Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career cover image

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Latest episodes

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Jul 30, 2023 • 1h 16min

How to measure and improve developer productivity | Nicole Forsgren (Microsoft Research, GitHub, Google)

Nicole Forsgren, developer productivity expert, discusses measuring and improving developer productivity. Topics include DORA and SPACE frameworks, benchmarks for good productivity, common measuring mistakes, improving metrics, signs of developer experience issues, and how to improve developer experience using Nicole's Four-Box framework.
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Jul 27, 2023 • 1h 23min

The ultimate guide to A/B testing | Ronny Kohavi (Airbnb, Microsoft, Amazon)

Renowned expert Ronny Kohavi discusses fostering a culture of experimentation, surprising A/B test results, the impact of small changes in search results, striking a balance between revenue and user experience, using data and case studies to convince teams, the 80% rule and the value of running experiments, avoiding sample ratio mismatches, favorite books and personal experience with Chernobyl, and the importance of control experiments.
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Jul 23, 2023 • 1h 26min

The 10 traits of great PMs, how AI will impact your product, and Slack’s product development process | Noah Weiss (Slack, Foursquare, Google)

Brought to you by Sidebar—Catalyze your career with a Personal Board of Directors | Superhuman—The fastest email experience ever made | Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security.—Noah Weiss is Chief Product Officer at Slack, where he leads all aspects of the product organization, including the self-service SMB business, the team that launched huddles and clips, and the search and machine-learning teams. Prior to Slack, Noah served as SVP of Product at Foursquare. He started his career at Google, leading the structured data search team and working on display ads. In today’s episode, we discuss:• The top 10 traits of great PMs• How “complaint storms” helped Slack teams foster empathy• How Slack’s product team is approaching AI• “Comprehension desirability” and other key factors leading to Slack’s success• Why you should be customer-aware but not customer-obsessed• Important areas of growth for both new PMs and senior PMsCurious to learn more about Slack? You can try Slack Pro and get 50% off using this link.—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-10-traits-of-great-pms-how-ai—Where to find Noah Weiss:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/noah_weiss• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahw/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Noah’s background(04:22) Noah’s advice on new parenthood(07:23) Lessons learned from leading product at Foursquare(11:33) Advice for working with strongly opinionated founders(14:14) Thinking of involvement on a U-shaped curve(16:53) Principles at Slack(19:32) Implementing ML, AI, and LLMs in meaningful ways(25:11) How Slack structures AI teams(26:59) Complaint storms and how they help foster empathy(30:01) Slack’s approach to prioritization (32:26) How delight is baked into the DNA of Slack(34:41) How Slack thinks about competition (38:04) Building a culture that takes big bets(41:40) Rituals at Slack(44:51) How Slack unlocked new levers of growth and revived their self-serve business(52:01) Slack’s early success and the factors that made them successful (58:08) Slack’s pilot programs for testing new features(1:02:03) Noah’s famous blog post: “The 10 Traits of Great Product Managers”(1:10:15) Book recommendations to improve your writing(1:12:30) Managing up and the importance of data fluency(1:14:54) The most important skills to improve as an early-career PM and as a senior PM(1:17:16) Lightning round—Referenced:• Emily Oster: https://emilyoster.net/• Dennis Crowley: https://denniscrowley.com/• Stewart Butterfield on Twitter: https://twitter.com/stewart• Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Think-Revisited-Usability/dp/0321965515• Gustav Söderström on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/lessons-from-scaling-spotify-the-science-of-product-taking-risky-bets-and-how-ai-is-already-impacting-the-future-of-music-gustav-soderstrom-co-president-cpo-and-cto-at-spotify/• Seth Godin: https://seths.blog/• Noah’s blog post on the 10 traits of great PMs: https://medium.com/@noah_weiss/10-traits-of-great-pms-a7776cd3d9cd• Five Dangerous Myths about Product Management: https://medium.com/@noah_weiss/five-dangerous-myths-about-product-management-d1d852ed02a2• Paul Graham: http://paulgraham.com/• Ben Horowitz on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz• On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Memoir-Craft-Stephen-King/dp/1982159375• On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-Classic-Guide-Nonfiction/dp/0060891548• Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: And Other Tough-Love Truths to Make You a Better Writer: https://www.amazon.com/Nobody-Wants-Read-Your-Tough-Love/dp/1936891492• Several Short Sentences About Writing: https://www.amazon.com/Several-Short-Sentences-About-Writing/dp/0307279413• Paige Costello on Twitter: https://twitter.com/paigenow• Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs: https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Selection-Inside-Apples-Process/dp/1250194466• The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail: https://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Dilemma-Technologies-Management-Innovation/dp/1633691780• Radical Candor: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kim-Scott/dp/1250258405• Leadership: In Turbulent Times: https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Turbulent-Doris-Kearns-Goodwin/dp/1476795924• Succession on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/succession• The Bear on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/the-bear-05eb6a8e-90ed-4947-8c0b-e6536cbddd5f• Nanit: https://www.nanit.com/• Snoo: https://www.happiestbaby.com/products/snoo-smart-bassinet• Uppababy: https://uppababy.com/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
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Jul 16, 2023 • 1h 5min

