Lenny's Reads

In this episode, my wife Michelle Rial, cartoonist and author, celebrates the launch of her new book "Charts for Babies" by sharing a pep talk for anyone stuck in a creative rut. She walks through 12 tried-and-tested steps designed to lift you out of a creative block and get back to making things that matter. ---In this episode, you'll learn:• Why it's necessary to create work that might feel embarrassing• The simple mindset shift that stops stalling and gets you to just start• How to reframe scorn as a positive signal• The thought process that can help you move out of a state of rumination• How to treat failed ideas as seeds for future breakthroughs---References:• "Charts for Babies": https://www.amazon.com/Charts-Babies-Picture-Book/dp/1419785184• How I AI: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/s/how-i-ai• Michelle Rial: https://www.michellerial.com/---Read the newsletter:https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/a-visual-guide-to-getting-out-of---Subscribe to Lenny's Newsletter:https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe---Subscribe:• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj• Substack: https://lennysreads.com/---Follow Lenny:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcast---About:Welcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you'll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Claire Vo went from public OpenClaw skeptic to running nine dedicated AI agents that manage her businesses, write code, close sales deals, and make sure she gets to her kids' basketball games on time. In this episode, she shares her complete power-user's guide to OpenClaw—covering everything from setup and key concepts to practical workflows and building your own team of agents.---In this episode, you'll learn:• What OpenClaw is and why it's more autonomous and powerful than other AI tools• How to choose the right setup: Mac Mini, VPS, or a hosted option• Six ready-to-copy workflows you can start using immediately• How to run multiple agents with specific roles (Claire's full 9-agent setup)• The best tools and integrations to connect your agents to the real world• Key security considerations and how to think about risk---References:• 1Password: https://1password.com• Attio: https://attio.com• Brave Search API: https://brave.com/search/api/• Buffer: https://buffer.com• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com• ChatPRD: https://chatprd.ai• Claire Vo: https://linkedin.com/in/clairevo• ClaWHub: https://clawhub.com• Claude: https://claude.ai• DigitalOcean: https://digitalocean.com• Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com• Exa: https://exa.ai• Every / Plus One: https://every.to• Firecrawl: https://firecrawl.dev• GitHub: https://github.com• Google Cloud: https://cloud.google.com• Hostinger: https://hostinger.com• How I AI podcast: https://howiai.com• Intercom: https://intercom.com• Linear: https://linear.app• Mac Mini: https://apple.com/mac-mini• Obsidian: https://obsidian.md• OpenClaw: https://openclaw.ai• Perplexity: https://perplexity.ai• Railway: https://railway.app• Render: https://render.com• Slack: https://slack.com• Sonos: https://sonos.com• Telegram: https://telegram.org• TikTok: https://tiktok.com• WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.comRead the newsletter:https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/openclaw-the-complete-guide-to-buildingSubscribe to Lenny’s Newsletter:https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe---Subscribe:• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj• Substack: https://lennysreads.com/---Follow Lenny:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcast---About:Welcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Contrary to what the headlines might be telling you, PM job openings are at their highest point in over three years, AI roles are hockey-sticking, and tech headcount is growing. Today’s episode is our fourth biannual update on the tech job market (the most optimistic yet) and breaks down seven key trends shaping the job landscape right now.In this episode, you'll learn:• Why PMs have reason to be optimistic• How the influx of new AI roles is shaping the industry• The unexpected sign of tech growth• What current job openings look like for design and software engineering roles• Surprising trends across remote job opportunities---References:• AI Practice Copilot for PM Interviews: https://www.benerez.com/copilot/lenny• Analytical thinking interviews guide: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/analytical-thinking-interviews• Google Career Dreamer: https://grow.google/career-dreamer/home/• How to pass any first-round interview: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-pass-any-first-round-interview• How to use AI for your job interview: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-use-ai-in-your-next-job-interview• The definitive guide to mastering product sense interviews: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-definitive-guide-to-mastering• TrueUp: https://www.trueup.io/---Read the newsletter:https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/191595250?r=1o9eyiSubscribe to Lenny’s Newsletter:https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe---Subscribe:• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj• Substack: https://lennysreads.com/---Follow Lenny:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcast---About:Welcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

