Linear CEO Karri Saarinen: products have souls, and agents can't replace a point of view
wateriscoding · x · 2026-10-21
In a long-form essay, Linear CEO Karri Saarinen argues good products carry something of their makers. The industry treats software like a factory pipeline and now wants agents to automate it, but two teams with the same customers and tech build very different things. Linear values intuition over process and data — intuition as judgment forged by experience, not preference. Products develop character through what makers notice, refuse, and keep polishing; without a point of view, agent-driven development yields a Frankenstein pile of features nobody chose.
Related event: Linear Founder: Agent Automation Can't Replace Product Soul(2 posts)→
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