LinkedIn’s product evolution and the art of building complex systems | Hari Srinivasan (LinkedIn)

Brought to you by Miro—A collaborative visual platform where your best work comes to life | Brave Search API—An independent, global search index you can use to power your search or AI app | Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments—Hari Srinivasan is VP of Product at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, where he oversees LinkedIn Recruiter, LinkedIn Jobs, and LinkedIn Learning. He’s also a frequent guest lecturer at Stanford University. Previously, he served as the CEO and founder of We Created It, which was acquired by LinkedIn in 2014. Hari has a passion for building products, with experience ranging from creating the first U.S. hybrid SUV to developing a No. 1 app and writing a beloved children’s book. In today’s episode, we discuss:• LinkedIn’s unique business model and org structure• How to optimize your LinkedIn experience and improve your chances of getting a PM role• How to adapt to a skills-first talent market• The story of Hari’s failed first product review, and how he pivoted for success• Strategies for building and maintaining complex systems• How to get into product management—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/linkedins-product-evolution-and-the—Where to find Hari Srinivasan:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hsrinivasan1/• Website: https://www.mindofhari.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Hari’s background(05:04) How Twitter brought Lenny and Hari together(06:32) LinkedIn’s positive evolution, and what they did right(10:14) Specific changes that made LinkedIn’s feed more interesting(11:12) Understanding the algorithm and what kinds of content perform best(12:21) The talent solution product(15:46) The shift to skills-first hiring, and how LinkedIn changed their approach(20:24) The open-to-work signal, and the newly released open-to-internal-work signal(22:13) The PM talent landscape, and tips for landing a PM role(24:55) How to optimize your LinkedIn profile to get noticed by recruiters(28:38) Hari’s first product review at LinkedIn(30:38) LinkedIn’s North Star, and how to operationalize the North Star at any company(33:24) LinkedIn’s members-first value(35:32) Building and maintaining complex systems(38:09) The RAPID framework and the Five-Day Alignment framework(39:51) What LinkedIn looks for in new hires(40:51) The latest innovations at LinkedIn(43:16) LinkedIn Learning(45:00) Hari’s product management course(48:19) Advice for people hoping to get into product management(50:40) How to level up your PM skills(51:57) Hari’s creative side projects (55:02) Lightning round—Referenced:• Tweet from TheCuriousPM: https://twitter.com/zatin_jatin/status/1658616200560254978?s=20• The Curious PM on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zatin_jatin• Decision-making at LinkedIn: https://engineering.linkedin.com/blog/2018/03/scaling-decision-making-across-teams-within-linkedin-engineering• LinkedIn Learning: https://www.linkedin.com/learning• Thinking in Systems: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/1603580557• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: https://www.amazon.com/Tomorrow-novel-Gabrielle-Zevin/dp/0593321200• An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us: https://www.amazon.com/Immense-World-Animal-Senses-Reveal/dp/0593133234• Star Wars on Disney+: https://www.disneyplus.com/brand/star-wars• Case 63 on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4c9ZKaFtEKweSYOlYvxfvp• E.T. on Tubi: https://tubitv.com/movies/607451/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial• BriteBrush: https://www.amazon.com/BriteBrush-Interactive-Smart-Toothbrush-featuring/dp/B07VLL8QH4—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
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Jul 13, 2023 • 1h 1min

