How I built a 1M+ subscriber newsletter and top 10 tech podcast | Lenny Rachitsky
3/12/20261 hr 7 min
People have been asking me to sit on the other side of the mic for a long time. With my wife’s debut children’s book, Charts for Babies, coming out next month, we figured: why not do it together? What followed was one of the most honest conversations I’ve had on this podcast. Michelle asked things no one else would think to ask—and many things I’ve never shared publicly. You’ll hear about the specific moments that pushed me to start the newsletter, how I think about quality and iteration, what most stresses me out, and the scariest moment of my life. This was so fun, and so special, and I hope you like it.
We discuss:
1. The collection of moments that led me to what I do now
2. When I added a paywall, and how I knew it was working
3. The hidden treadmill behind shipping a newsletter post and podcast episode every week
4. The most stressful moments I’ve had in business and in life
5. How I think about stress, consistency, and keeping the business small
—
Pre-order Charts for Babies: https://www.amazon.com/Charts-Babies-Picture-Book/dp/1419785184
—
Brought to you by:
WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs: https://workos.com/lenny
Metaview—The AI platform for recruiting: https://metaview.ai/lenny
DX—The developer intelligence platform designed by leading researchers: https://getdx.com/lenny
—
Episode transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-i-built-a-1m-subscriber-newsletter
—
Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0
—
Where to find Michelle Rial:
• X: https://x.com/TheRialMichelle
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellerial
• Website: https://www.michellerial.com
—
Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
—
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Introduction and role reversal
(04:06) What would Lenny be doing without the newsletter?
(07:20) The moments that led to starting the newsletter
(09:58) Does Lenny still enjoy the work?
(12:42) Stress management and misophonia
(14:00) The psychedelic trip that changed everything
(15:45) Online happiness course and baseline optimization
(17:30) Thunder round: Lenny’s misophonia worst sounds
(20:20) What makes Michelle’s charts so shareable
(23:55) Where chart ideas come from (and why meditation helps)
(26:59) Where does “Lenny” come from?
(28:54) Being recognized in public
(31:24) Early projects
(36:30) Michelle and Lenny’s yin and yang
(37:49) Missing office culture (but not really)
(39:37) Lenny’s face blindness
(40:47) The $100M fraud attack story
(42:50) Michelle’s childbirth emergency
(47:22) Michelle’s creative process
(51:58) Lenny’s favorite children’s books
(54:00) Product management lessons in parenting
(55:31) Defining product management in five words
(58:23) Why Michelle pivoted to children’s books
(01:01:30) The power of iteration and real experience
—
Resources and episode mentions: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-i-built-a-1m-subscriber-newsletter
—
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsLenny Rachitsky· Host0:00
I just sat down on this rock on a substance of some sort. And this was as I was starting the newsletter. And this phrase of, "I have wisdom to share," coming through me over and over and over. And I was just watching this crazy visualization of some kind of sitting Buddha thing, and that was for three hours. [laughs] It gave me the confidence that, like, "Okay, maybe I do have things to share."
Michelle Rial· Guest0:18
What do you want to say to our mothers right now?
Lenny Rachitsky· Host0:20
[laughs] Oh, no.
Michelle Rial· Guest0:21
Do you want to take this back?
Lenny Rachitsky· Host0:23
My mom doesn't- my mom didn't know- Do you wanna take that back?
Michelle Rial· Guest0:24
You started your newsletter 2019, and it now has over a million subscribers.
Lenny Rachitsky· Host0:30
1.2 million.
Michelle Rial· Guest0:30
1.2.
Lenny Rachitsky· Host0:31
Something that we've talked about a few times is the best stuff comes from actual experience.
Michelle Rial· Guest0:35
People always say if you wanna write, read.
Lenny Rachitsky· Host0:37
The source of the best advice is from practitioners doing the thing for real. At this point, most of my posts are guest posts where somebody's sharing the best thing they've learned in their career.
Michelle Rial· Guest0:45
What do you think you'd be doing right now if you hadn't started that newsletter?
Lenny Rachitsky· Host0:48
On the struggle bus of startup life probably, and then probably after that failed, I would've joined up some company as a PM.
Michelle Rial· Guest0:54
Do you still like it?
Lenny Rachitsky· Host0:54
I can't imagine doing something more fulfilling and interesting, but the visual I always have is the Indiana Jones boulder is chasing me constantly. It's like this treadmill that you're on.
Michelle Rial· Guest1:03
Tell me about a time you've been really stressed in your business.
Lenny Rachitsky· Host1:07
Here's something I've never shared. Today, my guest is my brilliant, incredible wife, Michelle Rial, who turns the table and interviews me. I've had so many people over the years want me to be interviewed on this podcast, and what could be more fun than doing this with my wife? I share things during this conversation that I've never shared anywhere else, including some of the