LP
Superhuman's secret to success | Rahul Vohra (CEO and founder)
@ Lenny's Podcast
03/23/25
Takeaways
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
To find product-market fit, I have to deliberately not act on the feedback of many early users while still listening intensely to what people want. It's about making something that people want, but not just what everyone wants.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
At Superhuman, we manually onboard every new user, which has created superfans and allowed our engineers to focus on product development rather than onboarding flows.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
The secret to virality is that there is no such thing as a truly viral product. It's about word of mouth, where one user spontaneously tells another about your product, which has shaped much of what we do at Superhuman.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
Creating something remarkable is one of Superhuman's core values. We aim to deliver quality that is so compelling that people can't help but share it with others.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
I realized that as a CEO, I can define what my role should be at Superhuman. I hired a great president, reducing my direct reports from eight to two, which allowed me to spend 60% to 70% of my time on product, design, and marketing.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
I developed a technique called the 'switch log' to track my time. Instead of being tethered to a calendar, I log every task I switch to, which helps me understand where my time is actually going.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
Transcendental Meditation has significantly improved my focus and creativity. I practice it for about half an hour in the morning and again in the afternoon, which helps me access deeper competencies.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
I believe that the best way to learn Transcendental Meditation is to have a coach teach you one-on-one, as it provides a more effective learning experience than apps or books.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
I designed a modified version of the Adelle Sans font for Superhuman because existing fonts didn't meet my standards for beauty, readability, and conveying messages effectively.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
Email is mission critical, and it must work flawlessly. You can't launch a half-baked product in this space.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
In the early days of Superhuman, we insisted on one-on-one onboarding, which was the right decision. At our peak, we had about 20 people doing manual onboarding.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
To find product-market fit, you can measure it, optimize it, and even have an algorithm write your roadmap to ensure it increases.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
We should make business software like we make games because it makes products fun, encourages word of mouth, and builds a strong brand.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
Before figuring out pricing, you must first understand your positioning. Superhuman is the best email tool on the market, and we have metrics to prove it.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
Our AI features, like 'Write with AI', allow users to generate emails that match their voice and tone, making it a popular tool.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
Transitioning to an enterprise solution requires understanding that Outlook users have different expectations than Gmail users, particularly regarding calendar integration.
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Rahul Vohra
03/23/25
@ Lenny's Podcast
The Single Decisive Reason framework helps in making better decisions by focusing on one strong reason rather than a collection of weak justifications.