Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth
01:19:56 · Becky Kennedy, Lenny Rachitsky
[01:19:56] S1: 65. [01:19:57] S0: 65 people. That's incredible. [01:20:00] S1: Yeah. Well, and we're profitable. [01:20:02] S0: And profitable. [01:20:02] S1: So proud of that. [01:20:02] S0: Have you raised money- [01:20:02] S1: Yes. [01:20:03] S0: Or is it bootstrapped? [01:20:05] S1: We did raise money a couple years ago. We felt like, again, we have a very, very big vision for what we want to accomplish. I feel like at our core, it's a set of ideas and stories and a way of making people feel that happens to be represented as the biggest part of our business now in a digital product. But there's just so many other things in a Disney type ecosystem that I think can come out out of IP and story and feeling and connection. And there's a lot of really other exciting things, 2026 and 2027 that will further build that ecosystem. And I feel like as a team are set up to do that. [01:20:37] S0: Oh, man. We need to do a whole episode on just the whole operation. But- [01:20:40] S1: Yes. [01:20:40] S0: I guess just to cover the empire, there's the book, there's the podcast, there's the app, there's the community.
01:20:40 · Lenny Rachitsky, Becky Kennedy
[01:20:40] S0: I guess just to cover the empire, there's the book, there's the podcast, there's the app, there's the community. [01:20:47] S1: So yes, and my second children's book will come out next year. So I feel like that's our first entry into kind of more physical product. And my second children's book is about deeply feeling kids. Those kids are kind of my passion project within the passion project that is Good Inside. I think they're the most misunderstood kids in the world. They're labeled dramatic, oppositional. A lot of parents even tell me professionals tell them the issue is they don't punish them enough or they're not consistent. Those kids don't fear a loss of control. Their core fear is being too much and they can act that out and unfortunately get it confirmed by the world. And so my second children's book will be about deeply feeling kids and gives parents something. If our app is like the companion for the parent, I feel like the connection moment and for a kid to see themselves in this book is the purpose of that. [01:21:29] S0: Is that something people can pre-order yet or not yet? [01:21:30] S1: Yes, they can pre-order. It's out- [01:21:32] S0: Okay. [01:21:33] S1: February 2026 and pre-orders, thank you. Yes, help so much. And I'll be doing a little tour around it as well. [01:21:40] S0: And what's it called for people to look it up on Amazon or wherever they want to buy the book?
01:21:40 · Lenny Rachitsky, Becky Kennedy
[01:21:40] S0: And what's it called for people to look it up on Amazon or wherever they want to buy the book? [01:21:40] S1: It's called Leave Me Alone!: A Good Inside Story About Deeply Feeling Kids. And if you have one, these kids, the reason the title I think will resonate and honestly, a lot of people say, "Ooh, that gives me a lot of insight in my partner, someone at work." Is around their fear of being too much, they tend to have big explosive feelings and push the people away they care about the most in the exact moments they actually need them, thereby confirming their fears. See, I really am too much, which exacerbates the cycle until they know how to change it. So leave me alone is something a deeply feeling kid will often scream in their room when they're completely out of control and that's actually in some ways their deepest fear, not their wish. And so the title plays to that. [01:22:20] S0: How cool. Okay. We'll definitely link to that in the show notes. [01:22:23] S1: Yes. [01:22:23] S0: You can look it up on your favorite bookseller. Dr. Becky, how fun was this? What a unique conversation. We touched topics on every level of humanity, I think. Before we get to our very exciting lightning round, is there anything else that you wanted to share? Anything else that you want to double down on?
