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1:02:14ENThe 28-year wait: Robert Langer on rejection, polymers, and a thousand studentsGuest Robert Langer · Host Lex FridmanThe MIT bioengineer talks with Lex Fridman about drug delivery, tissue engineering, patents, and the long path from a Folkman hypothesis to Avastin.
1:22:51ENDensity, Not Demos: Sertac Karaman on Robots That Fly and DriveGuest Sertac Karaman · Host Lex FridmanThe MIT roboticist and Optimus Ride co-founder on why sharing space with people is harder than building the machine, and why flying at transportation scale is still the tougher problem.
1:27:13ENFour Levels of Product-Market Fit: First Round's Playbook for B2B FoundersGuest Todd Jackson · Host Lenny RachitskyTodd Jackson of First Round Capital walks through a staged framework for finding product-market fit, the benchmarks for each stage, and the four Ps you can change when you're stuck.
1:21:25ENStrategy Before Goals: Ravi Mehta's Product Strategy Stack, Tinder Lessons and Selective MicromanagementGuest Ravi Mehta · Host Lenny RachitskyFormer Tinder CPO Ravi Mehta on how startups differ from big companies, how to layer mission, strategy, roadmap and goals, and how product leaders can grow.
55:51ENHumble, Customer-Obsessed and Relentless: Inside DoorDash's CultureGuest Keith Yandell · Host Lenny RachitskyDoorDash executive Keith Yandell explains how the company hires for culture, leads through crises, and manages people, from WeDash deliveries to a "how to work with me" document.
1:21:48ENSeeing Like a Designer: Jessica Hische on Logos, Brands and Knowing When Good Enough Is EnoughGuest Jessica Hische · Host Lenny RachitskyLettering artist Jessica Hische walks through her refresh of Lenny's logo and explains how founders can read type, time a rebrand and avoid overspending on brand.
1:36:49ENMission, Retention and an Owl With Attitude: How Duolingo Grew From 3 Million to 200 Million Users Without Paid AdsGuest Gina Gotthilf · Host Lenny RachitskyFormer Duolingo growth lead Gina Gotthilf on organic growth, brand voice, her career B-sides, and why she is betting on Latin American startups.
1:34:36ENFounder Is an Attitude, CEO Is a Craft: Jonathan Lowenhar on Failure Modes, Magic Box Exits and HiringGuest Jonathan Lowenhar · Host Lenny RachitskyEnjoy The Work's Jonathan Lowenhar lays out the skills founders must learn to become CEOs, from avoiding common failure modes to selling a company, hiring, go-to-market and trusting intuition.
1:26:31ENSelling in a Downturn: Bravado CEO Sahil Mansuri on Forecasts, Comp Plans, Retention and Warm IntrosGuest Sahil Mansuri · Host Lenny RachitskySahil Mansuri, founder of the sales community Bravado, lays out how B2B founders should change quotas, compensation, customer focus and deal-closing tactics when the market turns.
1:48:35ENDon't Compete for the 24%: Christopher Lochhead on Designing and Dominating Your Own CategoryGuest Christopher Lochhead · Host Lenny RachitskyThe self-styled Godfather of Category Design explains why the "better" product usually loses, how to reframe a problem with new language, and how to launch with word of mouth.
1:22:34ENName It, Position It, Give It a Personality: A Startup Brand Playbook from Gmail and Square Veteran Arielle JacksonGuest Arielle Jackson · Host Lenny RachitskyArielle Jackson explains how early-stage founders should pick a name, define purpose, positioning and personality, land press coverage, and know when to hire a marketer.
1:20:53ENDon't Die: Y Combinator's Dalton Caldwell on Keeping a Startup AliveGuest Dalton Caldwell · Host Lenny RachitskyThe YC group partner on pivots, tarpit ideas, why investors say no, how to talk to customers, and what he hopes founders will build next.
1:23:46ENSurviving the Next Crisis: Waze Co-Founder Uri Levine on Cash Shocks, Lost Product-Market Fit and Never Giving UpGuest Uri Levine · Host Lenny RachitskyUri Levine explains how founders should diagnose a startup crisis, act within days, keep their teams on board and decide whether to pivot or shut down.
1:17:35ENStick With It: Chris Hutchins on Big Product Bets and Building a Top Business PodcastGuest Chris Hutchins · Host Lenny RachitskyThe former Wealthfront product lead behind All the Hacks explains how to run bold bets inside a company and how to launch, grow and sustain a podcast.
1:33:55ENGetting Startup Press Without a Rolodex: A Practical PR PlaybookGuest Emilie Gerber · Host Lenny RachitskyPR agency founder Emilie Gerber walks through which outlets to target, how to write a three-sentence pitch, and how to judge whether press is worth the effort.
1:24:56ENThe Social Radar: How Jessica Livingston Read Founders in Ten-Minute InterviewsGuest Jessica Livingston · Host Lenny RachitskyThe Y Combinator co-founder explains what she looked for in early-stage founders, the Airbnb interview she never forgot, and why she started her own podcast.
1:10:54ENFuel and Engine: A Practical Playbook for Hiring Your First B2B MarketerGuest Emily Kramer · Host Lenny RachitskyMarketing leader and investor Emily Kramer explains how to diagnose what your startup's marketing needs, who to hire, and how product and marketing teams can work well together.
1:41:44ENZig When Others Zag: HubSpot Co-founder Dharmesh Shah on Simplicity, Culture as a Product and Building a Company Around Your StrengthsGuest Dharmesh Shah · Host Lenny RachitskyThe HubSpot co-founder and CTO explains why he has never had a direct report, how he measures laughs per minute, and the first-principles habits behind HubSpot's contrarian choices.
23:57ENChips, Agents and a Reckoning: Sarah Guo and Elad Gil on the 2023 AI BoomHost Sarah Guo, Elad GilThe hosts answer listener questions on the GPU crunch, how soon enterprises will ship AI products, how to build agents, and what 2024 holds for tech valuations.
1:49:39ENNo Investors, 24 Profitable Years: Jason Fried on Staying Small, Trusting Your Gut and Making Money FirstGuest Jason Fried · Host Lenny RachitskyThe 37signals co-founder explains how a 75-person, investor-free company has out-earned far larger rivals, and why he builds products in two-person, six-week cycles.
1:01:41ENDon't Outsource the Learning: Pete Kazanjy's Case for Founder-Led SalesGuest Pete Kazanjy · Host Lenny RachitskyThe author of Founding Sales explains why B2B founders should sell for a long time themselves, how to know when to hire, and how to get better at selling.
1:16:57ENHow Ramp Reached $100M in Revenue with 50 People: Velocity, Single-Threaded Teams and Context Over ControlGuest Geoff Charles · Host Lenny RachitskyRamp's VP of Product Geoff Charles explains to Lenny Rachitsky how a culture of velocity, tiny focused teams and radically empowered engineers drove one of the fastest SaaS growth runs on record.
1:25:36ENMake Things People Want: What 600 YC Startups Taught Gustaf AlströmerGuest Gustaf Alstromer · Host Lenny RachitskyA Y Combinator group partner and early Airbnb growth lead explains why startups fail, what successful founders share, and why climate tech has become a real business.
1:24:57ENSelling the Opportunity: How Founders Take Enterprise Sales From $1M to $10M ARRGuest Jen Abel · Host Lenny RachitskyJen Abel explains why startups should chase tier-one logos, price near $100K, hire salespeople who can "cosplay a founder", and sell vision instead of problems.
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