Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover concrete, actionable, and tactical advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.

Scott Wu is the co-founder and CEO of Cognition, the company behind Devin—the world’s first autonomous AI software engineer. Unlike other AI coding tools, Devin works like an autonomous engineer that you can interact with through Slack, Linear, and GitHub, just like with a remote engineer. With Scott’s background in competitive programming and a previous AI-powered startup, Lunchclub, teaching AI to code has become his ultimate passion.What you’ll learn:1. How a team of “Devins” are already producing 25% of Cognition’s pull requests, and they are on track to hit 50% by year’s end2. How each engineer on Cognition’s 15-person engineering team works with about five Devins each3. How Devin has evolved from a “high school CS student” to a “junior engineer” over the past year4. Why engineering will shift from “bricklayers” to “architects”5. Why AI tools will lead to more engineering jobs rather than fewer6. How Devin creates its own wiki to understand and document complex codebases7. The eight pivots Cognition went through before landing on their current approach8. The cultural shifts required to successfully adopt AI engineers—Brought to you by:<a target="_blank" href="https://enterpret.com/lenny">Enterpret</a>—Transform customer feedback into product growth<a target="_blank" href="https://www.useparagon.com/lenny">Paragon</a>—Ship every SaaS integration your customers want<a target="_blank" href="https://attio.com/lenny?utm_source=lennyrachitsky&utm_medium=sponsorship&utm_campaign=lenny-20230625">Attio</a>—The powerful, flexible CRM for fast-growing startups—Where to find Scott Wu:• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/scottwu46">https://x.com/scottwu46</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-wu-8b94ab96/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-wu-8b94ab96/</a>—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Scott Wu and Devin(09:13) Scaling and future prospects(10:23) Devin's origin story(17:26) The idea of Devin as a person(22:19) How a team of “Devins” are already producing 25% of Cognition’s pull requests(25:17) Important skills in the AI era(30:21) How Cognition’s engineering team works with Devin's(34:37) Live demo(42:20) Devin’s codebase integration(44:50) Automation with Linear(46:53) What Devin does best(52:56) The future of AI in software engineering(57:13) Moats and stickiness in AI(01:01:57) The tech that enables Devin(01:04:14) AI will be the biggest technology shift of our lives(01:07:25) Adopting Devin in your company(01:15:13) Startup wisdom and hiring practices(01:22:32) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• Devin: <a target="_blank" href="https://devin.ai/">https://devin.ai/</a>• GitHub: <a target="_blank" href="https://github.com/">https://github.com/</a>• Linear: <a target="_blank" href="https://linear.app/">https://linear.app/</a>• Waymo: <a target="_blank" href="https://waymo.com/">https://waymo.com/</a>• GitHub Copilot: <a target="_blank" href="https://github.com/features/copilot">https://github.com/features/copilot</a>• Cursor: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cursor.com/">https://www.cursor.com/</a>• Anysphere: <a target="_blank" href="https://anysphere.inc/">https://anysphere.inc/</a>• Bolt: <a target="_blank" href="https://bolt.new/">https://bolt.new/</a>• StackBlitz: <a target="_blank" href="https://stackblitz.com/">https://stackblitz.com/</a>• Cognition: <a target="_blank" href="https://cognition.ai/">https://cognition.ai/</a>• v0: <a target="_blank" href="https://v0.dev/">https://v0.dev/</a>• Vercel: <a target="_blank" href="https://vercel.com/">https://vercel.com/</a>• Everyone’s an engineer now: Inside v0’s mission to create a hundred million builders | Guillermo Rauch (founder and CEO of Vercel, creators of v0 and Next.js): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/everyones-an-engineer-now-guillermo-rauch">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/everyones-an-engineer-now-guillermo-rauch</a>• Inside Bolt: From near-death to ~$40m ARR in 5 months—one of the fastest-growing products in history | Eric Simons (founder and CEO of StackBlitz): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-bolt-eric-simons">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-bolt-eric-simons</a>• Assembly: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_language">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_language</a>• Pascal: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_(programming_language)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_(programming_language)</a>• Python: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.python.org/">https://www.python.org/</a>• Jevons paradox: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox</a>• Datadog: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.datadoghq.com/">https://www.datadoghq.com/</a>• Bending the universe in your favor | Claire Vo (LaunchDarkly, Color, Optimizely, ChatPRD): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/bending-the-universe-in-your-favor">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/bending-the-universe-in-your-favor</a>• OpenAI’s CPO on how AI changes must-have skills, moats, coding, startup playbooks, more | Kevin Weil (CPO at OpenAI, ex-Instagram, Twitter): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/kevin-weil-open-ai">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/kevin-weil-open-ai</a>• Behind the product: Replit | Amjad Masad (co-founder and CEO): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-product-replit-amjad-masad">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-product-replit-amjad-masad</a>• Windsurf: <a target="_blank" href="https://windsurf.com/">https://windsurf.com/</a>• COBOL: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COBOL">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COBOL</a>• Fortran: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortran">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortran</a>• Magic the Gathering: <a target="_blank" href="https://magic.wizards.com/en">https://magic.wizards.com/en</a>• Aura frames: <a target="_blank" href="https://auraframes.com/">https://auraframes.com/</a>• AirPods: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.apple.com/airpods/">https://www.apple.com/airpods/</a>• Steven Hao on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-hao-160b9638/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-hao-160b9638/</a>• Walden Yan on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/waldenyan/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/waldenyan/</a>—Recommended books:• How to Win Friends & Influence People: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034">https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034</a>• The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Power-Law-Venture-Capital-Making/dp/052555999X">https://www.amazon.com/Power-Law-Venture-Capital-Making/dp/052555999X</a>• The Great Gatsby: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Great-Gatsby-F-Scott-Fitzgerald/dp/0743273567">https://www.amazon.com/Great-Gatsby-F-Scott-Fitzgerald/dp/0743273567</a>—Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe</a>

