Inside the New Superhuman: $700M ARR, 40M Daily Users with Rahul Vohra
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
This podcast episode features Rahul Vohra, founder and CEO of Superhuman, discussing his company's recent acquisition by Grammarly and the subsequent rebranding of the combined entity as Superhuman. (02:42) The conversation covers how Grammarly - a quietly massive business with over 40 million daily users and $700 million ARR - acquired both Coda and Superhuman to build the "AI native productivity suite of choice." (11:09) Rahul shares insights from building two successful companies, his philosophy of designing products like video games, and the importance of creating tools that people genuinely love using.
• Main themes include strategic acquisitions in the AI productivity space, game design principles for product development, and lessons learned from building enduring brands in competitive markets.
Speakers
Rahul Vohra
Rahul Vohra is the founder and CEO of Superhuman Mail, following Grammarly's acquisition of his company Superhuman. He previously founded Rapportive, which was acquired by LinkedIn in 2014, and briefly worked as a game designer at Jagex developing content for RuneScape. Rahul started his career pursuing a machine learning PhD at Cambridge University in 2005-2006 before dropping out to become an entrepreneur, and is known for creating the widely-referenced quantitative framework for finding product-market fit.
Turner Novak
Turner Novak is the founder of Banana Capital and host of The Peel podcast. He focuses on exploring the world's greatest startup stories and has built a substantial following discussing venture capital and entrepreneurship insights.
Key Takeaways
Start as a Solo Founder to Build Momentum
Rahul advocates for starting companies solo before bringing on co-founders, arguing that every successful company was really a "solo founding journey" where one person had the majority of effort and vision. (97:58) He spent three months building Rapportive alone before recruiting co-founders, and nine months on Superhuman before bringing on his team. This approach allows founders to develop clear conviction about their idea and create momentum that attracts high-quality co-founders who buy into an established vision rather than trying to build consensus around uncertain ideas.
Design Products Like Video Games to Create Love
Most software companies focus on what users want or need, but games succeed by obsessing over how users feel. (36:48) Rahul applies five game design factors - goals, emotions, toys, controls, and flow - to product development. A key principle is creating "fun toys" that encourage playful exploration, like Superhuman's time auto-completer that understands natural language inputs like "fortnight and a day." (43:23) When features indulge playful exploration and create moments of pleasant surprise, users don't just use the product - they play with it and fall in love with it.
Build Strategic Moats Through Unique Partnerships
Rapportive's success came from securing exclusive API access from LinkedIn, making them one of only 21 companies ever to have this privilege. (64:08) This created an insurmountable competitive advantage - while competitors tried to replicate the product, they could never access the same quality of data. The key was turning up in person, building trust with the platform company, and demonstrating responsible use of their data. Strategic partnerships can create defensive moats that are nearly impossible for competitors to replicate.
Measure Product-Market Fit Quantitatively
Rather than relying on intuition, Rahul developed a systematic approach to measuring product-market fit by asking users "How would you feel if you couldn't use this product anymore?" (88:08) The goal is reaching 40% of users saying "very disappointed," but the trend over time is just as important as the absolute number. This methodology can generate your entire product roadmap by systematically addressing the reasons why users aren't disappointed enough, guaranteed to move you toward product-market fit over time.
Near-Death Experiences Create Unshakeable Founder Aura
Rahul's hospitalization during the LinkedIn acquisition process fundamentally changed his approach to high-stakes negotiations. (77:59) After nearly dying from stress-induced health issues, he developed a "zero fucks to give" mentality that paradoxically made him more effective in fundraising and M&A situations. (78:14) This authentic detachment changed the dynamic of every conversation - when he sensed BS, he would simply walk away, which made everyone start chasing him instead. Sometimes the most powerful negotiating position comes from genuinely not caring about the outcome.
Statistics & Facts
- Grammarly has over 40 million daily active users and generates more than $700 million in annual revenue, despite being largely bootstrapped and flying under Silicon Valley's radar. (13:50)
- There are approximately 1 billion professionals worldwide who spend an average of 3 hours per day in email, totaling over 3 billion hours daily and more than 1 trillion hours annually. (08:22)
- Grammarly works with over 1 million applications and websites through deep integrations built over 15 years, creating what Rahul calls an "AI superhighway" for deploying agents. (26:48)