M&A, competition, pricing, and investing | Julia Schottenstein (dbt Labs)

Brought to you by Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security | Superhuman—The fastest email experience ever made | AssemblyAI—Production-ready AI models to transcribe and understand speech—Julia Schottenstein is a product lead at dbt Labs, a data transformation company, and an active angel investor in data and infrastructure startups. She first got excited about dbt in 2019 when she was a VC at NEA and decided to make the leap from investor to operator by joining dbt Labs. She also co-hosts the dbt Labs Analytics Engineering Podcast, a show about data trends that impact analytics engineers’ work. In today’s episode, we discuss:• Advice for founders hoping to improve their M&A outcome• How to strategically think about competition• How to determine your paid features and have willingness-to-pay conversations• Why Julia lives by “worse is better” and “tech debt is a champagne problem”• Lessons from dbt Labs• What PMs can learn from investors—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/m-and-a-competition-pricing-and-investing—Where to find Julia Schottenstein:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/j_schottenstein• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-schottenstein-25424318/• Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4BKMMeVXk4jJnAQSqGSJvE—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Julia’s background(04:15) How Julia went from VC to working in product at dbt Labs(08:24) Four things Julia uses to evaluate a company’s potential (11:10) How to identify whether or not you have product-market fit(12:05) Distribution strategies(13:11) M&A strategies(15:54) Lessons from the Transform acquisition(18:01) Competitive values at dbt(20:25) Keys to dbt’s success(26:35) An offsite exercise Julia used to help her team internalize upcoming changes(29:32) Determining what features are included in open source(31:56) Pricing and willingness to pay(33:34) Lessons from dbt Labs’s first pricing change(36:33) Whether or not to be public about selling your startup(40:08) How to utilize connections during acquisitions(44:57) How to communicate selling your company(46:33) M&A market forecast(47:28) Values at dbt Labs (50:14) Lessons from working with strongly opinionated users(52:02) The importance of shipping, learning, and iterating (54:08) How VC skills translate into product(57:03) Lightning round—Referenced:• dbt Labs: https://www.getdbt.com/• Tristan Handy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristanhandy/• dbt Labs acquires Transform to enhance Semantic Layer tool: https://www.techtarget.com/searchbusinessanalytics/news/365530993/DBT-Labs-acquires-Transform-to-enhance-Semantic-Layer-tool• Snowflake: https://www.snowflake.com/en/• Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid: https://www.amazon.com/G%C3%B6del-Escher-Bach-Eternal-Golden/dp/0465026567• Red strings training clip from Ted Lasso: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVe3Iwy10MA• Monetizing Innovation: https://www.amazon.com/Monetizing-Innovation-Companies-Design-Product/dp/1119240867• Madhavan Ramanujam on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan#details• Pricing survey: https://www.qualtrics.com/marketplace/vanwesterndorp-pricing-sensitivity-study/• Hunter Walk’s blog post about publicly selling your startup: https://hunterwalk.com/2023/05/13/the-acquihire-market-for-early-stage-startups-is-ice-cold-one-better-strategy-announce-youre-for-sale/• Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World: https://www.amazon.com/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized-World/dp/0735214506/• The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life: https://www.amazon.com/Snowball-Warren-Buffett-Business-Life/dp/0553384619/r• Sam Walton: Made in America: https://www.amazon.com/Sam-Walton-Made-America/dp/0553562835• Succession on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/succession• In Depth podcast: https://review.firstround.com/podcast• dbt community Slack: https://www.getdbt.com/community/join-the-community/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
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Jul 9, 2023 • 1h 3min

How to ask the right questions, project confidence, and win over skeptics | Paige Costello (Asana, Intercom, Intuit)

Paige Costello, beloved product leader, discusses the unique product development process at Asana, the double-diamond framework, and conscious leadership training. She shares insights on demonstrating confidence, the importance of curiosity and openness, and giving feedback with impact statements.
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Jul 2, 2023 • 1h 8min

Building minimum lovable products, stories from WeWork and Airbnb, and thriving as a PM | Jiaona Zhang (Webflow, WeWork, Airbnb, Dropbox)

