Framework · 3 notes · discussed by Howie Liu, Marty Cagan, Teresa Torres

Founder Mode

Every note in the archive that names Founder Mode: summaries, key takeaways and links to the original essays, episodes and posts. Ask a question below to get a cited answer from just these notes’ authors.

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Lenny’s Podcast121 min

How we restructured Airtable’s entire org for AI

Howie Liu · Aug 31, 2025
Key learnings
  • Leaders should stay close to the product details, since in AI-era products the interaction design and underlying behavior are the…
  • Use AI products constantly, even multiple times an hour, and build small weekend projects to understand what models can do and…
  • Ask whether you would build the same mission from scratch as an AI-native company; if your existing assets don't give a real…
SVPG · Marty CaganSep 9, 2024

Coaching Founder Mode

Sep 9, 2024 · 11 min

Marty Cagan argues that when companies grow, boards often push founders to hand over leadership to professional managers, but the stronger path is to coach founders into strong product leaders. He contrasts two failure…