Working notes from product people

Ask the people who’ve done it.

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Answers quote and cite the source notes

01 — TopicsFourteen drawers, sorted.

3 more drawersBrowse all 14 topics →
Open drawer · 02

Discovery & customer research

536 notes · 32 people · 2005–2026
Lenny’s Newsletter · Free post♥ 123

A Three-Step Framework For Solving Problems 👌

Jun 14, 2019 · 13 min

“[](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s!zHZ!,fauto,qauto:good,flprogressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fec85cabc-5222-4a71-9e48-159f1981c07e1600x800.png) It’s 2012 and our team has just joined Airbnb. We’re tasked with building out a “social travel” experience for Airbnb travelers. The thinking is that travelers on Airbnb are siloed across the city, and if we…”

Lenny’s Newsletter · Free post♥ 363

How to develop product sense

Mar 15, 2022 · 18 min

Jules Walter argues that product sense is a learned skill rather than an innate talent, defined as consistently crafting products that have the intended impact on users through empathy and creativity. He offers four…

Lenny’s Newsletter♥ 305

How to validate your B2B startup idea

Aug 15, 2023 · 37 min
Subscriber post — summary only

Part two of a B2B startup series examines how founders validate an idea before committing. Drawing on interviews with about two dozen companies, it lays out four validation paths (manual, listening, prototype with…

@ttorres · Teresa Torres on X♥ 17
Later this month I'll be hosting two mini-workshops on the skills that I think will differentiate the best product teams from the rest. AI Evals: The New Discovery Habit 🗓️ September 23, 2026, 9am-10:30am PDT In this session, you'll get introduced to what AI evals are, you'll receive a blueprint…
Lenny’s Podcast173 min

Building product at Stripe: craft, metrics, and customer obsession

Jeff Weinstein · Jul 11, 2024
Key learnings
  • Treat a customer who takes time to complain as a rare gift; respond quickly and personally, since speed signals that you care.
  • Before investing in craft or polish, confirm the product solves a burning problem customers would pause their day for; polish…
  • Discount feedback from friends and casual users; focus on the specific target customer who has the problem and would pay to solve…
Lenny’s Podcast94 min

The ultimate guide to JTBD

Bob Moesta · Aug 24, 2023
Key learnings
  • Customers hire products to make progress in a context; understanding the context and desired outcome matters more than simply…
  • Start from the struggling moment that causes demand, since a product alone does not create demand; use those moments to guide…
  • Model switching as forces: push and pull drive change, while anxiety of the new and habit of the present hold people back, and…
Lenny’s Podcast91 min

The UX research reckoning is here

Judd Antin · Jan 4, 2024
Key learnings
  • Much research sits in a 'middle range' of questions that are interesting but rarely drive business decisions; push for macro…
  • Integrate researchers from the beginning of product processes rather than calling them in at the end as a service function; their…
  • Watch for 'user-centered performance': late-stage requests to validate assumptions or check boxes that signal customer obsession…
@ttorres · Teresa Torres on X♥ 18
Customers describe the problem right in front of them—not their wildest dreams. That's the trap Chris (Aha!) sees teams fall into during discovery. "It's very difficult for them to imagine that you might deliver their wildest dreams." The real skill in product discovery is extrapolation: taking…

02 — FrameworksModels, annotated.

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03 — PeopleWho wrote the notes.

All 10 people →

04 — QuestionsAnswered from the notes.

All 32 questions →

Where notes come from

NewsletterLenny’s Newsletter106 free posts, with a longer excerpt.
Subscriber postsSummary only229 paid posts: our summary, at most two short quotes, and a link.
PodcastLenny’s Podcast322 episodes, each with 5–8 key learnings and timestamps.
EssaysSVPG · The Beautiful Mess499 essays from Marty Cagan and John Cutler.
Substack & blogsShreyas · Julie · Jason · Hiten577 essays and posts from independent writers.
XPosts on product58 posts, filtered for product relevance.