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Rahul Vohra 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.

What you’ll learn:

1. The unexpected insight about virality Rahul gained from LinkedIn’s head of growth.

2. 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.

3. The counterintuitive approach to finding product-market fit using a methodical system inspired by Sean Ellis, and how this algorithmically determines your roadmap.

4. 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.

5. The “Single Decisive Reason” framework for making better decisions by avoiding collections of weak justifications.

6. How Superhuman’s AI features have evolved to create a truly intelligent email experience that works while you sleep.

Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/superhumans-secret-to-success-rahul-vohra

Some takeaways:

1. The secret to true virality isn’t viral mechanics but word of mouth. LinkedIn’s head of growth revealed to Rahul that no app has sustained a viral factor above 1 for long periods—even Facebook peaked at 0.7. What drives growth is when users spontaneously tell others about products they love.

2. Ignore feedback from users who don’t love your product’s core value—focus on the “somewhat disappointed” users for whom your main benefit resonates.

3. Tracking his time revealed that Rahul was spending only 6% to 7% on product, design, and marketing—areas where he excels. By hiring a president to handle operations and restructuring his role, he increased this to 60% to 70%, dramatically accelerating Superhuman’s product velocity.

4. Manual onboarding scaled further than you’d think. At its peak, Superhuman had only 20 people manually onboarding new users, creating superfans who drove word-of-mouth growth while allowing engineering resources to focus on product rather than self-service flows.

5. Typography matters more than you think. After testing 15 different fonts and finding none adequate, Rahul spent six months perfecting Superhuman’s typography, selecting and modifying Adelle Sans because it’s beautiful, conveys any sentiment appropriately, optimizes reading speed, and makes email addresses look natural.

6. Before setting pricing, establish positioning—Superhuman chose $30 a month by asking at what price the product “starts to feel expensive but isn’t out of the question.”

7. The “Single Decisive Reason” framework prevents justifying decisions with collections of weak reasons. Learned from Reid Hoffman, this approach asks: “If only one reason were true and you’re still advocating for this decision, what would it be?” This creates clarity and prevents rationalization.

8. Superhuman’s “Write with AI” feature is used 37 times per week per user—far more than expected—while features Rahul anticipated would be popular have seen less adoption, highlighting the challenge of predicting which AI capabilities will resonate.

9. When selling to enterprise, understand that user needs (like calendar integration for Outlook users) and institutional requirements (like security controls) create a multi-threaded sale with different stakeholders. Superhuman spent a year piloting with a major consulting firm before full deployment.

10. Most B2B software slows down because companies shift from “solution deepening” (improving product) to “market widening” (expanding platform support).

11. Hiring a president freed Rahul to focus on his “zone of genius.” This operational leader manages the executive team and serves as a thought partner on strategy—effectively functioning as a “grown-up co-founder” for a 10-year-old company where the original co-founders have departed.

12. Working with a TM meditation coach transformed Rahul’s performance. After four years of practice (30 minutes in the morning and afternoon), he experiences increased focus, creativity, and expressiveness that has become essential to his effectiveness as a founder.

Where to find Rahul Vohra:

• X: https://x.com/rahulvohra

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulvohra/

• Email: Rahul@superhuman.com

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Introduction to Rahul and Superhuman

(05:00) The most pivotal moment in Rahul's career

(07:01) The secret to virality

(11:02) Superhuman’s product evolution and core values

(13:32) Overcoming slowdowns at scale

(18:06) Time management and meditation

(27:35) The role of a president

(30:56) Attention to detail

(43:00) Finding your unique position

(47:32) The power of manual onboarding

(52:37) Mastering product-market fit

(59:33) Game design in business software

(01:05:35) Contrarian pricing strategies

(01:09:29) Leveraging AI

(01:15:40) Transitioning to enterprise solutions

(01:19:08) The Single Decisive Reason framework

(01:22:32) Conclusion and final thoughts

Referenced:

• Superhuman: https://superhuman.com/

• Rapportive: https://techcrunch.com/2012/02/22/rapportive-linkedin-acquisition/

• Elliot Shmukler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshmu/

• What Are ‘Whales’ in Video Games: https://gamerant.com/video-games-whales-concept-term-explained/

• Figma: https://www.figma.com/

• Notion: https://www.notion.com/

• Loom: https://www.loom.com/

• How to use Team Comments to reimagine email collaboration: https://blog.superhuman.com/how-to-use-team-comments-to-reimagine-email-collaboration/

• Rajiv Ayyangar’s post on X about Superhuman: https://x.com/rajivayyangar/status/1816176308130570385

• Transcendental Meditation: https://www.tm.org/

• Laurent Valosek on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurent-valosek-18708b5a/

• Peak Leadership Institute: https://www.peakleadershipinstitute.com/

• Ed Sim’s website: https://edsim.net/

• Adelle Sans: https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/adelle-sans

• Comic Sans: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_Sans

• Greenfield project: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenfield_project

• Why Mailbox died: https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9873268/why-dropbox-mailbox-shutdown

• Bill Trenchard on X: https://x.com/btrenchard

• How Superhuman Built an Engine to Find Product-Market Fit: https://review.firstround.com/how-superhuman-built-an-engine-to-find-product-market-fit/

• Using the Sean Ellis Test for Measuring Your Product-Market Fit: https://medium.productcoalition.com/using-sean-ellis-test-for-measuring-your-product-market-fit-c8ac98053c2c

• Sean Ellis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanellis/

• The original growth hacker reveals his secrets | Sean Ellis (author of “Hacking Growth”): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-original-growth-hacker-sean-ellis

• The Trouble with Rewards: https://www.kornferry.com/insights/briefings-magazine/issue-13/519-the-trouble-with-rewards

• The art and science of pricing | Madhavan Ramanujam (Monetizing Innovation, Simon-Kucher): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan

•  Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Westendorp%27s_Price_Sensitivity_Meter

• AI-powered email for high-performing teams: https://superhuman.com/ai

• Linear’s secret to building beloved B2B products | Nan Yu (Head of Product): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/linears-secret-to-building-beloved-b2b-products-nan-yu

• Single Decisive Reason: decision-making for fast-scaling startups: https://blog.superhuman.com/single-decisive-reason-decision-making-for-fast-scaling-startups/

• Reid Hoffman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reidhoffman/

Recommended books:

• Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind: https://www.amazon.com/Positioning-Battle-Your-Al-Ries/dp/0071373586

• Monetizing Innovation: How Smart Companies Design the Product Around the Price: https://www.amazon.com/Monetizing-Innovation-Companies-Design-Product/dp/1119240867

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.