Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

Dr. Fei-Fei Li, often called the 'godmother of AI,' has been instrumental in pivotal AI advancements, notably creating ImageNet. In this conversation, she shares insights on world models and spatial intelligence, highlighting their significance for the future of AI beyond language models. Fei-Fei emphasizes the importance of human responsibility in the age of AI and introduces her new product, Marble, which facilitates the creation of navigable 3D worlds. She also discusses the unique challenges in robotics and encourages everyone to engage with AI, regardless of their field.

Grant Lee, Co-founder and CEO of Gamma, shares insights from their AI-driven presentation tool that soared to $100M ARR with a team of just 30. He reveals how a brutal investor rejection fueled their focus on growth and product-market fit. Key topics include reimagining onboarding to deliver instant value, leveraging over 1,000 micro-influencers for organic growth, and the delicate balance between brand and performance marketing. Grant emphasizes the importance of an experimentation mindset and hiring exceptional talent to build a sustainable business.

Jen Abel, a seasoned enterprise sales leader and co-founder of Jellyfish, shares her expertise on scaling B2B sales from $1M to $10M ARR. She debunks the myth of the mid-market, asserting that targeting tier-one logos yields strong references and roadmap influence. Abel highlights the importance of vision-casting instead of problem-solving to win enterprise deals and encourages founders to charge higher ACVs for better executive engagement. She also discusses strategic hiring, creative deal crafting, and the powerful role of tailored outreach in enterprise sales.

Melanie Perkins, Co-CEO and co-founder of Canva, transformed a dream into a $42 billion reality despite facing over 100 investor rejections and a challenging two-year technical rewrite. She discusses her unique 'column B' thinking, which focuses on bold visions rather than limitations. Listeners learn about the importance of setting 'crazy big goals,' maintaining team morale during tough times, and her strategic approach to fundraising. Melanie’s forward-looking vision for 2050 emphasizes the power of imagination to inspire positive change.

Dhanji R. Prasanna, Chief Technology Officer at Block, has managed a massive engineering team driving AI innovation. He reveals how Block’s open-source agent, Goose, saves employees significant time weekly. Dhanji discusses the surprising productivity gains for non-technical teams and the importance of leadership in adopting AI tools. He shares insights on code quality versus product success, the impact of organizational changes, and lessons learned from previous product failures. Dhanji emphasizes starting small with projects to foster innovation.

Chip Huyen, a prominent AI engineer and educator with experience at NVIDIA, Stanford, and Netflix, dives into the nuances that make AI applications successful. She explains the critical differences between pre-training and post-training, highlighting that fine-tuning should be a last resort. Chip also discusses the significance of data quality over database choice and how reinforcement learning from human feedback operates. She emphasizes that many AI challenges stem from UX issues and shares insights on how organizations can effectively adopt AI tools.

Nicole Forsgren, Senior Director of Developer Intelligence at Google and creator of the DORA and SPACE frameworks, dives into the evolving landscape of developer productivity in the age of AI. She challenges traditional metrics, explaining why they often mislead. Nicole introduces her seven-step framework from her upcoming book, Frictionless, emphasizing the importance of understanding developer experience and trust in AI-generated code. Discover how AI can accelerate workflows while maintaining strategic focus and uncovering quick wins in team processes.

Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO of Figma, discusses navigating the fallout from a failed Adobe acquisition and maintaining team morale. He shares insights on sustaining high performance over 13 years, balancing warmth with competitiveness, and the importance of clear communication. Dylan reveals the innovative launch of FigJam and how AI is transforming design by enhancing value and prototyping speed. He emphasizes developing taste and judgment in design, predicting how product development will evolve with AI integration.

Robby Stein, VP of Product at Google Search, previously led product development at Instagram. He shares insights on Google's AI turnaround, revealing why AI is enhancing search instead of replacing it. Robby explains the swift development of AI Mode and the importance of relentless improvement in product creation. He discusses how AI Overviews connect with Google Lens for an integrated experience and emphasizes the value of curiosity and understanding user needs as key to successful product development.

Jason Droege, CEO of Scale AI and former Uber Eats leader, shares gripping insights from his journey in tech entrepreneurship. He discusses the implications of Meta’s $14B investment and why human experts remain crucial for AI development. Droege dives into the importance of understanding customer needs, revealing how Uber Eats was built on restaurant economics. He also emphasizes the balance between urgency and high-value problem-solving while highlighting lessons on hiring and maintaining a strong team culture in innovative environments.