CEO Rapidfire: Superhuman CEO Rahul Vohra On Why You Shouldn’t Fail Fast

Welcome to CEO Rapidfire, fast-paced questions with today’s most successful founders and CEOs. Be sure to look for these special Q&A editions of my newsletter, where I’ll share insights from the amazing leaders in my network. 

For this edition, my guest is Rahul Vohra, who reserves one hour a day for a practice that has changed how he works. (More details below.)  

Rahul is founder and CEO of Superhuman, which is disrupting the email space. Its AI-powered subscription service, which connects with Gmail and Outlook, is built for high-performance teams. “Superhuman is the fastest email experience in the world,” says Rahul, whose company was one of the first to work on AI features with OpenAI. “We help our customers get through their inbox about twice as fast as before, reply to their important email sooner and see inbox zero for the first time in years.”

Superhuman’s customers include Netflix, Brex and Spotify, and it counts Andreessen Horowitz, IVP and First Round Capital among its investors.

Rahul, who grew up in the U.K., began programming at age eight. Pursuing his childhood dream to be a game developer, he worked on the popular RPG RuneScape and earned a BA in computer science from the University of Cambridge. Rahul began PhD studies in machine learning at Cambridge before dropping out to co-found mo.jo, an app that enabled big organizations to crowdsource ideas. After selling that business, he moved to the Bay Area to become co-founder and CEO of email platform Rapportive. When LinkedIn bought the company in 2012, Rahul worked there as a product manager before launching Superhuman two years later.

“The secret to making a great product that users love and share with their friends is to have a higher bar than even your users,” he says.

In his spare time, Rahul loves to play Dungeons and Dragons. “I find that D&D gives me a wonderful creative outlet.” 

"There is no one true way to be a founder, leader or CEO. You will find your own style based on your unique skills, talents and strengths."

Here’s what Rahul shared in our CEO Rapidfire interview:

The one secret to succeeding as a leader, in 5 words or less. Relentless focus on customer delight.

What was the most exciting “minute” of your leadership journey? Seeing Superhuman on the front page of the New York Times, in the Guardian and in the Economist, all in the same week. It was the first time I thought, “Maybe this is working…?"

One truth you wish you knew about leadership before starting? There is no one true way to be a founder, leader or CEO. You will find your own style based on your unique skills, talents and strengths.

If you had to do battle with a giant, what weapon would you use? Something that embodies Superhuman: blazingly fast, remarkably effective and an unfair advantage. Perhaps a weapon that would allow me to predict the giant’s moves before they even happen … 

Your worst mistake as a leader (and what you learned from it): When you find product-market fit, you need to step on the gas hard. I did, but I should have stepped even harder!

Top 3 websites, blogs or podcasts you can’t imagine your day without: I do not subscribe to any specific media. Instead, I find really great content through X and word of mouth.

What popular leadership advice do you disagree with? “Fail fast” — believe this and you will. “Launch early and iterate often” — in some industries, you need to launch with a fully baked product. “You need free users in order to grow” — in some markets, you should focus on those who will pay you the most.

One life hack you can’t live without: I practice transcendental meditation for one hour every single day, and it has been life-changing. Initially, I simply felt happier; later, the effects became more profound. I am now more creative and can stay focused for much longer. 

One soft skill that you’ve realized is supremely important: Coaching. 

The one thing that makes a good leader great is: Constant and rapid learning. 

Your secret to building a great team is: Recruit missionaries, not mercenaries. 

The key to navigating hypergrowth is: Know how far your current growth S-curve will take you, and build the next one ahead of time. 

Every leader must read… The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses by Jesse Schell. A book all about games, why we play them and how to make them. 

What are you most excited about at work right now? We are growing 85% faster in 2024 than in 2023. I am so excited to lean into this acceleration, bring Superhuman to new markets and build our next product!

Your one “non-negotiable” in business (or life) is… Create delight. What we make people feel is just as important as what we make. 

Thank you, Rahul, for sharing your leadership thoughts this week. To learn more, follow Rahul on LinkedIn.

Thank you for reading! I'm interested in hearing your thoughts in the comments below. For more insights from my experience as a serial entrepreneur and how we can harness the power of software to change the world, be sure to subscribe to Entrepreneurship and Leadership.