Brought to you by Brave Search API—An independent, global search index you can use to power your search or AI app | Miro—A collaborative visual platform where your best work comes to life | Superhuman—The fastest email experience ever made—Jiaona Zhang (JZ) is a product leader with a strong background in consumer products and extensive hiring and management experience. She is currently SVP of Product at Webflow as well as a lecturer at Stanford, where she teaches a graduate-level course on product management. Before Webflow, JZ was Head of Product for the Homes Platform at Airbnb and has also led product teams at Airbnb, WeWork, and Dropbox. In today’s episode, we discuss:• Building a “minimum lovable product” rather than a minimum viable product• How to create better roadmaps through storytelling• Top lessons from Dropbox, Airbnb, WeWork, and Webflow• The importance of setting ambitious OKRs• JZ’s first 90 days playbook: how to succeed in a new role• Advice for early-career PMs—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-minimum-lovable-products—Where to find Jiaona Zhang:• Reforge: https://www.reforge.com/managing-your-pm-career• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiaona/• Website: https://www.jiaonazhang.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) JZ’s background(04:22) Common mistakes new PMs make(06:44) Why Airbnb Plus didn’t work out, and takeaways from that experience(10:51) Executing big dreams step-by-step(13:45) The right way to push back against founders(16:54) Minimum lovable product vs. minimum viable product(20:53) What makes a product lovable(22:20) Advice on roadmapping and prioritization(28:04) Tips for new PMs to accelerate their career(29:16) JZ’s top skills and how they have evolved over her career(31:37) Designing crisp OKRs(36:09) Lessons from WeWork(43:01) Winning the first 90 days at a new company(48:34) Why trust is crucial(51:48) High-level lessons from Dropbox, Airbnb, WeWork, and Webflow(56:38) The one piece of advice that transformed JZ’s career(58:39) Lightning round—Referenced:• Mike Lewis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikelewis/• “What working at Figma taught me about customer obsession,” VP of Product Sho Kuwamoto: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/what-working-at-figma-taught-me-about• WeWork: https://www.wework.com/• WeCrashed on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/wecrashed/umc.cmc.6qw605uv2rwbzutk2p2fsgvq9• Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days: https://www.amazon.com/Sprint-Solve-Problems-Test-Ideas/dp/150112174X• The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Manager-What-Everyone-Looks/dp/0735219567• Tress of the Emerald Sea: A Cosmere Novel: https://www.amazon.com/Tress-Emerald-Sea-Brandon-Sanderson/dp/1250899656/• Arcane on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81435684• Snoo: https://www.happiestbaby.com/• Midjourney: https://www.midjourney.com/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
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Jun 25, 2023 • 1h 17min

Lessons from scaling Ramp | Sri Batchu (Ramp, Instacart, Opendoor)

