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Lenny's Newsletter is a weekly advice column focusing on product development, growth strategies, career advice, and workplace challenges. It incorporates insights from leading companies like Duolingo, Notion, and Shopify, offering actionable strategies for product-market fit, user engagement, and leveraging AI in product management.

Product Development Growth Strategy Career Advancement AI and Machine Learning User Engagement Product-Market Fit Workplace Culture Startups and Venture Capital

Top posts of the year

And their main takeaways

How to describe your business as an equation

7567 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
💼 Business SaaS Consumer Marketplaces
  1. Every business can be distilled into a simple equation to understand its core aspects.
  2. Defining a business equation aligns teams, focuses efforts, and identifies leverage points for impact.
  3. Different business models like B2B SaaS, B2C, marketplaces, and DTC/e-commerce have specific equation examples to consider.

How to pass any first-round interview (even in a terrible talent market)

5228 implied HN points • 04 Jul 23
🚌 Education Interview Preparation Career development Professional Skills Personal Growth
  1. First-round interviews are designed to filter out candidates who may not be a good fit for the role.
  2. Prepare for interviews by organizing your career story, walking down memory lane, and learning behavioral frameworks.
  3. Ask high-quality questions at the end of the interview to showcase your interest and stand out as a candidate.

The Magic Loop

4559 implied HN points • 19 Sep 23
💼 Business Career growth Personal Development
  1. The Magic Loop is a framework for rapid career growth with five basic steps.
  2. The core Loop consists of doing your job well, asking your manager how you can help, doing what they ask, asking for work that aligns with your career goals, and repeating the cycle.
  3. Building a cooperative relationship with your manager through the Magic Loop can lead to career advancement and mutual benefits.
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Your startup idea probably isn’t venture-scale

3537 implied HN points • 16 May 23
💼 Business Startups Venture Capital Entrepreneurship Market Analysis Investment Strategies
  1. Having a venture-scale startup idea involves aiming for $100 million annual revenue and $1 billion+ valuation in 10 years.
  2. Venture-scale investors look for a large market, a scalable business model, high growth potential, the ability to turn capital into growth, and a path to going public.
  3. Not all startup ideas need to be venture-scale; many ideas can still build a great revenue-generating business without the pressure and expectations of venture capital.

Adding a work trial to your interview process

1336 implied HN points • 30 Jan 24
💼 Business Recruitment Process Company Culture
  1. A work trial in the interview process simulates actual work and helps in gauging a candidate's fit and skills.
  2. Work trials provide more insights on candidates' performance and dedication compared to traditional interviews.
  3. Good trial projects involve candidates working on real tasks similar to what they would do in the actual role.