Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth
00:55:10 · Hector Serrano, Lenny Rachitsky
[00:55:10] S1: things like [00:55:11] S0: that. Awesome. And you know, like if you think about it, it makes so much sense why this would work. An influencer innately is someone that influences you to do something. You're basically getting influencerscreators to create content that pitches the product, and then you put them in people's feed through paid ads, and I get why it works because they're there trying to convince them how [00:55:31] S1: awesome also think that a good distinction as well is, like, it's not just an influencer or a creator. I almost think that creators with no following end up being better investments for brands because influencers kind of were seen now as sellouts a lot of the time and like when you see a big face or a big celebrity like selling a product, it's like, oh my gosh. This person has been selling me things for like the last ten years. I know she's just getting a bag or he's just getting a bag, and they're not really genuine. And there's something about, like, not really knowing who the person is, and they're not famous. They don't have a lot of followers. And if you have, like, these partnership ads coming from their account, it just feels a lot more genuine as well. So [00:56:06] S0: just wanted It's feel that like the less they look like an influencer. [00:56:09] S1: Exactly.
00:56:09 · Hector Serrano, Lenny Rachitsky
[00:56:09] S1: Exactly. [00:56:10] S0: The less they look like they're trying to convince you and they're just talking like a regular human about how awesome your product is. I get why that would work. Like what I think about right now is there's that survey that someone did a while ago of just what do want to be when you grow up, and for young people it was like creator, influencer versus [00:56:26] S1: Yeah, like stream. I think a lot people were saying they want be a streamer, a live streamer. Streamer versus [00:56:30] S0: like astronaut or lawyer. Yeah. And so you know, this is a career path is what you're describing. This is a way you're making money doing this. A lot of people are actually making money, being a So creator for people listening that are like wait, maybe this could be a career for me someday, maybe I should explore this creator life, Any advice for someone that's embarking on this? Because for many people, it may feel like I will never be as great as Hector just talking off the cuff on a video and looking interesting. Any advice for someone that's trying to explore this path and do better?
00:57:00 · Hector Serrano
[00:57:00] S1: I think the best advice would be to stop looking for advice. It's... It sounds it sounds dumb, but a lot of times I'll have a lot of friends reach out and be like, hey. I wanna get started. And I've had this happen for, like, maybe the last three years where people are like, hey. I wanna get started, I wanna start making videos like you. And I hop on a call with them for, two hours. I send them over a bunch of different guides, PDFs, things I've made, etcetera, for how they can get started, and they don't do anything with it. And it's like, at the end of the day, if if you're a person who's gonna ask before doing, you're probably not gonna succeed. And even the best people... I've I've had the privilege of working with a lot of the most famous podcasters or influencers or celebrities. And a lot of these people also stutter, and they also have to refilm things. And they have, like, specific things that they do to, like, lock back in, whether it's, like, weird noises they make with their mouth or, like, they fidget with their hands or they have, like, a phrase they repeat over and over again. Or I've I've even seen some creators where they start stuttering a lot after they've been doing the same script over and over again, and they'll put a pen in their mouth and will, like, open their mouth bigger and, like, talk and announce... Annunciate. Is that how you say it? Annunciate the words. Mhmm. Like, I guess, more. And then when they stop and they take the pen out of their mouth, then they would have pronounced it better. So it's like it's like a a natural thing as a creator. And, like, even if you're doing this for five, ten, fifteen years, there's gonna be moments where you have to cut the video or you're gonna stutter and you're gonna have to refilm for 10 times, and you might cuss out your camera and turn it off, but it's just like turn it back on and keep filming sort of thing. Yeah, that'd be my advice, just get started and stop looking for more advice. There's no better way to learn to get creative than just turning on the camera and posting.
00:58:33 · Lenny Rachitsky, Hector Serrano
[00:58:33] S0: I love that advice. And what I'm also hearing is you don't have to, like, one, you don't see how much people struggle doing this stuff. Like, you see this polished video, and you don't know they have to put a pen in their mouth for fifteen minutes first. [00:58:46] S1: Or cuts out their camera. Yeah. Like, even even my video that that went kind of viral on x, like, I think it's, what, a fifteen minute cut? It was probably... I did two cuts before that. That would probably take thirty minutes. And then I did that last one, which is probably, again, like, thirty minutes, and then I packaged it into a nice video. And it's like, I do this for a living, and I've managed our tribe group for the last seven months, and I know it like the like the back of my hand or whatever. And even then, I still struggle, like, going through and putting my thoughts concisely and going through everything, but it's not perfect, but I put the message out, I gave some value, and people enjoyed it. And, yeah, I don't think I don't think it needs to be perfect. [00:59:26] S0: That's so great to hear because watching that video, you're just so chill, so relaxed, just sitting there talking with a little iPad and, like, how... Yeah. People see that are like, I will never be as good at this. So that's really helpful to hear. When I think about starting to create a, being a content creator, feel like I need to get a little fuzzy mic or something. Feel like the step one or a tiny little iPhone. [00:59:43] S1: Yeah, it's a Canon of it's a Canon of having to.
00:59:43 · Hector Serrano, Lenny Rachitsky
[00:59:43] S1: Yeah, it's a Canon of it's a Canon of having to. [00:59:46] S0: That's right. You're not a creator unless you have a tiny fuzzy little mic. Yeah. Let me ask you one final question along these lines. Say someone is like, amazing. I'm gonna do this. We're gonna commit to this. We're gonna hire. We're gonna find someone to run it. What are some of the most common mistakes you find companies people make when they're starting on this paid EGC route?
01:00:05 · Hector Serrano
[01:00:05] S1: I think a lot of the times is people will typically look in the wrong places and will maybe put out offers online or on LinkedIn or whatever with too high of salaries or too high, like, I guess, like, requirements, and you're not gonna end up attracting the best people. Like, if you put out an offer where you're gonna pay on a... You're like, oh, these people who are running UGC campaigns are in super high demand. I'm gonna put out a job listing for 250 k, 200 k base salary, generous equity. You're gonna end up attracting the wrong type of people. Like, when I joined Wispr and went to... Joined Wispr, I can tell you we were hurting nowhere near that. We were interns, and we're just hungry kids who wanted to learn and wanted to grow and, again, had some experience with content. And I think if you just think that throwing money out there and looking for someone with the best grades or the best school or the best experience isn't gonna get you the best hire to run this for you, you're in for a rude awakening. And, yeah, I would focus on just finding a scrappy kid who's hungry and willing to learn and, like, I don't know, you just get a good feeling from them. Like, yeah, I I was talking to Tanay recently as well the other day. Our first call... So I had a first call with Julia, which she was, like, leading our marketing team initially, one of those, like, four people. And then I had a second call with Tanay, and I remember, like, mind you, they're hiring me as a UGC creator. I'm 19 years old. I've never worked in a startup, and I've probably... I was not earning much money. And I told Tanay, like, I was like, I want equity in Wispr. And Tanay laughed and was like, I like you, man. And, like, maybe it was like a stupid thing to say, but, like, I think it showed how, like... I don't know. I was naive, but also hungry and, like, I believe in the company, and I wanna be part of the company. And just, like, cues like that where it's, like, a young, naive, hungry kid who just wants in and wants to learn and wants to grow. And and, yeah, I think don't look in the right place. Don't look in the wrong places because you're gonna track the wrong people.