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Inside Devin: The world’s first autonomous AI engineer that's set to write 50% of its company’s code by end of year | Scott Wu (CEO and co-founder of Cognition)

Michael Truell is the co-founder and CEO of Anysphere, the company behind Cursor—the fastest-growing AI code editor in the world, reaching $300 million in annual recurring revenue just two years after its launch. In this conversation, Michael shares his vision for the future, lessons learned, and advice for preparing for the fast-approaching AI future.What you’ll learn:• Cursor's early pivot from automating CAD to automating code• Michael’s vision for “what comes after code” and how programming will evolve• Why Cursor built their own custom AI models despite not starting there• Key lessons from Cursor’s rapid growth• Why “taste” and logic design will become more valuable engineering skills than technical coding ability• Why the market for AI coding tools is much larger than people realize—and why there will likely be one dominant winner• Michael’s advice for engineers and product teams preparing for the AI future—Brought to you by:<a target="_blank" href="https://www.geteppo.com/">Eppo</a>—Run reliable, impactful experiments<a target="_blank" href="https://vanta.com/lenny">Vanta</a>—Automate compliance. Simplify security<a target="_blank" href="https://oneschema.co/lenny">OneSchema</a>—Import CSV data 10x faster—Where to find Michael Truell:• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/mntruell">https://x.com/mntruell</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-t-5b1bbb122/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-t-5b1bbb122/</a>• Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://mntruell.com/">https://mntruell.com/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Michael Truell and Cursor(04:20) What comes after code(08:32) The importance of taste(12:39) Cursor’s origin story(18:31) Why they chose to build an IDE(22:39) Will everyone become engineering managers?(24:31) How they decided it was time to ship(26:45) Reflecting on Cursor's success(32:03) Counterintuitive lessons on building AI products(34:02) Inside Cursor's stack(38:42) Defensibility and market dynamics in AI(46:13) Tips for using Cursor(51:25) Hiring and building a strong team(59:10) Staying focused amid rapid AI advancements(01:02:31) Final thoughts and advice for aspiring AI innovators—Referenced:• Cursor: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cursor.com/">https://www.cursor.com/</a>• Microsoft Copilot: <a target="_blank" href="https://copilot.microsoft.com/">https://copilot.microsoft.com/</a>• Scaling laws for neural language models: <a target="_blank" href="https://openai.com/index/scaling-laws-for-neural-language-models/">https://openai.com/index/scaling-laws-for-neural-language-models/</a>• MIT: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mit.edu/">https://www.mit.edu/</a>• Telegram: <a target="_blank" href="https://telegram.org/">https://telegram.org/</a>• Signal: <a target="_blank" href="https://signal.org/">https://signal.org/</a>• WhatsApp: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.whatsapp.com/">https://www.whatsapp.com/</a>• Devin: <a target="_blank" href="https://devin.ai/">https://devin.ai/</a>• Visual Studio Code: <a target="_blank" href="https://code.visualstudio.com/">https://code.visualstudio.com/</a>• Chromium: <a target="_blank" href="https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/base/">https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/base/</a>• Exploring ChatGPT (GPT) Wrappers—What They Are and How They Work: <a target="_blank" href="https://learnprompting.org/blog/gpt_wrappers">https://learnprompting.org/blog/gpt_wrappers</a>• OpenAI’s CPO on how AI changes must-have skills, moats, coding, startup playbooks, more | Kevin Weil (CPO at OpenAI, ex-Instagram, Twitter): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/kevin-weil-open-ai">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/kevin-weil-open-ai</a>• Behind the founder: Marc Benioff: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-founder-marc-benioff">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-founder-marc-benioff</a>• DALL-E 3: <a target="_blank" href="https://openai.com/index/dall-e-3/">https://openai.com/index/dall-e-3/</a>• Stable Diffusion 3: <a target="_blank" href="https://stability.ai/news/stable-diffusion-3">https://stability.ai/news/stable-diffusion-3</a>—Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe</a>

