Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Inside Linear: Building with taste, craft, and focus | Karri Saarinen (co-founder, designer, CEO)

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Oct 8, 2023
Karri Saarinen, co-founder and CEO of Linear, shares insights from his impressive background, including design leadership at Airbnb and Coinbase. He discusses the importance of prioritizing craft in product development and how Linear’s unique hiring strategies set them apart. Karri reveals how the company operates with just one PM and emphasizes that good design is essential in today’s market. He offers strategies for maintaining focus amidst distractions while providing a sneak peek of an upcoming feature that enhances team communication.
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INSIGHT

Design's Rising Importance

  • Design's importance increases with a domain's relevance and market saturation.
  • As a field matures (like email clients), good design becomes a basic requirement, not a differentiator.
ADVICE

Prioritizing Craft

  • Prioritize craft and quality in product development, even if it means slower releases.
  • Linear's approach involves no A/B testing or metric-based goals, focusing on taste and opinions.
ANECDOTE

Early Release Strategy

  • Linear releases early versions of features internally and to a small group of beta users.
  • This allows for feedback and iteration before a full public release.
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