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Lenny Rachitsky Profile picture
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15 Jul, 5 tweets, 8 min read
Interesting that all the why now's I've seen fall into 3 buckets:
1. Adoption or advancements in an internet platform (e.g. smartphone, web browser)
2. A change in people’s behavior (e.g. e-commerce, pandemic)
3. Changes in regulation <-- Rare

More in thread 🧵
1/ Adoption/advancements in internet platforms:
a. Smartphones: @Instagram, @Snapchat, @WhatsApp
b. Web browsers: @Figma, @Gmail, @Asana
c. Broadband: @Netflix, @Spotify, @Twitch, @YouTube
d. APIs: @Superhuman, @Uber, @lyft
2/ A change in people’s behavior:
a. Growth of e-commerce: @Shopify, @PayPal, @amazon, @eBay, @Etsy, @thrasio
b. Growth of online sites: @Stripe, @AWS, @Google
c. Pandemic: @Clubhouse, @Nextdoor, @Hopin, @onepeloton, @Zoom
3/ Changes in regulation:
a. Less regulation: @Eaze, @Uber, @Lyft, @ForCerebral
b. More regulation: @TrustVanta, @security_pal
4/ At the same time, tons of companies don't have a real "why now":

✔️ Airbnb
✔️ Pinterest
✔️ DoorDash
✔️ Gitlab
✔️ Instacart
✔️ Facebook
✔️ Cameo
✔️ SpaceX
✔️ Netflix (the DVD version)

• • •

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More from @lennysan

Lenny Rachitsky Profile picture
13 Jul
Labor marketplaces are exploding right now as people re-enter the workforce. But most quickly end up being supply constrained. I dug into how the fastest-growing labor marketplaces acquired their early supply (e.g. the people). Here's what I found 👇
lennysnewsletter.com/p/labor-market…
2/ Labor marketplaces are especially interesting because instead of connecting people to products, they connect people to *people*. How cool!

Some examples: @The_Mom_Project @roo_vet @instawork @JoinIncredible @Shift @UsePared @ClipboardHealth @StaffyApp @thumbtack @Hired_HQ
3/ I found that there are primarily four ways these marketplaces kickstart their supply growth:

1. Job boards
Posting a generic role to an existing job board like Indeed, ZipRecruiter, or Craigslist. For example
Read 23 tweets
Lenny Rachitsky Profile picture
6 Jul
Hiring is hard. I asked a bunch of founders who are crushing it at hiring what they believe contributes most to their hiring success. Five consistent themes emerged:
1. Captivating vision
2. A++ early team
3. Putting in the work
4. Founder’s network
5. Pitching prowess

*Read on*
1/ Captivating vision

“Articulating a crystal clear and ambitious vision makes it easy for candidates to visualize what they are building towards for the next five years.” — @ktizzel_, @Snackpass
2/ A++ early team

“The best talent wants to work with the best talent. It will be very tempting to bring someone on if they are in front of you and ready to go, but it will have longer-term negative consequences.” —@nick_handel, @transformio
Read 11 tweets
Lenny Rachitsky Profile picture
22 Jun
When raising money, investors are increasingly looking for your unique distribution advantage—how you get to your target market more cheaply and quickly than your competition.

Here are 7 types of distribution advantages 🧵 Image
1. Starting with a pre-existing audience

Companies like @kyliecosmetics (Kylie Jenner), @Square (Jack Dorsey), @Superhuman (Rahul Vohra), @goop (Gwyneth Paltrow), and @Tesla (Elon Musk) springboarded off their founder’s pre-existing audience, giving them an immediate advantage.
2. Developing a unique viral loop

I previously wrote about these magical loops, and one that always comes to mind is @faire_wholesale where the team found a way to incentive their supply to drive their demand, and their demand to drive their supply.
lennysnewsletter.com/p/magical-grow… Image
Read 9 tweets
Lenny Rachitsky Profile picture
15 Jun
This week: I've collected my ten favorite PM interview questions + a bunch of generalist questions that you can use with anyone. A few examples in the thread below 👇
lennysnewsletter.com/p/my-favorite-…
1/ What's the most important or impactful product you shipped? What made it so important or impactful?

What to look for:
✔️ Have they actually launched something significant
✔️ How do they measure impact/importance
✔️ How much responsibility they had in the project
2/ Pick a project you’re proud of that took 3-9 months. Walk me through it from beginning to end. I’ll ask questions along the way. [Give this ~7-10 mins]

What to look for (and dig into):
✔️ How they aligned around the priorities, success criteria, and a timeline
Read 6 tweets
Lenny Rachitsky Profile picture
8 Jun
How do people discover new products? I posit there are seven ways. A thread 🧵
1. Friends or colleagues tell you about it

At a party, at your home, at the office, over email, etc. Generally, this is free and very organic (e.g., “I LOVE my new spatula, check it out!”), but it can also be incentivized through a referral program or even an MLM program.
2. You come across it organically while browsing online

The next best (aka cheapest) way to learn of new products. e.g. Seeing a social media post, press, influencers organically sharing it, comments in a forum, Wirecutter, organic search results, etc.
Read 9 tweets
Lenny Rachitsky Profile picture
27 May
The job description for a Product Manager, based on reviewing PM career ladders at 20+ companies 🧵
1/ Leadership

"Demonstrates ability to effectively motivate a large team. Can successfully start and direct self-sustaining teams."

"Inspires teams to achieve great outcomes. Pushes team when they need to be pushed, and supports teams when they need support."
2/ Execution

"Focuses, runs, and plans across a series of teams that operate seamlessly with minimal blockage, minimal noise, and a rapid clip of high-quality delivery. Others frequently turn to this person to understand how to run highly productive teams."
Read 13 tweets

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