Brought to you by Attio—The powerful, flexible CRM for fast-growing startups | Coda—Meet the evolution of docs | Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments—Sri Batchu currently leads growth at Ramp, the fastest-growing SaaS business (and fintech business) in history. Previously, he led growth strategy and operations at Instacart and was one of the first 50 employees at Opendoor, where he built, scaled, and managed a variety of business teams, including analytics, sales, and pricing. During his time there, the company grew from $100M to $5B+ in revenue and to 1,500+ people. In this episode, we discuss:• The surprising tactics behind Ramp’s unprecedented early growth• A breakdown of Ramp’s current growth org and growth channels• Why you need to be “failing conclusively”• Ramp’s unique approach to metrics and measurement• Examples of Ramp’s “secret sauce”: a data- and technology-driven approach to everything• Why Sri prioritizes employee autonomy and flexibility over hours worked• Why team structure is a red herring for growth teams, and what Sri focuses on instead• How to set good North Star metrics, and why you should have more than one• Why Sri prefers payback periods over CAC for measuring investment ROI—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-scaling-ramp-sri-batchu—Where to find Sri Batchu:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sri_batchu• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sribatchu/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Sri’s background(04:07) Stats surrounding Ramp’s hypergrowth(06:20) How Ramp set the stage for their remarkable growth(09:19) New customers vs. customer expansion(10:20) How Ramp has prioritized data-driven decisions(12:12) Ramp’s growth engineering team, and how it supports the sales team(13:41) The structure of the growth team at Ramp(14:36) The “skunk works” team(15:49) How Ramp maintains working at such high velocity(19:11) How Ramp boosts morale and keeps employees engaged and excited(21:45) How to promote hard work(25:10) Optimizing efficiency in your growth engine(27:28) Leveraging PR and fundraising(29:20) Traditional media vs. newsletters and podcasts(30:49) Building a repeatable and scalable growth process(32:28) Examples of good North Star metrics(37:09) Lower-level metrics(40:30) When it makes sense to use the North Star framework(42:03) Why Ramp doesn’t allow signups through personal emails, and how to reach out if you’re in that position(43:11) Efficiency metrics and volume metrics(46:49) Payback period vs. CAC for measuring ROI(48:55) Defining payback period and contribution margin(49:51) How to sequence growth tactics for B2B(52:18) Experimentation and the importance of failing conclusively(58:06) Ramp’s tool stack(1:00:32) How to hire great people(1:03:21) The importance of compensating employees properly(1:06:28) The MECE framework(1:09:21) Lightning round—Referenced:• How Ramp builds product, in Lenny’s Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-ramp-builds-product• Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com/• Keith Rabois on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith/• Packy McCormick’s article on Ramp: https://www.notboring.co/p/ramps-double-unicorn-rounds-behind• Gibson Biddle’s framework: https://gibsonbiddle.medium.com/9-the-gem-model-65c89face5de• DoorDash’s business model: https://businessmodelanalyst.com/doordash-business-model/• Airtable: https://www.airtable.com/• Mutiny: https://www.mutinyhq.com/• Gokul Rajaram on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gokulr• Claire Hughes Johnson on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/lessons-from-scaling-stripe/• MECE principle: https://productfolio.com/mece-principal/• Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depended on It: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Split-Difference-Negotiating-Depended/dp/0062407805• Stories of Your Life and Others: https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Your-Life-Others-Chiang/dp/1101972122/r• Everything Everywhere All at Once on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/movie/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-fa320000-8cf3-46fc-8c45-df5ec67b71f2• Fellow kettles: https://fellowproducts.com/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
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Jun 18, 2023 • 1h 15min

Building high-performing teams | Melissa Tan (Webflow, Dropbox, Canva)

Brought to you by AssemblyAI—Production-ready AI models to transcribe and understand speech | Mixpanel—Product analytics that everyone can trust, use, and afford | Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments—Melissa Tan is an advisor, investor, and growth expert. She’s worked with fast-growing startups like Dropbox, Canva, Grammarly, and Miro, and for the past 2.5 years has been the Head of Growth at Webflow. There, she led the company's self-service business across Product, Marketing, and Growth, in addition to leading the charge on pricing and packaging. Prior to Webflow, she was Head of Growth for Dropbox’s B2B product, where she played a pivotal role in propelling their growth. In today’s episode, we discuss:• Attributes of high-performing teams• Tips for developing talent and seeking a mentor• How to create a strong culture of ownership• Frameworks for hiring PM and growth talent• Common pitfalls companies face when implementing growth strategies• Lessons from scaling Dropbox• The DACI framework for increasing team velocity• How to actually embrace first-principles thinking—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-high-performing-teams-melissa—Where to find Melissa Tan:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/melissamtan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissamtan/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Melissa’s background(04:12) What’s next for Melissa(06:45) Lessons learned from Dropbox(11:49) When to add sales to product-led products and vice versa(14:28) Managing people with a people-focused and results-oriented approach(17:14) An example of people-focused leadership(20:26) The importance of talent development and why Melissa invests in it(22:26) Tips for finding a mentor(24:58) Specific questions to ask when you are interviewing for a role(27:49) Companies Melissa has worked with(28:33) Attributes of high-performing teams(31:38) Creating a sense of ownership among team members(34:36) Building a team-first culture(36:54) Avoiding burnout by knowing your limits(39:24) Developing talent and unlocking potential within your organization(42:45) Melissa’s hiring practices and what she looks for in a product manager(44:40) The exact interview sequence Melissa utilizes(49:58) Common pitfalls when creating growth teams(53:43) “Flying formation” and the DACI framework(56:48) Who should own revenue(58:19) When to invest in growth(1:01:06) What to look for in your first growth hire(1:04:35) When it’s appropriate to hire an advisor(1:06:19) First-principles thinking(1:09:50) Lightning round—Referenced:• Jiaona Zhang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiaona/• Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead: https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Women-Work-Will-Lead/dp/0385349947• Tim Ferriss: How to Find a Great Mentor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVo1aZCyfO4• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kick-Ass-Humanity/dp/1250235375/• How to Monetize a Freemium Business: https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/how-to-monetize-a-freemium-business• DACI framework: https://www.productplan.com/glossary/daci/• Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't: https://www.amazon.com/Leaders-Eat-Last-Together-Others/dp/1591848016/r• The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself: https://www.amazon.com/Untethered-Soul-Journey-Beyond-Yourself/dp/1572245379/• The Four Agreements: https://www.amazon.com/Four-Agreements-Practical-Personal-Freedom/dp/1878424319• Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/winning-time-the-rise-of-the-lakers-dynasty• ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/• Webflow: https://webflow.com/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
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Jun 15, 2023 • 1h 20min