01:22:43 · Becky Kennedy
[01:22:43] S1: Kind of I think before we started recording, I was saying how excited I am. I really mean it. You're like a major celebrity to me and my whole team knows it, that of all of the podcasts I've been on, they're like, "You must be nervous for Lenny." I was like, "I am." What I said to you is that I love your podcast because I just learn so much. Right. As a psychologist, CEO, obviously there's a lot for me to learn and I've learned so much from you and I really am addicted to learning. And the reason that's coming up for me now is I think about all the people who listen to your show who I think they're like that too. They're forever learners. They love to learn. It's why they love your podcast because you get so concrete and you follow the thread down the rabbit hole and it helps us feel more capable at work. And one of the things I've found interesting is so many people who have that forever learner growth mindset, whatever you want to call it at work, we forget to access it with our kids. We say things like, "It is the way it is." I feel like people who listen to your podcast probably don't say that at work. That's why they're listening to their podcast. Maybe it doesn't have to be the way it is. Or, "Oh, I didn't know that before, but now I do. So I can try something new." And again, I'm never going to be perfect. Perfect is creepy, but I can grow. I'm more addicted to growing and learning than being right. And I think, I guess I would just ask anyone listening, especially as a parent, to say, "What if I just took that mentality home?" Like, okay, yelled at my kid. I didn't mess them up forever. Do I know how to repair? By the way, did I have a parent who actually repaired with me? Because if I didn't, no wonder it feels awkward. I'm kind of the first person in my whole lineage to give a true apology to my three-year-old. Of course, that's going to feel hard. Or, yeah, I don't understand tantrums or I don't really understand why my good kid is lying to me, but maybe I could learn. I learn things at work all the time and I give myself credit. And what if I took that way of being and just applied it to this other area? I'd both, I think, be more compassionate with myself, but I probably also feel better over time about how I was showing up.
01:24:43 · Becky Kennedy, Lenny Rachitsky
And I just think we forget to apply that because again, parenting has been told as something that should just feel natural when it doesn't, right? So if we think of it as a set of skills, it's actually very hopeful. Oh, I learn skills from Lenny all the time. I can do that in parenting too. [01:24:59] S0: That's such a beautiful message. What I feel is anytime I watch one of your clips and then do that thing and then it works, it's like, oh, that expands your mind. Oh wow, there's so much more I could learn. I should go deeper on what the hell I'm doing. I don't know what I'm doing. So that is a really important message of like you can learn this skill. It's not something anyone just knows how to do. [01:25:19] S1: Yeah. And I like giving people very concrete things. So a question recently that I've asked my kids that have led to amazing moments just as a, is some version of, "If I could do one thing different this week to be a better parent to you, what would it be?" I guess it's kind of like a 360 degree- [01:25:37] S0: Yeah. That's [inaudible 01:25:38]. [01:25:38] S1: Review. Right. And- [01:25:39] S0: Give me a raise.
01:25:39 · Lenny Rachitsky, Becky Kennedy
[01:25:39] S0: Give me a raise. [01:25:40] S1: Sometimes your kid says the hurtful things. "You can not be on your phone as much," which just get ready for it and just get ready to receive. "Okay. Thank you for telling me that." And I think the thing that stops us is we think our kid is going to say "stupid things." "You could let me watch TV." The truth is no matter what your kid says, it's a window into their world. And again, you can be the pilot who listens but doesn't open the cockpit door. "Oh, what would it be like to watch all the TV you want? Oh, your friends watch more. I'm so glad you told me that. Oh, does that mean I can watch TV? Sweetie, that's not going to be one of the things I budge on, but maybe here's something we could do instead." But just asking your kid that question and not expecting a profound answer. It makes me think if anyone thought, "What if my manager asked me that question? Wouldn't I immediately just feel better about my manager anyway just from the asking of the question?" And I think it's just something so actionable that every time I do it with my kids, I notice their behavior's kind of better for the rest of the week just from that. And I want to give something high impact to anybody who's made it this far in the episode. [01:26:36] S0: I love that that's like the reverse of this approach to this episode is like from the work environment, what can you bring to your kids? And it's like, do a little 360, ask for what feedback can you give me in my performance review as a parent this week. [01:26:48] S1: Exactly.