When Lenny released his full podcast transcript archive, Ben Shih a non-technical designer at Miro — built LennyRPG: a Pokémon-style RPG where you battle podcast guests with product trivia. In this episode, Ben walks through the exact six-step workflow he used to go from sketch to shipped game, including the tools, prompts, and decisions at every stage, along with the broader lessons he learned along the way.---In this episode, you'll learn:• How to have AI interview you instead of writing the PRD yourself• When to pivot your framework, rather than force the wrong tool• How to systematically process 300+ transcripts into game data• Three core lessons Ben learned from building LennyRPG---ReferencesBen Shih: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hbshih/Brian Balfour: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbalfour/Claude Code Awesome Skills marketplace: https://github.com/ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skillsLennysData.com: https://lennysdata.com/LennyRPG: https://www.lennyrpg.fun/Lenny's Product Pass: https://www.lennysproductpass.com/OpenGameArt.org: https://opengameart.org/Phaser 3: https://phaser.io/RPG-JS: https://github.com/RSamaium/RPG-JSSupabase: https://supabase.com/Wispr Flow: https://wisprflow.com/---Read the newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-i-built-lennyrpg---Subscribe to Lenny's Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe---SubscribeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreadsApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypToojSubstack: https://lennysreads.com/---Follow LennyTwitter: https://twitter.com/lennysanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcast---AboutWelcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you'll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

It's never been easier to launch products, which means the biggest challenge product teams are facing is quickly becoming distribution. April Dunford, the world's leading expert on B2B positioning and author of Obviously Awesome, has spent 10 years working with more than 300 companies to help them stand out. In this episode, she goes beyond the basics to share tactics for overcoming four of the trickiest positioning roadblocks teams face.In this episode, you'll learn:• The four roadblocks every team faces when making positioning decisions• Why cross-functional teams almost always disagree on who they compete with• How to break the cycle of product pessimism• Why the "So what?" test is critical for defining your differentiated value• How to use your GTM strategy to drive positioning decisions—References:• April Dunford: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/• April Dunford's guest post on positioning: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/positioning• April Dunford on Lenny's Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdjlCLb9Hl8• Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/• Lenny's Product Pass: https://www.lennysproductpass.com/—Read the full newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/a-guide-to-advanced-b2b-positioningSubscribe to Lenny's Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe—Subscribe:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreadsApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypToojSubstack: https://lennysreads.com/Follow Lenny:Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcast—Welcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you'll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

When their team underperforms, most managers jump straight to blaming people. Molly Graham—who's worked alongside Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and Chamath Palihapitiya—explains how that's one of the biggest leadership traps there is. In this episode, she shares the Waterline Model: a diagnostic model to help uncover the real source of team problems, before touching an org chart.In this episode, you'll learn:• Why blaming people for structural problems is one of the biggest leadership mistakes• The four layers of the Waterline Model, and why that order matters• Why you should always "snorkel before you scuba"• How self-preservation can be a rational response to a faulty environment• How to make clean, decisive calls when you finally reach the individual layer—References:• "Give Away Your Legos": https://review.firstround.com/give-away-your-legos-and-other-commandments-for-scaling-startups/• Glue Club: https://glueclub.com/• Molly Graham: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mograham/• Molly Graham on Lenny's podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twzLDx9iers• Lenny's Product Pass: https://www.lennysproductpass.com/—Read the full newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-debug-a-team-that-isnt-workingSubscribe to Lenny's Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe—Subscribe:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreadsApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypToojSubstack: https://lennysreads.com/Follow Lenny:Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcast—Welcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you'll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

What if you could get line-by-line feedback on every interview answer you gave, predict questions before you walk in, and surface stories you didn't know you had? Noam Segal, Lenny's Community Research Lead, interviewed over 30 tech professionals about how they use AI throughout the interview process, and used the findings to build a free Claude Code-based interview coach. His coach encodes every successful interview technique he uncovered (and then some), making it an invaluable tool you can plug into your job search today.In this episode, you'll learn:· Why interview prep is broken (and why there's no usable feedback loop)· How the most successful candidates built AI systems to close the gap· What the free AI Interview Coach does and how to set it up· How to stop sounding like every other candidate who prepped with AI· The action checklist for before, during, and after every interviewReferences:· Claude: https://claude.ai/· Granola: https://granola.ai/· Claude Code Interview Coach (Github link): https://github.com/noamseg/interview-coach-skill· Lenny's Product Pass: https://lennysproductpass.com/· Noam Segal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noamsegal· PM Interview Copilot: https://www.benerez.com/copilot· Product sense guide: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-definitive-guide-to-masteringRead the newsletterhttps://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-use-ai-in-your-next-job-interviewSubscribe to Lenny's Newsletterhttps://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribeSubscribeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreadsApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypToojSubstack: https://lennysreads.com/Follow LennyTwitter: https://twitter.com/lennysanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcastAboutWelcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you'll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

