Lenny Rachitsky
Host of Lenny's Podcast
Lenny Rachitsky is a former Airbnb Product Lead turned writer, podcaster, and angel investor. He founded the hit Substack newsletter Lenny’s Newsletter, read by hundreds of thousands for insights on product, growth, and career development, and hosts Lenny’s Podcast, where he interviews top business and product leaders. A former startup founder (Localmind, acquired by Airbnb), Lenny also runs a product job board, an active online community, and invests in startups like Figma and Webflow.
Insights (11)
Palantir PMs Become Founders at Highest Rate
case studies lessons30% of Palantir PMs later found companies and alumni top global rankings for promotions and head-of-product roles, showing strong talent development.
Client-Funded Problem Solving Becomes High-Margin Product
growth scaling tacticsPalantir solved a single client’s problem, funded by that client, then generalised the solution into a product it could sell broadly with 80%+ margins.
Superhost Program Delighted Hosts Without Moving Metrics
case studies lessonsChip Connelly pushed for status differentiation; despite fears, Superhost delighted hosts but didn’t shift core metrics.
Values Should Reflect Reality, Not Aspirations
case studies lessonsLenny recounts Airbnb removing the "simplify" value after admitting the company wasn’t actually good at simplification, keeping values truthful.
PMs With Researchers Create More Value Than PMs On UX Teams
leadership perspectivesAnthropic and OpenAI found greater leverage by pairing product managers directly with model researchers instead of only UX teams.
Propose Solutions to Business Problems That Expand Your Role
leadership perspectivesFocus on what your manager and business are struggling with and propose solutions that expand your role.
Vertical Workflow Understanding Creates Defensible AI Products
strategic thinkingDeeply understanding a vertical workflow and solving its specific problems creates differentiated, defensible AI products.
Clarify Who Your Company Values Exclude
leadership perspectivesWhen crafting company values you must specify who will not thrive, intentionally excluding misaligned hires to strengthen culture.
Delight Framework: Remove Friction, Anticipate Needs, Exceed Expectations
strategic thinkingDelight comes from removing friction, anticipating needs, exceeding expectations, and giving something unexpected.
Fast Thinking Teams for AI Success
leadership perspectivesShift company culture to move fast, ship early, play with latest models daily, and frequently reset expectations about AI’s accelerating pace.
Product Team Owns Activation at Lovable
growth scaling tacticsLenny notes Lovable embeds activation goals within the AI product team, avoiding a separate growth team and keeping focus on the magic moment.