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How I built a 1M+ subscriber newsletter and top 10 tech podcast | Lenny Rachitsky

Overview

Shownote

Highlights

Transcript

Chapters

Pins

How I built a 1M+ subscriber newsletter and top 10 tech podcast | Lenny Rachitsky

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

Mar 12
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

Mar 12
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

People have been asking me to sit on the other side of the mic for a long time. With my wife’s debut children’s book, Charts for Babies, coming out next month, we figured: why not do it together? What followed was one of the most honest conversations I’ve ...

Highlights

In a heartfelt and revealing role reversal, Lenny Rachitsky sits down with his wife, author and illustrator Michelle Rial, for an unusually candid conversation—sparked by the upcoming release of her debut children’s book, *Charts for Babies*.
00:00
He thinks he'd be struggling in startup life or working as a PM at a company if he hadn't started the newsletter
04:11
Starting the newsletter wasn't part of Lenny's plan after leaving Airbnb
09:33
He launched a paywall during COVID when Airbnb seemed doomed and earned meaningful money within a month.
12:13
Because the newsletter has lasted seven years, it’s likely to last another seven under the Lindy effect
12:42
Stress levels are shaped by genetics and cognitive adjustment
14:01
I have wisdom to share
15:45
Everyone has a baseline level of happiness, and one can increase it by thinking positively, being optimistic, and practicing gratitude
19:42
Gas blowers are deeply disruptive to calm and focus
20:24
A chart is good when it makes me laugh or feel something
26:30
She started working on it, seeing it as an example of following one's pull rather than just sticking to the norm
26:59
His parents changed his legal name to Lenny during U.S. citizenship
28:54
A man in a red car held up traffic to tell Lenny he loves the podcast
33:55
LocalMine, an app on top of Foursquare that allowed users to ask questions about places, was sold to Airbnb
36:30
One prefers intentional, designer-led processes while the other embraces a chaotic, intuitive method
37:51
They miss having someone to work with on the same thing
39:38
Face blindness makes it difficult to recognize people and remember names
40:47
Fraud attacks were primarily coming from China and required immediate API fixes and platform coordination
42:54
The epidural went the wrong way, stopping the partner's heart and lungs
49:36
Optimal creativity requires a single-shot neuro-stimulation, a two-hour time limit, and a good night's sleep
51:59
John Klassen books are admired for their dark endings
54:08
Use influence and authority strategically in parenting, not just intuition
55:32
A PM should think like a CEO
1:00:58
The best things come from actual experience
1:03:44
'Charts for Babies' launches April 7th for children aged 0–4

Chapters

Introduction and role reversal
00:00
What would Lenny be doing without the newsletter?
04:06
The moments that led to starting the newsletter
07:20
Does Lenny still enjoy the work?
09:58
Stress management and misophonia
12:42
The psychedelic trip that changed everything
14:00
Online happiness course and baseline optimization
15:45
Thunder round: Lenny’s misophonia worst sounds
17:30
What makes Michelle’s charts so shareable
20:20
Where chart ideas come from (and why meditation helps)
23:55
Where does “Lenny” come from?
26:59
Being recognized in public
28:54
Early projects
31:24
Michelle and Lenny’s yin and yang
36:30
Missing office culture (but not really)
37:49
Lenny’s face blindness
39:37
The $100M fraud attack story
40:47
Michelle’s childbirth emergency
42:50
Michelle’s creative process
47:22
Lenny’s favorite children’s books
51:58
Product management lessons in parenting
54:00
Defining product management in five words
55:31
Why Michelle pivoted to children’s books
58:23
The power of iteration and real experience
1:01:30

Transcript

Lenny Rachitsky: I just sat down on this rock, on a substance of some sort. This was as I was starting the newsletter and this phrase of I have wisdom to share coming through me over and over and over. And I was just watching this crazy visualization of so...