Google Labs head Josh Woodward on how NotebookLM, Flow and AI Studio really got built
lennysan · x · 2026-10-13
Lenny Rachitsky interviewed Josh Woodward, head of Google Labs, the Gemini App, and Google AI Studio. Woodward said Lenny's preparation pushed him into topics he'd never discussed publicly.
Key takeaways: the best ideas almost never come from design sprints — NotebookLM, Google Flow, Google Beam, and AI Studio all started with small teams obsessed with an insight, surfacing in showers, weekends, and hallways. Environment matters more than process: "You cannot microwave a good idea." And fall in love with the problem, not the product — most ideas require three to five significant pivots before they work.
Related event: Google Labs Head Josh Woodward: Every Company Should Run Like a Lab(5 posts)→
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