p>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>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p><p></p> <br/><br/>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>