Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

By: Lenny Rachitsky
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  • Summary

  • Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover concrete, actionable, and tactical advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.

    www.lennysnewsletter.com
    Lenny Rachitsky
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Episodes
  • Becoming a super IC: Lessons from 12 years as a PM individual contributor | Tal Raviv (Product Lead at Riverside)

    Becoming a super IC: Lessons from 12 years as a PM individual contributor | Tal Raviv (Product Lead at Riverside)
    Sep 22 2024

    Tal Raviv is a product manager at Riverside, where he joined as its first PM. Over his 12-year career as an individual contributor, Tal has been an early PM at Patreon, AppsFlyer, and Wix, working in consumer growth, developer API platforms, and pricing. He started his career by co-founding a profitable SaaS company and also volunteers as a surf instructor for people with disabilities. In our conversation, Tal shares:

    • Why he has chosen to stay an individual contributor rather than moving into management

    • The rise of “super ICs” and how companies can support this career path

    • Advice for succeeding as a long-term IC product manager

    • How he uses AI to enhance his productivity

    • How to build self-reliant teams and make yourself redundant

    • Lessons from failures

    • Much more

    —

    Brought to you by:

    • Gamma—A new way to present, powered by AI

    • WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs

    • Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments

    —

    Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-super-ic-pm-tal-raviv

    —

    Where to find Tal Raviv:

    • X: https://x.com/talraviv

    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talsraviv/

    • Maven course: https://maven.com/tal-raviv/product-manager-productivity-system/

    —

    Where to find Lenny:

    • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

    • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

    —

    In this episode, we cover:

    (00:00) Tal’s background

    (02:24) Choosing to stay an IC product manager

    (07:05) The value of IC roles

    (08:31) Compensation and career path

    (12:37) Advice for companies on creating space for ICs

    (14:33) Leveraging AI for productivity

    (22:44) Build your personal PM productivity system

    (37:39) Contrarian opinions and insights

    (44:32) Book smart vs. street smart decision-making

    (51:51) There’s no one right way to get things done

    (57:03) Failure corner

    (01:19:04) Lightning round

    (01:26:50) Living through conflict

    —

    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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    1 hr and 31 mins
  • Rethinking SEO in the age of AI | Eli Schwartz (SEO advisor, author)

    Rethinking SEO in the age of AI | Eli Schwartz (SEO advisor, author)
    Sep 19 2024

    Eli Schwartz is a leading SEO consultant and the author of Product-Led SEO. He has worked with industry giants like Zapier, Tinder, Coinbase, Quora, LinkedIn, and WordPress to build and execute global SEO strategies that significantly enhanced their organic visibility at scale. In our conversation, Eli shares:

    • How AI and LLMs are reshaping the SEO landscape

    • Why you should be focused on mid-funnel SEO strategies

    • How to determine if SEO is the right approach for your business

    • Why SEO should be treated as a product rather than just a marketing tactic

    • SEO myths

    • The future of search in light of recent legal challenges faced by Google

    • Much more

    —

    Brought to you by:

    • Pendo—The only all-in-one product experience platform for any type of application

    • Brave Search—A smarter way to search

    • OneSchema—Import CSV data 10x faster

    —

    Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/rethinking-seo-in-the-age-of-ai-eli-schwartz

    —

    Where to find Eli Schwartz:

    • X: https://x.com/5le

    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwartze/

    • Website: https://www.elischwartz.co/

    • Newsletter: https://www.productledseo.com/

    —

    Where to find Lenny:

    • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

    • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

    —

    In this episode, we cover:

    (00:00) Eli’s background

    (02:10) The impact of AI on SEO strategies

    (11:34) Understanding search intent

    (15:30) Real-world impact and structured vs. unstructured data

    (20:19) Top-of-funnel vs mid-funnel SEO strategies

    (22:57) Case studies

    (31:29) Steps for getting started with SEO

    (35:20) Examples of when not to focus on SEO

    (39:17) Evaluating SEO investment

    (44:00) Understanding the tradeoffs in marketing channels

    (46:23) SEO conversion metrics and expectations

    (52:09) Understanding the time horizon of SEO

    (59:37) The role of AI in content creation

    (01:05:26) AI overviews

    (01:07:40) Brand building and SEO

    (01:09:51) Programmatic vs. editorial SEO strategies

    (01:16:06) Insights from the Google antitrust verdict

    (01:20:36) Google’s dominance in search

    (01:23:52) The future of SEO and user choice

    (01:26:28) SEO myths debunked

    (01:36:58) Forecasting SEO success

    (01:44:18) The need for SEO expertise

    (01:46:26) Lightning round and closing thoughts

    —

    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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    1 hr and 55 mins
  • The things engineers are desperate for PMs to understand | Camille Fournier (author of “The Manager’s Path,” ex-CTO at Rent the Runway)