Ever run an AI analysis on customer data, only to discover the numbers were fabricated and the insights completely generic? In this episode, Caitlin Sullivan, a user-research veteran who's trained hundreds of product and research professionals, shares her four prompting techniques for getting trustworthy, actionable insights out of any LLM. After 2,000+ hours of testing customer discovery workflows with AI, she's identified the failure modes that break AI analysis and the reliable fixes for each one.In this episode, you'll learn:• How to catch the two types of AI quote hallucinations• Why AI defaults to useless generic themes and insights• Which LLM is best for analysis work (and which one fabricates the most)• How to turn vague signal into actual decision clarity• The final verification pass that stress-tests everything before it hits a deckReferenced:• Caitlin Sullivan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlindsullivan/• Claude Code for Customer Insights (Maven course): https://maven.com/caitlin/claude-code-insights• Claude: https://www.anthropic.com/claude• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/• Gemini: https://gemini.google.com/• NotebookLM: https://notebooklm.google.com/• Maze: https://maze.co/• Whoop: https://www.whoop.com/Read the newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-do-ai-analysis-you-can-actuallySubscribe to Lenny’s Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribeSubscribe:• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj• Substack: https://lennysreads.com/Follow Lenny• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcastAboutWelcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

If you’re a premium subscriber, add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comDr. Marily Nika, longtime AI PM at Google and Meta, shares a simple weekly ritual that rapidly builds AI product sense – the ability to translate probabilistic model behavior into products people can trust. In this episode, Marily walks through the framework for uncovering failure modes before users do.Listen now: YouTube | Apple | SpotifyIn this episode, you’ll learn• Why Meta added “Product Sense with AI” to its PM interview loop• The rituals that surface hidden failure modes• Why generative models confidently invent structure when confronted with mess• What minimum viable quality (MVQ) means and how to define three critical thresholds• Five strategic context factors that raise or lower your quality bar• Why you need to estimate your AI feature’s cost envelope early• How to design guardrails that protect users from model shortcomings• Four patterns that cover most real-world failure casesReferenced• AI PM Bootcamp & Certification• AI Product Sense & AI PM Interview prep• Dr. Marily Nika: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilynika/• How to build AI Product sense (Part 1)• Marily’s AI Product Academy Newsletter• Thriving as a senior IC PM in the AI eraAboutWelcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

If you’re a premium subscriber, add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comYour product builder's Product Pass just got even better. In this episode, we introduce the seven new premium partners joining the Product Pass, bringing the total value of a paid newsletter subscription to over $25,000. We cover all the new products, what they do, how people are using them, and the key details you need to know before subscribing.Listen now: YouTube | Apple | SpotifyIn this episode, you’ll learn:• Key features of each of the seven new products• Applicable, real-world examples of how people are using them• Which products are exclusive to Insider subscribersReferences:• Affinity• Amp• Canva Business• Duolingo• ElevenLabs• Every• Factory• Flourish• Framer• Harvey• Kernel• Leonardo.Ai• Lovable• Manus• Meta• Metabase• Mozart AI• n8n• Nvidia• Perplexity• Product Pass codes• Railway• Sentry This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Colin Matthews, shares how ChatGPT apps are emerging as a powerful new distribution channel. In this episode, Colin shares how discovery will become contextual inside ChatGPT, what the architecture looks like, and why ChatGPT apps represent a rare distribution opportunity. He also covers two fast paths you can take to build and deploy your first ChatGPT app.In this episode, you'll learn:• Why chat-native apps could change the tech ecosystem• How users will discover apps contextually inside ChatGPT• The three UI modes for ChatGPT apps• The “one widget per message” constraint• How tools, widgets, and MCP fit together• Two build paths: Replit and ChippyReferences:• Adobe• AllTrails• Anthropic• Apple• Booking.com• Bolt• Canva• ChatPRD• Chippy• Colin Matthews• Coursera• Datavant• Descript• Devin• DoorDash• Expedia• Figma• Gamma• GitHub• Granola• Instacart• Linear• LinkedIn• Lovable• Magic Patterns• Maven• Mobbin• n8n• OpenAI• Perplexity• PostHog• Railway• Raycast• Replit• Shopify• Spotify• Stripe Atlas• Substack• Superhuman• Vercel• Warp• Wispr Flow• ZillowRead the newsletterhttps://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/chatgpt-apps-are-about-to-be-theSubscribe to Lenny’s Newsletterhttps://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribeSubscribe• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj• Substack: https://lennysreads.com/Follow Lenny• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcastAboutWelcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

