Superhuman's secret to success: Ignoring most customer feedback, manually onboarding every new user, obsessing over every detail, and positioning around a single attribute: speed | Rahul Vohra (CEO)
<p><strong>Rahul Vohra </strong>is the founder and CEO of Superhuman. Prior to Superhuman, Rahul founded Rapportive, the first Gmail plug-in to scale to millions of users, which he sold to LinkedIn in 2012. He is also a prominent angel investor, and his fund has invested $50 million in over 120 companies, including Placer, Supabase, Mercury, Zip, ClassDojo, and Writer.</p><p><strong>What you’ll learn:</strong></p><p>• The unexpected insight about virality Rahul gained from LinkedIn’s head of growth.</p><p>• Why Rahul restructured his entire executive team to spend 60% to 70% of his time on product, design, and marketing instead of the typical CEO responsibilities.</p><p>• The counterintuitive approach to finding product-market fit using a methodical system inspired by Sean Ellis, and how this algorithmically determines your roadmap.</p><p>• How manually onboarding every user (Superhuman had 20 full-time people doing this at peak) created superfans and allowed engineers to focus on product rather than onboarding flows.</p><p>• The “Single Decisive Reason” framework for making better decisions by avoiding collections of weak justifications.</p><p>• How Superhuman’s AI features have evolved to create a truly intelligent email experience that works while you sleep.</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Brought to you by:</strong></p><p>• <a target="_blank" href="https://www.geteppo.com/">Eppo</a>—Run reliable, impactful experiments</p><p>• <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fundrise.com/lenny">Fundrise Flagship Fund</a>—Invest in $1.1 billion of real estate</p><p>• <a target="_blank" href="https://oneschema.co/lenny">OneSchema</a>—Import CSV data 10x faster</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Find the transcript at: </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/superhumans-secret-to-success-rahul-vohra">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/superhumans-secret-to-success-rahul-vohra</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Rahul Vohra:</strong></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/rahulvohra?lang=en">https://x.com/rahulvohra</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulvohra/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulvohra/</a></p><p>• Email: <a target="_blank" href="mailto:Rahul@superhuman.com">Rahul@superhuman.com</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Where to find Lenny:</strong></p><p>• Newsletter: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a></p><p>• X: <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/lennysan">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Introduction to Rahul and Superhuman</p><p>(05:00) The most pivotal moment in Rahul's career</p><p>(07:01) The secret to virality</p><p>(11:02) Superhuman’s product evolution and core values</p><p>(13:32) Overcoming slowdowns at scale</p><p>(18:06) Time management and meditation</p><p>(27:35) The role of a president</p><p>(30:56) Attention to detail</p><p>(43:00) Finding your unique position</p><p>(47:32) The power of manual onboarding</p><p>(52:37) Mastering product-market fit</p><p>(59:33) Game design in business software</p><p>(01:05:35) Contrarian pricing strategies</p><p>(01:09:29) Leveraging AI</p><p>(01:15:40) Transitioning to enterprise solutions</p><p>(01:19:08) The Single Decisive Reason framework</p><p>(01:22:32) Conclusion and final thoughts</p><p>—</p><p><strong>Referenced:</strong></p><p>• Superhuman: <a target="_blank" href="https://superhuman.com/">https://superhuman.com/</a></p><p>• Rapportive: <a target="_blank" href="https://techcrunch.com/2012/02/22/rapportive-linkedin-acquisition/">https://techcrunch.com/2012/02/22/rapportive-linkedin-acquisition/</a></p><p>• Elliot Shmukler on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshmu/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshmu/</a></p><p>• What Are ‘Whales’ in Video Games: <a target="_blank" href="https://gamerant.com/video-games-whales-concept-term-explained/">https://gamerant.com/video-games-whales-concept-term-explained/</a></p><p>• Figma: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.figma.com/">https://www.figma.com/</a></p><p>• Notion: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.notion.com/">https://www.notion.com/</a></p><p>• Loom: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.loom.com/">https://www.loom.com/</a></p><p>• How to use Team Comments to reimagine email collaboration: <a target="_blank" href="https://blog.superhuman.com/how-to-use-team-comments-to-reimagine-email-collaboration/">https://blog.superhuman.com/how-to-use-team-comments-to-reimagine-email-collaboration/</a></p><p>• Rajiv Ayyangar’s post on X about