logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
56m 42s

Inside Gong: How teams work with design ...

Lenny Rachitsky
About this episode

Eilon Reshef is the co-founder and chief product officer at Gong, one of the most ubiquitous B2B products in the world. In our conversation, we discuss:

• Gong’s unique approach to working with design partners

• Their unique pod model

• Why Eilon makes big decisions quickly

• Lessons learned from being early in AI

• The power of extreme focus

• His “spiral method” for learning complex topics quickly

• How to maintain quality while optimizing for speed

Brought to you by:

WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs

Think Fast Talk Smart—Tools and techniques to help you communicate more effectively

Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security

Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-gong-eilon-reshef

Where to find Eilon Reshef:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eilonreshef

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) Eilon’s background

(04:20) The pod model

(06:33) Working with design partners

(09:13) Finding and coordinating design partners

(13:12) Balancing customer feedback and vision

(15:10) Gong's 95% feature adoption

(17:05) The importance of autonomy and trust

(23:30) How to implement this unique way of working

(27:15) Speed and decision-making

(31:47) Early AI adoption and lessons learned

(35:50) Building effective AI teams

(38:16) The spiral method for learning

(41:36) Narrowing down the initial customer profile

(44:24) Failure corner

(46:35) Lightning round

Referenced:

• Gong: https://www.gong.io

• Cisco: https://www.cisco.com/

• How Gong builds product: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-gong-builds-product

• What is Montessori education?: https://amshq.org/About-Montessori/What-Is-Montessori

• Isaac Asimov: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov

• Amit Bendov on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amitbendov/

• Lessons from scaling Spotify: The science of product, taking risky bets, and how AI is already impacting the future of music | Gustav Söderström (Co-President, CPO, and CTO at Spotify): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-scaling-spotify-the

• Nvidia: https://www.nvidia.com

• Figma: https://www.figma.com

• The Spiral Method: https://www.gong.io/blog/using-the-spiral-method/

• Webex: https://www.webex.com/

• L’Oréal: https://www.lorealparisusa.com/

• American Express: https://www.americanexpress.com/

Slow Horses on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/slow-horses/umc.cmc.2szz3fdt71tl1ulnbp8utgq5o

• Dishwasher basket: https://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-High-Capacity-Dishwasher-Basket/dp/B07ZPMYKKS/

• What most people miss about marketing | Rory Sutherland (Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK, author): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/what-most-people-miss-about-marketing

• Occam’s razor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor

• Hanlon’s razor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor

• Sabich: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabich#Ingredients_and_description

• Careers at Gong: https://www.gong.io/careers

Recommended books:

• Marty Cagan’s books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Marty-Cagan/author/B00J21JTNM

• “The Machine That Won the War”: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18402398-the-machine-that-won-the-war

Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers: https://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Chasm-3rd-Disruptive-Mainstream/dp/0062292986

The Ideal Executive: https://www.amazon.com/Ideal-Executive-Ichak-Kalderon-Adizes/dp/0937120030/

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Stakes Are High: https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Conversations-Tools-Talking-Stakes/dp/1260474186/

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.



Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
Up next
Jul 6
Solo founder, $80M exit, 6 months: The Base44 bootstrapped startup success story | Maor Shlomo
Maor Shlomo is the founder of Base44, an AI-powered app builder that he bootstrapped to an over $80 million acquisition by Wix in just six months. As a solo founder (with severe ADHD), he hit $1 million ARR just three weeks after launch and grew the product to more than 400,000 u ... Show More
1h 31m
Jul 3
I’ve run 75+ businesses. Here’s why you’re probably chasing the wrong idea. | Andrew Wilkinson (co‑founder of Tiny)
Andrew Wilkinson is the co‑founder of Tiny, a holding company that quietly owns more than three dozen profitable internet and consumer brands, including Dribbble and the AeroPress coffee maker. Starting as a teenage barista and web designer, he’s created a portfolio approaching $ ... Show More
1h 28m
Jun 29
Naming expert shares the process behind creating billion-dollar brand names like Azure, Vercel, Windsurf, Sonos, Blackberry, and Impossible Burger | David Placek (Lexicon Branding)
David Placek is the founder of Lexicon Branding, a company that focuses exclusively on the development of brand names for competitive advantage. Lexicon is behind iconic names such as Sonos, Microsoft’s Azure, Windsurf, Vercel, Impossible Foods, BlackBerry, Intel’s Pentium, Apple ... Show More
1h 22m
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2024
Growing as a CPO as your product grows from 0 to $10B valuation | Tomer London, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Gusto | E235
In this episode, of The Product Podcast, we chat with Tomer London,Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Gusto, the leading HR platform for small and medium-sized businesses in the US. Tomer shares his journey from coding his first inventory management system for his dad’s clot ... Show More
45m 50s
Sep 2024
The tool product managers love and is disrupting Jira | Karri Saarinen, CEO at Linear | E234
In this episode of the Product Podcast we chat with Karri Saarinen, the CEO at Linear. It's the fastest-growing and most beloved project management tool in the world. The company is valued at $400 million, and has raised $52 million in funding from Accel, Sequoia, and some o ... Show More
31m 29s
Nov 2024
How to Do Product Discovery Right with Pawel Huryn, 175K+ on LinkedIn, Senior PM and Author
This episode is a masterclass in modern product management—featuring cutting-edge frameworks, actionable strategies, AI integration, competitive edge tactics, and aligning product goals with overarching business objectives.In today's episode, we cover:Junior PM Roles Are Done – 0 ... Show More
1h 32m
Sep 2024
Scaling a Car Rental Marketplace to over $1Billion in Revenue | Tom Wang, Chief Product Officer at Turo | E236
In this episode of The Product Podcast, we chat with Tom Wang, Chief Product Officer at Turo, the world’s largest peer-to-peer car-sharing marketplace. Tom shares his journey of scaling Turo from a small team to a leading car-sharing platform that allows entrepreneurs to monetize ... Show More
48m 2s
Sep 2024
Transforming a 27-Year-Old Business into an AI Powerhouse | Vinod Suresh, US Chief Product Officer at GoDaddy | E237
In this episode of The Product Podcast, we sit down with Vinod Suresh, US Chief Product Officer at GoDaddy, to dive deep into his journey from moving across 13 schools as a child to leading major product teams at GoDaddy. Vinod shares his passion for lifelong learning, explaining ... Show More
59m 23s
Aug 2024
Slack's VP of Product & GM Jaime DeLanghe Reveals How to Monetize AI Product Features! | E231
In this episode, we're thrilled to have Jamie DeLanghe, VP of Product at Slack, who shares her inspiring journey from working in customer support at Etsy to a successful career in product management. Jamie provides valuable insights into mastering product management without ... Show More
56m 10s
May 20
Gustav Söderström - How Spotify Thinks - [Invest Like the Best, EP.424]
My guest today is Gustav Söderström. Gustav is the Co-President, Chief Product Officer & Chief Technology Officer at Spotify. Gustav lets us behind the scenes on how Spotify thinks about the future of audio and video, and what leadership lessons he's learned from making mistakes ... Show More
1h 23m
Jun 25
Shopify VP of Product on How to Build AI-First Products | Glen Coates | E269
In this episode, Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia interviews Glen Coates, Vice President of Product at Shopify.Shopify is one of the world’s leading commerce platforms, powering millions of businesses and helping entrepreneurs sell online and offline with ease. Since launching in ... Show More
56m 48s
Apr 21
Next-Gen Founders: Startups in the Age of AI (Edu)
Is AI making startups easier—or just changing the rules of the game?In a world where execution is cheap and accessible, building a successful startup is more competitive than ever. In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein unpack the reality of every business having access ... Show More
53m 2s
Jun 12
What Smart Manufacturing Leaders Consider Before Adopting AI - with Tim Burge of Aquant
Today’s guest is Tim Burge, Director at Aquant. Aquant is an AI platform built for service teams that maintain and repair complex equipment. It gives clear, accurate answers to service questions — from basic fixes to deep diagnostics — so field techs, call centers, managers, and ... Show More
28m 47s