Noam Segal, AI Insights Manager at Figma, shares the results from our comprehensive survey of 1,750 product managers, engineers, designers, and founders on how AI is reshaping their work. The findings are striking: more than half of respondents are saving at least half a day per week on their most important tasks. Since the quality of AI tools are improving at breakneck speed, Noam reveals we're watching the early innings of a compounding productivity revolution.In this episode, you'll learn:• Why 55% say AI has exceeded expectations and how it's improving work quality• Which roles are winning with AI (and which are struggling)• Where the biggest opportunities are• Which AI tools have product-market fit• Which AI tool dominates for most roles• Why engineers prefer specialized tools• Why 92% report significant downsides to AI tools• What AI agents need to take offReferences:• Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/• Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/• Build your personal AI copilot: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/build-your-personal-ai-copilot• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/• Claude: https://claude.ai/• Cursor: https://cursor.com/• Figma: https://www.figma.com/• Gemini: https://gemini.google.com/• GitHub: https://github.com/• Granola: https://www.granola.ai/• How to build your second brain with ChatGPT: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-build-your-pm-second-brain• Intercom: https://www.intercom.com/• Lindy: https://www.lindy.ai/• Lovable: https://lovable.dev/• Manus: https://manus.im/• Microsoft Copilot: https://copilot.microsoft.com/• Midjourney: https://www.midjourney.com/home• Monday.com: https://www.monday.com• n8n: https://n8n.io/• Noam Segal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noamsegal/• Notion: https://www.notion.com/• Perplexity: https://www.perplexity.ai/• Replit: https://replit.com/• v0: https://v0.app/• Zapier: https://zapier.com/Read the newsletterhttps://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ai-tools-are-overdelivering-resultsSubscribe to Lenny’s Newsletterhttps://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribeSubscribe• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj• Substack: https://lennysreads.com/Follow Lenny• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcastAboutWelcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

If you’re a premium subscriber, add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comIn this episode, Amir Klein, from monday.com, shares a practical, battle-tested system for building a PM “second brain”. In this episode, Amir explains exactly how to set up a ChatGPT Project with a clear personality, feed it the messy context scattered across your tools, and then put it to work—drafting sign-up forms, spinning up prototypes, and tailoring comms for every audience.Listen now: YouTube | Apple | SpotifyIn this episode, you’ll learn:• Why context is the PM’s heaviest mental load• How to build a second brain that challenges you and mirrors your taste• The wealth of information your second brain can absorb• A simple loop to keep your second brain fresh• Three end-to-end use case examplesReferences• Amir Klein• Build your personal AI copilot• ChatGPT• Claude• Figma• Gemini• Google Docs• Lovable• monday.com• Notion• Reddit• SlackRead the newsletterhttps://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-build-your-pm-second-brainSubscribe to Lenny’s Newsletterhttps://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribeSubscribe• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj• Substack: https://lennysreads.com/Follow Lenny• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcastAboutWelcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