    The things engineers are desperate for PMs to understand | Camille Fournier (author of “The Manager’s Path,” ex-CTO at Rent the Runway)
    Sep 15 2024
    Camille Fournier is the author of The Manager’s Path, which many consider the definitive guide for navigating one’s career path in tech. Camille was previously the CTO of Rent the Runway, VP of Technology at Goldman Sachs, Head of Platform Engineering at Two Sigma, and Global Head of Engineering and Architecture at JPMorgan Chase. She is about to release new newest book, Platform Engineering: A Guide for Technical, Product, and People Leaders. In our conversation, we discuss:• What product managers do that annoys engineers• Why major rewrites are a trap• Why you should have fewer one-on-ones• Strategies for organizing and working with platform teams• Tips for new managers• Advice for transitioning from individual contributor to manager• Much more—Brought to you by:• DX—A platform for measuring and improving developer productivity• CommandBar—AI-powered user assistance for modern products and impatient users• Coda—The all-in-one collaborative workspace—Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/engineering-leadership-camille-fournier—Where to find Camille Fournier:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camille-fournier-9011812/• Website: https://skamille.medium.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Camille’s background(02:17) Common annoyances between PMs and engineers(07:09) Avoiding the telephone game(08:05) Hoarding ideas and over-engineering(09:55) The importance of involving engineers in ideation(11:37) The middle-person dilemma(14:21) Rewriting systems: a big trap?(20:40) Engineering leadership lessons(36:02) Moving from IC to management(40:32) One-on-one meetings(45:10) Pushing beyond comfort zones(45:27) Building a balanced work culture(48:01) Effective time management strategies(54:15) Advice for platform team success(01:02:42) Platform team responsibilities(01:04:43) When to form a platform team(01:07:02) Thriving on a platform team(01:12:48) AI corner(01:17:03) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• Platform Engineering: A Guide for Technical, Product, and People Leaders: https://www.amazon.com/Platform-Engineering-Technical-Product-Leaders/dp/1098153642/• The Manager’s Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change: https://www.amazon.com/Managers-Path-Leaders-Navigating-Growth/dp/1491973897• 97 Things Every Engineering Manager Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the Experts: https://www.amazon.com/Things-Every-Engineering-Manager-Should/dp/1492050903• Avoiding the Rewrite Trap: https://skamille.medium.com/avoiding-the-rewrite-trap-b1283b8dd39e• Levelsio on X: https://x.com/levelsio• Pieter Levels on the Lex Fridman Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFtjKbXKqbg• GraphQL: https://graphql.org/• New Blue Sun by André 3000 on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/33Ek6daAL3oXyQIV1uoItD• Musk’s 5 Steps to Cut Internal Bureaucracy at Tesla and SpaceX: https://icecreates.com/insight/musk-s-5-steps-to-cut-internal-bureaucracy-at-tesla-and-spacex-you-may-say-it-s-his-algorithm/• Ian Nowland on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inowland/• Studio Pulls ‘Megalopolis’ Trailer Using Fake Quotes from Famed Movie Critics: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/studio-pulls-megalopolis-trailer-using-fake-quotes-from-famed-movie-critics_n_66c74046e4b0f1ca469413c7• Claude 2: https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-2• What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful: https://www.amazon.com/What-Got-Here-Wont-There/dp/1401301304• When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times: https://www.amazon.com/When-Things-Fall-Apart-Difficult/dp/1611803438• Alien: Romulus: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18412256/• Whoop: https://www.whoop.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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    1 hr and 23 mins
Leadership Economics
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best product podcast

great guests, always learn so much. good quality production. if you are in tech or business, this is for you!

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