A behind-the-scenes interview with Lenny Rachitsky on building his newsletter and podcast
Lenny's Podcast bonus episode in which Lenny Rachitsky is interviewed by his wife, Michelle Rial, about building his newsletter and podcast. The episode is sponsored by WorkOS and Metaview. Lenny traces the path from leaving Airbnb with four conventional plans to following the pull of writing, the Medium post that took off, a friend's nudge to double down on the rare overlap of enjoyment and usefulness, the nine-month point where the Lindy effect convinced him to keep going, and launching the paywall that made the newsletter a business. He also talks about raising his happiness baseline, the stress of running a treadmill business, and the frightening birth of his son, while Michelle explains how her chart books and her children's book Charts for Babies come from real experience. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover most of the conversation, but this summary highlights the newsletter journey and the lessons only, so lighter segments such as the misophonia sound-ranking game are not summarized. These are Lenny's and Michelle's own recollections and opinions, not business or mental-health advice.
Executive Summary (TL;DR)
Lenny's Podcast bonus episode in which Lenny Rachitsky is interviewed by his wife, Michelle Rial, about building his newsletter and podcast. The episode is sponsored by WorkOS and Metaview. Lenny traces the path from leaving Airbnb with four conventional plans to following the pull of writing, the Medium post that took off, a friend's nudge to double down on the rare overlap of enjoyment and usefulness, the nine-month point where the Lindy effect convinced him to keep going, and launching the paywall that made the newsletter a business. He also talks about raising his happiness baseline, the stress of running a treadmill business, and the frightening birth of his son, while Michelle explains how her chart books and her children's book Charts for Babies come from real experience. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover most of the conversation, but this summary highlights the newsletter journey and the lessons only, so lighter segments such as the misophonia sound-ranking game are not summarized. These are Lenny's and Michelle's own recollections and opinions, not business or mental-health advice.