BROADCASTS.com

Noam Lovinsky has had a distinguished career in product, leaving an indelible mark at Facebook, YouTube, Thumbtack, and currently as the chief product officer at Grammarly. At Facebook, Noam helped establish the New Product Experimentation team; at Thumbtack, he was chief product officer; and at YouTube, he was one of the early product leaders overseeing the consumer experience. In our conversation, we discuss:

\u2022 Challenges and lessons from reviving growth at YouTube and Thumbtack

\u2022 Lessons from building Facebook\u2019s New Product Experimentation team

\u2022 Insights into Grammarly\u2019s success

\u2022 Knowing when it\u2019s time to kill your project

\u2022 Why diversifying your growth channels is critical

\u2022 The power of visioning and storytelling in shaping product strategy

\u2022 How to create space for innovation at large companies

\u2022 The resilience and motivation of Grammarly\u2019s team in Ukraine

\u2014

Brought to you by:

\u2022 Whimsical\u2014The iterative product workspace

\u2022 Vanta\u2014Automate compliance. Simplify security.

\u2022 LinkedIn Ads\u2014Reach professionals and drive results for your business

\u2014

Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-happiness-and-pain-of-product

\u2014

Where to find Noam Lovinsky:

\u2022 X: https://twitter.com/noaml

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noaml/

\u2014

Where to find Lenny:

\u2022 Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

\u2022 X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

\u2014

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Noam\u2019s background

(04:18) Noam\u2019s lack of online presence

(08:06) Lessons from YouTube: advocating for what\u2019s best for yourself and the team

(14:31) Prioritizing what\u2019s best for the business

(19:37) Knowing when it\u2019s time to kill a project

(21:47) Lessons from Thumbtack: diversifying growth channels and overcoming challenges

(26:24) How Thumbtack turned growth around

(31:44) Building Airbnb\u2019s instant booking feature

(35:28) Lessons from Thumbtack: team collaboration and product strategy

(38:38) Lessons from Facebook: building the New Product Experimentation team

(40:43) The importance of starting small and building community density

(46:07) Advice for building a startup within a startup

(48:52) Having an incentive system

(49:34) Lessons from Grammarly: adapting to changing user needs and building for the masses

(54:20) The scrappiness and profitability of Grammarly

(56:56) The resilience and motivation of the Grammarly team in Ukraine

(59:08) General career advice

(01:01:02) When to pull back

(01:02:58) Closing thoughts

(01:03:56) Lightning round

\u2014

Referenced:

\u2022 Substack: https://substack.com/

\u2022 Hunter Walk on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hunterwalk/

\u2022 The rituals of great teams | Shishir Mehrotra of Coda, YouTube, Microsoft: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-rituals-of-great-teams-shishir-mehrotra-coda-youtube-microsoft/

\u2022 Salar Kamangar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/salar-kamangar-5a059712/

\u2022 Grammarly: https://www.grammarly.com/

\u2022 Thumbtack: https://www.thumbtack.com/

\u2022 FRED on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/FRED

\u2022 How Airbnb Proved That Storytelling Is the Most Important Skill in Design: https://www.inc.com/yazin-akkawi/the-surprising-technique-airbnb-uses-to-better-sell-an-experience.html

\u2022 Google+: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google%2B

\u2022 Marco Zappacosta on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcozappacosta/

\u2022 Bryan Schreier on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanschreier/

\u2022 Whitney Steele on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneydsteele/

\u2022 David Shein on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidshein/

\u2022 The magic of thinking big, by Lenny Rachitsky: https://www.mindtheproduct.com/the-magic-of-thinking-big-by-lenny-rachitsky/

\u2022 What Seven Years at Airbnb Taught Me About Building a Business: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/what-seven-years-at-airbnb-taught

\u2022 New apps, new experiences: NPE Team, from Facebook: https://tech.facebook.com/engineering/2019/7/npe-team-from-facebook/

\u2022 The Origin Story of the BRC Trash Fence: https://journal.burningman.org/2016/05/black-rock-city/leaving-no-trace/the-origin-story-of-the-brc-trash-fence/

\u2022 Nike opens high-tech research and innovation lab: https://www.just-style.com/news/nike-opens-high-tech-research-and-innovation-lab/

\u2022 ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/

\u2022 Microsoft Copilot: https://copilot.microsoft.com/

\u2022 How to grow a subscription business | Yuriy Timen (Grammarly, Canva, Airtable): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-grow-a-subscription-business-yuriy-timen-grammarly-canva-airtable/

\u2022 \u201cThe cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek\u201d: https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/the-cave-you-fear-to-enter-holds-the-treasure-you-seek-d624e28c3848

\u2022 Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making: https://www.amazon.com/Build-Unorthodox-Guide-Making-Things/dp/0063046067

\u2022 For All Mankind on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/for-all-mankind/umc.cmc.6wsi780sz5tdbqcf11k76mkp7

\u2022 Fargo TV series on Hulu: https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/fargo

\u2022 Arc browser: https://arc.net/

\u2022 Competing with giants: An inside look at how The Browser Company builds product | Josh Miller (CEO): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/competing-with-giants-an-inside-look-at-how-the-browser-company-builds-product-josh-miller-ceo/

\u2014

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

\u2014

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.