Leveraging growth advisors, hiring well, mastering SEO, and honing your craft | Luc Levesque (Shopify, Meta, TripAdvisor)

Brought to you by Mixpanel—Product analytics that everyone can trust, use, and afford | Attio—A powerful, flexible CRM for fast-growing startups | Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments—Luc Levesque is Chief Growth Officer at Shopify and has advised companies like Canva, Twitter, Pinterest, and Patreon on growth and product strategy. Previously he served as an executive at TripAdvisor, where he built and led the growth team that helped it become the world’s largest travel site. Luc was then recruited by Mark Zuckerberg to Facebook, where he was an executive and held senior product and engineering leadership roles. In today’s episode, we discuss:• Why you need to become world-class at hiring• Tips for finding a great growth advisor and assessing their impact• Why truly great companies focus on impact• Common mistakes to avoid when building a growth team• The importance of passion and continuous self-improvement• Signs your company should explore SEO as a growth channel, and strategies to do so• Why Mark Zuckerberg personally recruited Luc and what it taught him about the recruiting process—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/leveraging-growth-advisors-hiring—Where to find Luc Levesque:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/luclevesque• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luclevesque/• Website: https://luclevesque.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Luc’s background(03:31) Luc’s first MT review at Facebook(07:09) Impact vs. industriousness(09:20) Facebook’s relentless, personalized approach to recruiting talent(13:12) Luc’s hiring playbook(16:56) When to focus on growth and the importance of product-market fit(18:04) What to look for in a growth advisor(23:15) The large impact Luc made from a small conversation(26:52) Advice on compensating advisors(31:35) How to find a good growth advisor using VCs and your network(33:33) The importance of having an in-house person and growth advisors as support(38:15) Tips for becoming a growth advisor(41:59) The power of SEO (45:29) The two buckets of SEO(49:21) Channels of growth(51:49) The potential impact of ChatGPT on Google and SEO(56:04) Advice on hiring an SEO person(58:19) How long it takes for SEO to make an impact(1:00:07) Self-reflection, cold plunge, and other tools Luc uses to excel in his personal and work life(1:06:46) Luc’s famous dinner guild(1:10:33) Lightning round—Referenced:• Luc’s blueprint: https://coda.io/@luc-levesque/blueprint-for-leaders-managers-communicate-your-quirks/my-blueprint-9• Jeff Bezos’s morning routine: https://finty.com/us/daily-routines/jeff-bezos• Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain: https://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutionary-Science-Exercise-Brain/dp/0316113514• Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less: https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Brevity-Power-Saying-More/dp/1523516976• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion: https://www.amazon.com/Influence-New-Expanded-Psychology-Persuasion/dp/0062937650/• Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity: https://www.amazon.com/Outlive-Longevity-Peter-Attia-MD/dp/0593236599• Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: And Other Tough-Love Truths to Make You a Better Writer: https://www.amazon.com/Nobody-Wants-Read-Your-Tough-Love/dp/1936891492• The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles: https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026• The Legend of Bagger Vance: A Novel of Golf and the Game of Life: https://www.amazon.com/Legend-Bagger-Vance-Novel-Golf/dp/038072751X• Huberman Lab podcast: https://hubermanlab.com/welcome-to-the-huberman-lab-podcast/• The All-In Podcast: https://www.allinpodcast.co/• Renu cold plunge: https://www.renutherapy.com/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

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