The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can’t stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO)

Daniel Lereya, the Chief Product and Technology Officer at monday.com, shares how he and his team realized they were being outpaced by competitors and how that realization completely transformed how they operate and allowed them to build a global powerhouse, doing over $1 billion in ARR, with 245,000 customers worldwide.What you’ll learn:1. How they used seemingly impossible goals, like building 25 new features in one month, to unlock bigger thinking on their team2. How sharing real-time metrics with the entire company—even during interviews—created a culture of accountability and alignment3. How focusing on impact, rather than just shipping features, has transformed the company’s culture4. The story behind monday.com’s decision to launch five new products simultaneously and how it redefined their market positioning5. How they use “traps” (timeboxed deadlines) to drive focus, avoid scope creep, and deliver faster6. Daniel’s personal journey of navigating impostor syndrome and scaling challenges, and the mental models he uses to stay grounded and effective—Brought to you by:• <a target="_blank" href="https://enterpret.com/lenny">Enterpret</a>—Transform customer feedback into product growth• <a target="_blank" href="https://www.airtable.com/lenny">Airtable ProductCentral</a>—Launch to new heights with a unified system for product development• <a target="_blank" href="https://vanta.com/lenny">Vanta</a>—Automate compliance. Simplify security—Where to find Daniel Lereya:• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-lereya-aa487646/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-lereya-aa487646/</a>—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Daniel and monday.com(04:20) The pivotal moment: competitors shipping faster(08:50) Setting ambitious goals(17:44) Focusing on impact rather than features(27:07) Transforming your product quarterly(32:07) Scaling monday.com: challenges and strategies(39:14) How monday.com maintains transparency as a public company(45:40) The importance of taking risks(51:02) Counterintuitive lessons in product development(54:33) The value of timeboxing and deadlines(57:28) Embracing user feedback(59:54) Adapting leadership styles(01:04:43) Personal reflections on leadership(01:10:41) Handling crises and strategic planning(01:17:28) The role of AI in work and personal life(01:22:13) Final thoughts and lightning round—Referenced:• Monday.com: <a target="_blank" href="https://monday.com/">https://monday.com/</a>• The basics of a monday.com board: <a target="_blank" href="https://support.monday.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005317249-The-basics-of-a-board">https://support.monday.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005317249-The-basics-of-a-board</a>• Eran Zinman on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/eranzinman/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/eranzinman/</a>• Roy Mann on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/manroy/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/manroy/</a>• Tal Harari on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tal-harari-a2515215/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/tal-harari-a2515215/</a>• Four-minute mile: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-minute_mile">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-minute_mile</a>• A better way to plan, build, and ship products | Ryan Singer (creator of “Shape Up,” early employee at 37signals): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/shape-up-ryan-singer">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/shape-up-ryan-singer</a>• Brian Chesky’s new playbook: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach</a>• AI blocks: <a target="_blank" href="https://support.monday.com/hc/en-us/articles/18433811274386-AI-Automation-blocks">https://support.monday.com/hc/en-us/articles/18433811274386-AI-Automation-blocks</a>• Unpacking Amazon’s unique ways of working | Bill Carr (author of Working Backwards): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/unpacking-amazons-unique-ways-of">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/unpacking-amazons-unique-ways-of</a>• Behind the founder: Drew Houston (Dropbox): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-founder-drew-houston-dropbox">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-founder-drew-houston-dropbox</a>• SpaceX: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.spacex.com/">https://www.spacex.com/</a>• Why and