If you’re a premium subscriber, add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comHow do certain early employees keep picking generational companies—again and again—before the rest of the world catches on? In this episode, we distill lessons from five such super-spotters whose resumes include Palantir, OpenAI, Facebook, Stripe, Linear, Figma, Notion, Slack, Box, Spotify, and Dropbox. You’ll learn the three rare traits they all look for, and how you can apply these signals to your own career and company-building.In this episode, you’ll learn:• How “ludicrous” ambition shows up• The underrated signs of founder greatness• How to evaluate an early product• What a “Jurassic Park” moment in startups means• How to think about risk as an early employee• Tactics to “optimize for serendipity” when breaking into rocket shipsReferences:• Alex Karp: https://x.com/PalantirTech• Bob McGrew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobmcgrew/• Box: https://www.box.com/• Christina Cordova: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristinajcordova/• Daniel Ek: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-ek-1b52093a/• Dylan Field: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanfield/• Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/• Figma: https://www.figma.com/• Hacker News: https://news.ycombinator.com/• Ivan Zhao: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanhzhao/• Linear: https://linear.app/• Meter: https://www.meter.com/• Notion: https://www.notion.so/• OpenAI: https://openai.com/• Palantir: https://www.palantir.com/• Patrick Collison: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickcollison/• PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/• Rasmus Andersson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rasmusandersson/• Sean Rose: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-a-rose/• Slack: https://slack.com/• Soleio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soleio/• Spotify: https://www.spotify.com/• Stewart Butterfield: https://www.linkedin.com/in/butterfield/• Stripe: https://stripe.com/• Terrence Rohan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrencerohan/Read the newsletter:• https://open.substack.com/pub/lenny/p/how-to-spot-a-top-1-startup-earlySubscribe to Lenny’s Newsletter:• https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribeSubscribe:• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj• Substack: https://lennysreads.com/Follow Lenny:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcastAbout:Welcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

AI gave everyone speed - but that same speed flooded every distribution channel. Search traffic's down, inboxes are overrun, and even virality is harder when everyone's shipping quickly.In this episode, Emily Kramer reveals the strategy behind today's breakout companies: ecosystem. Instead of going direct, win through partners, creators, communities, and integrations that already have your audience's trust. If you're still relying on the old playbook in an AI-saturated world, this episode will help you rewire your strategy.In this episode, you’ll learn:• Why classic inbound, outbound, virality, events, and lifecycle are weakening in the AI era• What an ecosystem flywheel is and how it compounds credibility and distribution• The six most common ecosystem motions• How fast-growing teams such as Supabase, Clay, Lovable, and more are using an ecosystem strategy• How to pick partners using “coverage” and “composition” instead of vanity reach• What a win-win-win relationship looks like in an ecosystem• How to start an ecosystem strategy, prove it, then expand without diluting the signalReferences:• Aaron Cort: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaroncort/• AirOps: https://www.airops.com/• Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/• Arrows: https://www.arrows.to/• Astro: https://www.astro.build/• Baseten: https://www.baseten.co/• Carta: https://carta.com/• Clay: https://www.clay.com/• Clio: https://www.clio.com/• Craft Ventures: https://www.craftventures.com/• Daniel Zarick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielzarick/• Elena Verna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenaverna/• ElevenLabs: https://elevenlabs.io/• Emily Kramer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilykramer/• Emily Kramer's newsletter: https://newsletter.mkt1.co/• Ethan Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanls/• Gamma: https://gamma.app/• GC AI: https://gc.ai/• Graphite: https://graphite.dev/• Grant Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantslee/• HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/• Lenny's Product Pass: https://lennysproductpass.com/• Lovable: https://lovable.dev/• Mercury: https://mercury.com/• Midjourney: https://www.midjourney.com/• Navattic: https://www.navattic.com/• Supabase: https://supabase.com/• “The ultimate guide to AEO” Lenny’s Podcast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT7kq-R3Gjc• Tom Orbach: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomorbach/• Tracksuit: https://www.tracksuit.com/• Upstart: https://www.upstart.com/• Vanta: https://www.vanta.com/• Vercel: https://vercel.com/• Wiz: https://www.wiz.io/Read the newsletterhttps://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ecosystem-is-the-next-big-growthSubscribe to Lenny’s Newsletterhttps://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribeSubscribe• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj• Substack: https://lennysreads.com/Follow Lenny• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcastAboutWelcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

