Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth
01:17:58 · Hector Serrano, Lenny Rachitsky
Whereas if my YouTube team is really good in the post production, they put a super good fifteen minute video, then I can send that to my editors in, like, a clean slate with no titles, no music, etcetera, and they can just click the best moments and then they get into, like, really good short form pieces. And that's that's kind of the reason why I say the long form team is the most important part. And it's also the one that has the most likes. Like, YouTube videos can write... Can run on for ages and ages. Like, even on my own personal channel, I've had a video that's been up now for, like, five years. And I think, like, a year ago, it was at, like, what, 40,000 views, and now it's, 600,000 views. And it's like, YouTube videos have so... Like, the longest half life out of any platform, and it's truly insane. Like, some of the videos we post on Tanay's channel might be, like, five, 6,000,000 views in a few years. And that's what's cool about YouTube. It's like a long term investment. [01:18:44] S0: I've discovered very similar things with YouTube. It's a wondrous platform. It's maybe the only platform where you can discover... Where new people discover you at scale.
01:18:44 · Lenny Rachitsky, Hector Serrano
[01:18:44] S0: I've discovered very similar things with YouTube. It's a wondrous platform. It's maybe the only platform where you can discover... Where new people discover you at scale. [01:18:53] S1: Yeah. It's insane. And it's like a lot of these platforms, I like... Trust me, I enjoy making content, but sometimes it's like a bit demotivating when it's like, oh, you filmed one piece of content, you posted it, you gotta make the new one. And so obviously with YouTube you have to as well, but you reap those rewards as well long term. It's not like on Instagram where you post a video and in forty eight hours, it's dead. It's like a YouTube video, you put a lot of effort into it, and we look at some of the charts on today's videos and, like, we're still getting 10,000 views in, like, the last forty eight hours even though it's been, like, three months since it's been posted. Like, it's still working for us. It's still getting new eyeballs and new customers. So, yeah, YouTube is YouTube is amazing. I I I assume also with how many podcasts you have as well, like, amount of views you're getting from, like, years and years back or whatever is is pretty insane. [01:19:36] S0: Yeah. It's fun to watch videos that kind of climb the ranks over time. I had Elizabeth Stone on the podcast. She's CPTO at Netflix, and she slowly has climbed the charts to... She's right behind number one now. She's like climbing on... She's approaching number one. And so Yeah. Like, you think these are like stuck at that number, but they just keep going going.
01:19:36 · Lenny Rachitsky, Hector Serrano
[01:19:36] S0: Yeah. It's fun to watch videos that kind of climb the ranks over time. I had Elizabeth Stone on the podcast. She's CPTO at Netflix, and she slowly has climbed the charts to... She's right behind number one now. She's like climbing on... She's approaching number one. And so Yeah. Like, you think these are like stuck at that number, but they just keep going going. [01:19:55] S1: Yeah, it's like this and all of sudden it just goes like this, you're like, oh, I did not expect that. [01:19:58] S0: I don't know, I don't know, I don't get a lot of those, or it's just in flex, but it does grow, and it's like wow, I didn't know that was still growing. Anyway, this was incredible. Before we get to a very exciting lightning round, is there anything else that you wanna share or anything else you wanna kinda double down on and leave listeners with?
01:19:58 · Lenny Rachitsky, Hector Serrano
[01:19:58] S0: I don't know, I don't know, I don't get a lot of those, or it's just in flex, but it does grow, and it's like wow, I didn't know that was still growing. Anyway, this was incredible. Before we get to a very exciting lightning round, is there anything else that you wanna share or anything else you wanna kinda double down on and leave listeners with? [01:20:19] S1: I guess my last point, which I have mentioned a lot is, like, I would just urge other founders out there to, like, give a chance, like, talent. And, yeah, just just find those people, believe in them, trust in them, give them opportunities. And, yeah, like, not only will they turn into some of your best a players, but also the amount of loyalty they will have to is quite incredible. And whether they stay at your company or they go go on to do other things, like, they will always be there to help you or help you bring in other young talent or guide you in the right direction when things... When new alpha is out there. And, yeah, I'm super grateful to Tanay and Daniel and the whole Wispr team for, like, taking a shot on me. And there's no better place I think I I could've I could've landed, and I'm, like, forever in debt or however you could say that, but I'm just super grateful for the for the opportunity I was given. [01:21:08] S0: That's beautiful. Well, with that, we've reached our very exciting lightning round. I've got five questions for you. [01:21:15] S1: I've seen these. I've seen these in the in the in the podcast.
01:21:15 · Hector Serrano, Lenny Rachitsky
[01:21:15] S1: I've seen these. I've seen these in the in the in the podcast. [01:21:18] S0: It won't be a surprise. Okay. Here we go. First question. What are two or three books that you find yourself recommending most to other people?
01:21:18 · Lenny Rachitsky, Hector Serrano
[01:21:18] S0: It won't be a surprise. Okay. Here we go. First question. What are two or three books that you find yourself recommending most to other people? [01:21:26] S1: One of my... I'm gonna give one book. I'm gonna give one really good book, which might be a a cliche one. But Naval Ravikant's Almanack. I remember reading that about two years ago or maybe a year and a half ago. And it was, like, kind of in this moment where I wasn't... Like, I was sure I wanted to do content, but I also didn't understand why it was important or why it mattered so much. And, like, I read it the first time. Didn't really make that much sense to me. And then I, like, gave you some time, and then things started to, like, line up. Like, it said kind of in the book and, like, how how how does he say it? Like, media is, like, one of the best forms of leverage because you don't have to ask for permission. It's permissionless leverage, and you can just make stuff and put it out in the Internet, and it will continue to work for you. And, like, I started to see that compounding effect over time of, like, me putting myself out there, and it's a book I continue to find myself coming back to and reading. I bought it for my little brother as well recently, and it's, like, something I'm I'm always sharing with friends and always passing on to them to read as well. And I feel like it it gives direction a lot to, like, young people as well in this crazy world that we live in. So I'd definitely say that's one of my favorite books I've I've read.