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Lenny's PodcastLessons from a 2-time unicorn builder, 50-time startup advisor and 20-time board member | Uri Levine
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Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- June 9, 2024
- Duration
- 1h 22m
- Channel
- Lenny's Podcast
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Uri Levine is the co-founder of Waze, the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app, acquired by Google for over $1 billion. He’s also founded nine other companies, been on the board of 20 companies, and advised more than 50 companies. He’s most recently the author of Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution: A Handbook for Entrepreneurs, hailed by Steve Wozniak as the “Bible for entrepreneurs.” Uri is dedicated to creating impactful startups that solve real-world problems and has seen everything from failure to moderate success to big success. In our conversation, we dig into:
- Why falling in love with the problem is key to startup success
- The phases of the startup journey and how to navigate them
- Why firing is more important than hiring
- How Waze iterated to achieve product-market fit
- Tactics for telling a compelling story when fundraising
- Much more
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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-uri-levine Where to find Uri Levine:
- X: https://twitter.com/urilevine1
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uri-levine
- Website: https://urilevine.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) Uri’s background (02:50) Falling in love with the problem (09:01) Signs this is a big enough problem (10:52) The importance of passion (12:04) A pivot example (13:59) Where to find startup ideas (21:55) Finding product-market fit at Waze (29:43) The different phases of a startup journey (36:45) What investors don’t want to hear (39:51) Fundraising tips (48:00) How to make your presentations stronger (50:30) A wild fundraising story (53:44) Firing and hiring (59:48) The 30-day test (01:04:10) Understanding users (01:12:08) Talking to the right users (01:15:34) Lightning round Referenced:
- Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution: A Handbook for Entrepreneurs: https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Love-Problem-Solution-Entrepreneurs/dp/1637741987
- Waze: https://www.waze.com/
- Ben Horowitz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/behorowitz/
- Ben Horowitz quote: https://quotefancy.com/quote/1635284/Ben-Horowitz-As-a-startup-CEO-I-slept-like-a-baby-I-woke-up-every-2-hours-and-cried
- Michael Jordan quote: https://www.forbes.com/quotes/11194/#:~:text=I've%20lost%20almost%20300,that%20is%20why%20I%20succeed.
- Steph Curry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Curry
- How Airbnb Used Word of Mouth to Change the Travel Industry Forever: https://truested.com/story/airbnb
- Space Mountain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Mountain_(Disneyland)
- How Netflix builds a culture of excellence | Elizabeth Stone (CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-netflix-builds-a-culture-of-excellence
- Steve Wozniak on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wozniaksteve/
- Uri’s post about the conference in Guatemala with Steve Wozniak: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/uri-levine_jewishnewyear-speakers-book-activity-6980089544079486976-0ADa/
- Leonardo da Vinci quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/9010638-simplicity-is-the-ultimate-sophistication-when-once-you-have-tasted
- Geoffrey Moore on finding your beachhead, crossing the chasm, and dominating a market: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/geoffrey-moore-on-finding-your-beachhead
- Nana Korobi Ya Oki: https://ikigaitribe.com/vlog/nana-korobi-ya-oki/
- That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea: https://www.amazon.com/That-Will-Never-Work-Netflix/dp/0316530204
- Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones: https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299
- 8 Great Chess Apps for Beginners and Grand Masters: https://www.wired.com/story/best-chess-apps/
- Pontera: https://pontera.com/
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
Lenny Rachitsky
hostUri Levine
guest
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Lenny's Podcast, featuring Lenny Rachitsky and Uri Levine, Lessons from a 2-time unicorn builder, 50-time startup advisor and 20-time board member | Uri Levine explores Unicorn founder Uri Levine: Build startups by worshiping real problems Uri Levine, co-founder of Waze and multiple other startups, argues that enduring startup success comes from "falling in love with the problem, not the solution." He explains how to validate problems, navigate the messy path to product-market fit, and stay focused on one phase of the journey at a time. Uri shares tactical frameworks for hiring and firing, talking to users, and structuring fundraising pitches that resonate with investors. Throughout, he emphasizes iteration, simplicity, and the courage to make hard decisions quickly—especially when it comes to people.
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