If you’re a premium subscriber, add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comYour product builder’s starter pack keeps getting better. In this episode, we continue the guide to getting maximum value from the Product Pass, with seven tools that have reshaped how I prototype, research, take notes, manage email, and move faster every single day.There’s also a new perk for Insiders: 40% off Stripe Atlas to go from idea to incorporated startup without the tax/legal slog.In this episode, you’ll learn• Why Lovable has become my go-to for vibe-coding apps and prototypes• How Bolt plugs into frontier coding agents so you can keep your favorite setup and still ship fast• How Granola quietly captures meetings from your device audio and turns notes into shareable, searchable summaries• What makes ChatPRD a PM-native copilot for specs, templates, and Linear workflows• Five Superhuman power moves beyond inbox zero• Everyday Raycast workflows that make it an instant Spotlight replacement• Why Perplexity’s Comet browser became my default for deep research and agentic browsing• Plus a bunch of practical examples that you can copyReferences:• Anton Osika: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonosika/• Bolt: https://bolt.new/• “Building Lovable” podcast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZtGxNs9AVg• ChatGPT: https://openai.com/• ChatPRD: https://www.chatprd.ai/lenny• Claire Vo: https://clairevo.com/• Claude Code: https://www.claude.com/product/claude-code• Comet: https://www.perplexity.ai/comet• Cursor: https://cursor.com/• Eric Simons: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-simons-a464a664/• Gamma: https://gamma.app/• GitHub: https://github.com/• Granola: https://www.granola.ai/• “Inside Bolt” podcast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L22DtAHLmzs• Intercom: https://www.intercom.com/• Linear: https://linear.app/• Lovable: https://lovable.dev/• Magic Patterns: https://www.magicpatterns.com/• Perplexity: https://www.perplexity.ai/• Rahul Vohra: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulvohra/• Raycast: https://www.raycast.com/• Stripe Atlas: https://stripe.com/atlas• Superhuman: https://superhuman.com/• “Superhuman’s secret to success” podcast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0igjSRZyX-w• Tailor Labs: https://www.tailoredlabsai.com/• Read the newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/part-2-of-how-to-get-the-most-outSubscribe• Lenny’s Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj• Substack: https://lennysreads.com/Follow Lenny• X/Twitter: https://x.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcastAboutWelcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