Superhuman: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/rajivayyangar/status/1816176308130570385">https://x.com/rajivayyangar/status/1816176308130570385</a></p><p>• Transcendental Meditation: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tm.org/">https://www.tm.org/</a></p><p>• Laurent Valosek on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurent-valosek-18708b5a/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurent-valosek-18708b5a/</a></p><p>• Peak Leadership Institute: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.peakleadershipinstitute.com/">https://www.peakleadershipinstitute.com/</a></p><p>• Ed Sim’s website: <a target="_blank" href="https://edsim.net/">https://edsim.net/</a></p><p>• Adelle Sans: <a target="_blank" href="https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/adelle-sans">https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/adelle-sans</a></p><p>• Comic Sans: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_Sans">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_Sans</a></p><p>• Greenfield project: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenfield_project">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenfield_project</a></p><p>• Why Mailbox died: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9873268/why-dropbox-mailbox-shutdown">https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9873268/why-dropbox-mailbox-shutdown</a></p><p>• Bill Trenchard on X: <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/btrenchard">https://x.com/btrenchard</a></p><p>• How Superhuman Built an Engine to Find Product-Market Fit: <a target="_blank" href="https://review.firstround.com/how-superhuman-built-an-engine-to-find-product-market-fit/">https://review.firstround.com/how-superhuman-built-an-engine-to-find-product-market-fit/</a></p><p>• Using the Sean Ellis Test for Measuring Your Product-Market Fit: <a target="_blank" href="https://medium.productcoalition.com/using-sean-ellis-test-for-measuring-your-product-market-fit-c8ac98053c2c">https://medium.productcoalition.com/using-sean-ellis-test-for-measuring-your-product-market-fit-c8ac98053c2c</a></p><p>• Sean Ellis on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanellis/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanellis/</a></p><p>• The original growth hacker reveals his secrets | Sean Ellis (author of “Hacking Growth”): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-original-growth-hacker-sean-ellis">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-original-growth-hacker-sean-ellis</a></p><p>• The Trouble with Rewards: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kornferry.com/insights/briefings-magazine/issue-13/519-the-trouble-with-rewards">https://www.kornferry.com/insights/briefings-magazine/issue-13/519-the-trouble-with-rewards</a></p><p>• The art and science of pricing | Madhavan Ramanujam (Monetizing Innovation, Simon-Kucher): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan</a></p><p>• Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter: <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Westendorp%27s_Price_Sensitivity_Meter">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Westendorp%27s_Price_Sensitivity_Meter</a></p><p>• AI-powered email for high-performing teams: <a target="_blank" href="https://superhuman.com/ai">https://superhuman.com/ai</a></p><p>• Linear’s secret to building beloved B2B products | Nan Yu (Head of Product): <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/linears-secret-to-building-beloved-b2b-products-nan-yu">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/linears-secret-to-building-beloved-b2b-products-nan-yu</a></p><p>• Single Decisive Reason: decision-making for fast-scaling startups: <a target="_blank" href="https://blog.superhuman.com/single-decisive-reason-decision-making-for-fast-scaling-startups/">https://blog.superhuman.com/single-decisive-reason-decision-making-for-fast-scaling-startups/</a></p><p>• Reid Hoffman on LinkedIn: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/reidhoffman/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/reidhoffman/</a></p><p>—</p><p><strong>Recommended books:</strong></p><p><em>• Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind</em>:<em> </em><a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Positioning-Battle-Your-Al-Ries/dp/0071373586">https://www.amazon.com/Positioning-Battle-Your-Al-Ries/dp/0071373586</a></p><p>• <em>Monetizing Innovation: How Smart Companies Design the Product Around the Price</em>: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Monetizing-Innovation-Companies-Design-Product/dp/1119240867">https://www.amazon.com/Monetizing-Innovation-Companies-Design-Product/dp/1119240867</a></p><p>—</p><p>Production and marketing by <a target="_blank" href="https://penname.co/">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.</p><p>—</p><p><em>Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.</em></p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe</a>