Lenny Skills — Setup Guide¶
Source: refoundai/lenny-skills (18K+ combined installs) Category: Product Management / Strategy Quality Tier: 🟡 Beta
Product management methodology from Lenny Rachitsky (Lenny's Newsletter, 1M+ subscribers) — encoded as executable agent skills. Covers competitive analysis using Lenny's frameworks, PRD writing, brand storytelling, startup ideation, personal productivity systems, and a "vibe coding" skill for rapid prototyping. Ideal for Hermes agents operating in product strategy roles.
Installation¶
npx skills add refoundai/lenny-skills --skill personal-productivity
npx skills add refoundai/lenny-skills --skill competitive-analysis
npx skills add refoundai/lenny-skills --skill writing-prds
npx skills add refoundai/lenny-skills --skill brand-storytelling
npx skills add refoundai/lenny-skills --skill startup-ideation
npx skills add refoundai/lenny-skills --skill vibe-coding
Included Skills¶
| Skill | Installs | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| personal-productivity | 5.6K | Lenny's productivity system — calendar design, deep work blocks, energy management |
| competitive-analysis | 2.7K | Competitive tear-downs using Lenny's frameworks — feature matrices, positioning maps |
| writing-prds | 2.6K | Product requirements docs — problem statements, user stories, success metrics |
| brand-storytelling | 2.6K | Brand narrative development — mission, positioning, voice, and story arcs |
| startup-ideation | 2.6K | Idea generation and validation — problem-space exploration, market sizing |
| vibe-coding | 2.4K | Rapid prototyping via AI-assisted coding — build MVPs for product validation |
Prerequisites¶
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Product context | Market data, user research, or product brief for analysis skills |
| Development environment | For vibe-coding — any modern IDE with AI coding support |
Key Capabilities¶
Personal Productivity¶
Lenny's personal operating system: ideal week design, energy-based task scheduling, meeting reduction frameworks, and deep work block protection. Based on systems used by top tech operators.
Competitive Analysis¶
Structured competitive intelligence: feature comparison matrices, positioning maps, SWOT analysis, and "jobs to be done" competitive alternatives. Based on frameworks from Lenny's competitive analysis playbook.
PRD Writing¶
Product requirements documentation with problem-first structure: user pain → current alternatives → proposed solution → success metrics → MVP scope. Includes stakeholder alignment patterns and prioritization frameworks (RICE, ICE).
Brand Storytelling¶
Develop brand narratives: mission statement, positioning vs alternatives, brand voice guidelines, customer story arcs, and messaging hierarchy. Based on storytelling patterns from Lenny's brand-building episodes.
Startup Ideation¶
Systematic idea generation: problem-space mapping, customer segment identification, solution brainstorming with constraints, and rapid validation checklist. Filters ideas through desirability, feasibility, and viability lenses.
Vibe Coding¶
Rapid prototyping methodology: start with the user experience, iterate visually, defer architecture decisions, and validate with users before engineering. "Vibe first, code second" approach popularized by AI-assisted development.
Quick Start¶
# Analyze competitors in your space
npx skills use refoundai/lenny-skills@competitive-analysis
# Write a product requirements doc
npx skills use refoundai/lenny-skills@writing-prds
# Prototype an idea rapidly
npx skills use refoundai/lenny-skills@vibe-coding
# Optimize your productivity system
npx skills use refoundai/lenny-skills@personal-productivity
Verification¶
npx skills list | grep lenny
Notes¶
- Created by Refound AI in collaboration with Lenny Rachitsky
- Skills encode methodologies from Lenny's Newsletter (1M+ subscribers) and podcast
competitive-analysisandwriting-prdsare the most directly applicable to business operatorsvibe-codingis valuable for agent-driven rapid prototyping — build functional MVPs in hours- Quality tier 🟡 Beta: 18K+ combined installs, active development