If you’re a premium subscriber, add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comIf you’re trying to feel better, build longer, and avoid quietly poisoning yourself along the way, this episode’s for you.After a run of injuries, weird labs, and a “half-man/half-plastic” toxin screen, I went deep on cleaning up my life. Enter: Justin Mares, founder/operator (Kettle & Fire, Perfect Keto, Surely, Truemed), and meticulous health nerd who has spent hundreds of hours testing what’s actually worth buying.In this episode, we walk through Justin’s guide for safer, higher-quality living so you can stay healthy, perform your best, and continue to build amazing products.In this episode, you’ll learn:• The 80/20 of great sleep (and why temperature control and magnesium often matter most)• What to wear (and avoid) to reduce PFAS, phthalates, and dye exposure on skin• A sourcing playbook for nutrient-dense, low-toxin food• Supplements that you actually need and why• Practical toxin-mitigation at home: air, water, lighting, EMFs, kitchens, and cleaning• Low-effort swaps for everyday products (deodorant, soaps, skincare, blue-light blockers)References:• Andrew Huberman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-huberman/• Bryan Johnson: https://x.com/bryan_johnson• Chemicals in Textiles: https://www.kemi.se/en/publications/reports/2014/report-6-14-chemicals-in-textiles• How to Prevent & Treat Colds & Flu: https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/how-to-prevent-treat-colds-flu• Justin Mares: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmares/• Levels: https://www.levelshealth.com/• Rhonda Patrick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickrhonda/• Surely: https://drinksurely.com/• The Great American Poisoning: https://justinmares.substack.com/p/the-great-american-poisoning• Tim Ferriss: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timferriss/• Truemed: https://www.truemed.com/• What are EMFs?: https://andybromberg.com/rational-guide-to-emfsSleep:• Avocado mattress: https://www.avocadogreenmattress.com/• Coyuchi sheets: https://www.coyuchi.com/collections/sheet-sets• Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com/• Essentia mattress: https://myessentia.com/• Hästens: https://hastens.com/us/• Naturepedic mattress: https://www.naturepedic.com/• Woolshire pillow: https://thewoolshire.com/products/wool-pillowClothing:• Caraway: https://www.carawayhome.com/• Faherty: https://fahertybrand.com/• Industry of All Nations: https://industryofallnations.com/collections/underwear• Nads: https://nadsunder.com/• Pact: https://wearpact.com/• Paka: https://www.pakaapparel.com/• Wax London: https://waxlondon.com/collections/organic-cottonFood:• Beeswax wraps: https://www.amazon.com/Bees-Wrap-Assorted-Sustainable-Alternative/dp/B0126LMDFK• Force of Nature beef: https://forceofnature.com/products/regenerative-beef-ancestral-blend• Groundwork coffee: https://www.groundworkcoffee.com/collections/regenerative-organic-certified• Jacob protein bar: https://eatjacob.com/• Kettle & Fire bone broth: http://kettleandfire.com/• Maui Nui meat sticks: https://mauinuivenison.com/products/snack-membership• Maui Nui Organ Blend: https://mauinuivenison.com/products/organ-blend-supplement• Radius: https://www.eatradius.com/• White Oak Pastures meats: https://whiteoakpastures.com/Supplements:• AHCC: https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Kinoko-Platinum-AHCC-Supplement/dp/B00HG0YZMG/ref=sr_1_6_pp• Astaxanthin: https://www.amazon.com/Pure-Synergy-SuperPure%C2%AE-Astaxanthin-Antioxidant/dp/B07KX3NZJ5/• Equip protein: https://equipfoods.com/• Lineage: https://lineageprovisions.com/products/creatine-monohydrate• Momentous creatine: https://www.livemomentous.com/products/creatine-monohydrate• Momentous magnesium L-threonate: https://www.livemomentous.com/products/magnesium-threonate• Orgain: https://www.orgain.com/• Perfect Keto: https://shop.perfectketo.com/products/grass-fed-collagen-with-mct• Thorne B complex: https://www.amazon.com/Thorne-Methyl-Guard-Plus-methylation-homocysteine/dp/B00O5AHC4S/• Toku: https://tokuhealth.com/• Viraldine: https://www.amazon.com/VIRALDINE-Povidone-Iodine-Designed-Congestion-applications/dp/B0CTWWS1DKToxin mitigation:• Aquasana: https://www.aquasana.com/• Circadian bulbs: https://thehealthyhome.shop/collections/lights• Inuspheresis: https://www.inuspheresis.com/• Jaspr: https://jaspr.co/• Lightwork: https://lightworkhome.com/• Ophora: https://www.ophorawater.com/whole-home/• PowerScale: https://www.amazon.com/Powerscale-Generator-Vegetable-Multipurpose-Pesticides/dp/B0D8DM18HV/ref=sr_1_17• Proxima: https://www.proxima.health/• PuroAir: https://getpuroair.com/?utm_source=shop_truemed• Renovera: https://www.amazon.com/Renovera-Vegetable-Infant-Friendly-Powdered-Produce/dp/B07R3W8H41/• Rorra: https://rorra.com/products/countertop-system?utm_source=shop_truemed• Smart plug: https://www.amazon.com/Govee-WiFi-Outlet/dp/B08731J1L4/ref=sr_1_6• Teakhaus: https://teakhaus.com/collections/cutting-boardsEveryday items:• Alitura Meteorite scrub: https://alitura.com/collections/skincare/products