how to lead with transparency: <a target="_blank" href="https://monday.com/blog/monday-insights/may-30th/">https://monday.com/blog/monday-insights/may-30th/</a>• How to win in the AI era: Ship a feature every week, embrace technical debt, ruthlessly cut scope, and create magic your competitors can’t copy | Gaurav Misra (CEO and co-founder of Captions): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-win-in-the-ai-era-gaurav-misra">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-win-in-the-ai-era-gaurav-misra</a>• This Week #5: Overcoming impostor syndrome, introducing growth to an org, and how to partner with your data scientist: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/this-week-overcoming-impostor-syndrome">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/this-week-overcoming-impostor-syndrome</a>• Sheryl Sandberg on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-sandberg-5126652/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-sandberg-5126652/</a>• Bryan Johnson on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanrjohnson/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanrjohnson/</a>• ChatGPT: <a target="_blank" href="https://chatgpt.com/">https://chatgpt.com/</a>• Cursor: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cursor.com/">https://www.cursor.com/</a>• How to build deeper, more robust relationships | Carole Robin (Stanford GSB professor, “Touchy Feely”): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/build-robust-relationships-carole-robin">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/build-robust-relationships-carole-robin</a>• FIFA 22: <a target="_blank" href="https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10002538/">https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10002538/</a>• Formula 1: Drive to Survive on Netflix: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80204890">https://www.netflix.com/title/80204890</a>• Google Photos: <a target="_blank" href="https://photos.google.com/">https://photos.google.com/</a>—Recommended books:• Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters: <a target="_blank" href="https://basecamp.com/shapeup">https://basecamp.com/shapeup</a>• Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Working-Backwards-Insights-Stories-Secrets/dp/1250267595">https://www.amazon.com/Working-Backwards-Insights-Stories-Secrets/dp/1250267595</a>• No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/No-Rules-Netflix-Culture-Reinvention/dp/1984877860">https://www.amazon.com/No-Rules-Netflix-Culture-Reinvention/dp/1984877860</a>• Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Life-Changing-Relationships/dp/189200528X/">https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Life-Changing-Relationships/dp/189200528X/</a>—Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe</a>

Inside monday.com’s transformation: radical transparency, impact over output, and their path to $1B ARR | Daniel Lereya (Chief Product and Technology Officer)

AI is rapidly changing how we live and work. It’s exciting, but also overwhelming. If you’re struggling to keep up, and wondering how to actually use these magical new tools to improve the quality and efficiency of your work, I’m thrilled to introduce How I AI with Claire Vo—the first ever new podcast under the Lenny’s Podcast network. Claire is an engineer, three-time CPO, and AI builder. In each episode, her guest shows you a specific, practical, and impactful way they’ve learned to use AI. Forget theoretical debates—this podcast is about real, valuable use cases. Expect 30-minute episodes, live demos, and tips/tricks/workflows you can implement immediately. Whether you’re building products, leading teams, or just looking to level up your AI skills, How I AI is for you.—SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW→ YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRYY7IEbkHLH_ScJCu9eWDQ">⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRYY7IEbkHLH_ScJCu9eWDQ⁠</a>→ Spotify: <a target="_blank" href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4aRP2XSavdtrLG5FZoonOK">⁠</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRYY7IEbkHLH_ScJCu9eWDQ">https://open.spotify.com/show/4aRP2XSavdtrLG5FZoonOK</a>→ Apple: <a target="_blank" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-ai/id1809663079">https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-ai/id1809663079</a> Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe</a>

Lenny Rachitsky

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career by Lenny Rachitsky

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