Inside Linear: Building with taste, craft, and focus | Karri Saarinen (co-founder, designer, CEO)

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

October 8, 2023

Duration

1h 39m

Channel

Lenny's Podcast

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Karri Saarinen is the co-founder and CEO of Linear, an issue-tracking tool that has quickly become the fastest-growing and most beloved in the world. Before Linear, Karri was the principal designer and co-creator of design systems at Airbnb and the founding designer at Coinbase. In today’s episode, he shares:

• How to prioritize craft in product development
• The Linear method for modern software development
• How Linear operates with only one PM
• Why every product needs good design in 2023
• Strategies for staying focused amid distractions
• Linear’s unique hiring strategies
• Sneak peek of a soon-to-be-released Linear feature

— Brought to you by Mercury—the powerful and intuitive way for ambitious companies to bank: https://mercury.com/ | Composer—the AI-powered trading platform: https://www.composer.trade/?utm_source=lenny&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=10-8-23 | Pendo—The all-in-one platform for product-led companies building breakthrough digital experiences: https://www.pendo.io/lenny Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-linear-building-with-taste Where to find Karri Saarinen:

• X: https://twitter.com/karrisaarinen
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karrisaarinen/
• Website: https://karrisaarinen.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) Karri’s background (04:25) Overview of Linear (06:43) Linear’s design process and its focus on quality (12:25) Building a craft-oriented company (16:41) Product management at Linear (18:37) Strategies for launching a startup without a dedicated PM (21:16) How Linear assists PMs in their roles (23:46) Linear’s potential expansion in PM roles (24:58) The importance of design (29:08) Utilizing design and brand as distinct competitive advantages (30:48) The importance of authenticity in branding and messaging (33:08) How design reviews are conducted at Linear (38:34) The Linear method for modern software development (40:07) Why productivity software should be opinionated (41:23) Why Linear created “cycles” and how it works (43:27) Why Linear doesn’t have metric-based goals (45:07) How a business can thrive without metrics, PMs, and A/B testing (48:04) A customer-focused approach to building product (50:02) Adapting strategies for diverse products and domains (53:05) Three techniques Karri uses to maintain focus (56:47) Linear’s hiring practices (1:02:10) Paid work trials (1:04:31) How to determine a candidate’s “product sense” (1:08:21) Linear’s growth journey and milestones (1:14:18) How pricing strategies were initially introduced at Linear (1:16:18) Linear’s journey to finding product-market fit (1:21:44) The importance of online presence and authenticity in business (1:24:59) Insight into the corporate culture at Linear (1:28:29) Lessons learned during Karri’s transition from IC to CEO (1:30:21) Sneak peek into the upcoming “asks” feature at Linear (1:32:04) Lightning round Referenced:

• Linear: https://linear.app/
• Vercel: https://vercel.com/
• Nan Yu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thenanyu/
• The Linear method: https://linear.app/method
• How Ramp builds product: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-ramp-builds-product
• Lessons from scaling Ramp | Sri Batchu (Ramp, Instacart, Opendoor): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/lessons-from-scaling-ramp-sri-batchu-ramp-instacart-opendoor/
• Eric Yuan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericsyuan/
• The Timeless Way of Building: https://www.amazon.com/Timeless-Way-Building-Christopher-Alexander/dp/0195024028
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry/dp/0060839872/
• John Wick: Chapter 4: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10366206/
• Silo on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/silo/umc.cmc.3yksgc857px0k0rqe5zd4jice
• Philips Hue lights: https://www.philips-hue.com/en-us
• Finnish salmon soup recipe: https://jernejkitchen.com/recipes/finnish-salmon-soup-lohikeitto

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Karri Saarinen

  guest

• Lenny Rachitsky

  host

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Lenny's Podcast, featuring Karri Saarinen and Lenny Rachitsky, Inside Linear: Building with taste, craft, and focus | Karri Saarinen (co-founder, designer, CEO) explores inside Linear: Opinionated Product Craft, Lean Teams, And Relentless Focus Karri Saarinen, co‑founder and CEO of Linear, explains how Linear builds a highly polished, beloved issue-tracking product using a tiny, very senior team and a culture obsessed with craft, speed, and focus. Rather than A/B tests and feature-level metrics, they rely on deep customer understanding, taste, and opinionated product decisions, plus a strong emphasis on retention and trust over short-term wins. Linear minimizes specialization (one PM for ~50 people, rotating project leads) and uses structured cycles, opinionated workflows, and high design quality as core differentiators in a crowded market. Saarinen also details Linear’s selective growth approach—from waitlisted private beta and segment-by-segment product‑market fit, to a unique paid work trial hiring process and culture rituals that reinforce quality and authenticity.

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