If you’re a premium subscriber, add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comClaude Code isn't just for developers - it’s actually one of the most underrated AI tools for non-technical people.In this episode, I share 50 ways to use it: decluttering your hard drive, enhancing images, synthesizing customer calls, drafting presentations, and more, all collected from 500+ stories shared by this community. If you've been sleeping on Claude Code, then this episode is your wake-up call.In this episode, you’ll learn:• Exactly how to install and launch Claude Code on Mac and Windows• Five ways I used it this month• 45 creative non-technical workflows, from file organization, to lead discovery, roadmap support, and social listening• Ten more detailed advanced Claude Code use casesReferences:• Adobe: https://www.adobe.com/• Apple: https://www.apple.com/• arXiv: https://arxiv.org/• Asana: https://asana.com/• Brex: https://www.brex.com/• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/• Claude Code: https://www.claude.com/product/claude-code• Clay: https://clay.com/• Cursor: https://cursor.sh/• Dan Shipper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danshipper/• Docker: https://www.docker.com/• Fireflies: https://fireflies.ai/• Gemini: https://gemini.google.com/• Git: https://git-scm.com/• GitHub: https://github.com/• Gmail: https://mail.google.com/• Homebrew: https://brew.sh/• Intercom: https://www.intercom.com/• Jira: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira• Linear: https://linear.app/• Mercury: https://mercury.com/• Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/• Notion: https://www.notion.com/• OpenAI: https://openai.com/• Playwright: https://playwright.dev/• Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/• Slack: https://slack.com/• VS Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/• Warp: https://www.warp.dev/• X (Twitter): https://x.com/Subscribe to Lenny’s Newsletter• Substack: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribeRead the post • Substack: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/everyone-should-be-using-claude-codeSubscribe to Lenny's ReadsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj• Substack: https://lennysreads.com/Follow Lenny• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcast To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

If you’re a premium subscriber, add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comIf feedback is a gift, why does it often feel so difficult?In this episode, we break down executive coach Jack Cohen’s evidence-based GAIN framework - a simple, memorable way to give feedback that actually lands.Whether you manage a team or want to nudge a peer, this is a step-by-step playbook for feedback that strengthens relationships, drives behavior change, and leaves people feeling supported and motivated to change.In this episode, you’ll learn:• Why we struggle to give tough feedback• How “start with the Goal” flips defensiveness into motivation• Why great feedback names Actions and Impacts, not judgments• How acknowledging your contribution disarms resistance• Scripts that make tough conversations feel collaborative• A framing that helps preserve ambition and psychological safety• A Stanford-tested “wise feedback” sentence that boosts follow-through• The 3 Ws framework to lock in change• A live case study: a VP uses GAIN to unwind a founder’s micromanaging habitReferences:• Amy Edmondson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amycedmondson/• “Breaking the cycle of mistrust: Wise interventions to provide critical feedback across the racial divide”: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-28213-001• Brian Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-e-martin-50575a2b/• Carol Dweck: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-dweck-4618236/• Cycle of conflict or cycle of connection?: https://speakerdeck.com/jackcohen/cycle-of-conflict-or-cycle-of-connection• FeedbackGPT: https://maven.com/p/6f79f8/feedback-gpt-give-feedback-people-thank-you-for• “Framing for Learning: Lessons in Successful Technology Implementation: https://www.notion.so/27d43d3a2709810a9f8de040eea2b01a?pvs=21”• How to become a supermanager with AI: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-become-a-supermanager-with• How to motivate your team for free: https://actionablewisdom.beehiiv.com/p/how-to-motivate-your-team-for-free• Jack Cohen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackadamcohen/• John Gottman: https://www.gottman.com/author/john-gottman-ph-d/• ManagerGPT: The AI Tools and Human Systems to Scale Yourself and Your Team Fast: https://maven.com/actionablefeedback/managergpt• Nischal Nadhamuni: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishchaln/• Nonviolent Communication (book): https://www.amazon.ca/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Life-Changing-Relationships/dp/189200528X• “On the elicitation of preferences for alternative therapies”: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7070445/• “Praise for intelligence can undermine children's motivation and performance: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9686450/”• Radical Candor (book): https://www.amazon.ca/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509• Satya Nadella: https://www.linkedin.com/in/satyanadella/• Sheryl Sandberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-sandberg-5126652/• Slack: https://slack.com/• Stanford University: https://www.stanford.edu/• Tal Raviv: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talsraviv/• “The effectiveness of the “But-you-are-free” technique: Meta-analysis and re-examination of the technique: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344807911_The_effectiveness_of_the_But-you-are-free_technique_Meta-analysis_and_re-examination_of_the_technique”• The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup (book): https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Dilemmas-Anticipating-Foundation-Entrepreneurship/dp/0691158304• The GAIN Feedback Template: https://maven.com/p/ad08cc/the-gain-feedback-template• Read the newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/introducing-the-gain-framework-forSubscribe• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj• Substack: https://lennysreads.comFollow Lenny• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcastAboutWelcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com