Email productivity ranks highly on the list of desirable outcomes for business owners, and today we have Rahul Vohra on the show, the brains behind the fastest email experience available, Superhuman! Rahul explains the philosophy behind the company and why the product has created its own buzz, more than anything. We get into some of the early periods of their story and the work that Rahul did before founding Superhuman too. Rahul does a great job sharing some of the secret sauce that has gone into the success he and his company have experienced, giving a detailed rundown of their marketing funnel and the important conversations he had with customers early on. We touch on the power of word of mouth, gaining the attention of the right investors, and how a history in game design has informed the way that Rahul thinks about email. Their tool is such a great example of finding a need in the market and servicing it with almost pinpoint accuracy, and the way that Rahul and his team have gone about this is truly inspiring, you will not want to miss this!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
• [00:46] Rahul's backstory leading up to his work on Superhuman.
• [01:23] How Rahul's company, Rapportive, was acquired by LinkedIn. 
• [04:24] Some interesting financial and business metrics of Superhuman!
• [06:04] The marketing strategy around the launch and waitlist model of Superhuman.
• [07:49] The methods that Superhuman used for customer development and how they generated such intense loyalty.
• [11:30] The power of word of mouth marketing combined with small paid experiments. 
• [13:04] Efficient customer meetings and injecting a company into the news cycle.
• [19:21] Clarifying the customer funnel at Superhuman! 
• [21:00] Rahul's reflections on working with Marc Andreessen.
• [24:02] Getting the attention of big venture capital firms; different routes to explore. 
• [27:28] The influence of game design on Rahul's philosophy towards Superhuman.
• [30:39] The exciting future of Superhuman that has Rahul looking forward!
• [31:20] Business trends that Rahul is currently excited about as an angel investor.
• [32:09] The music tool that keeps Rahul on track and productive!
• [32:32] Two great book recommendations from Rahul.
• [33:13] Connecting with Rahul online and on social media.

 

Resources From The Interview:

 

• Rahul Vohra on LinkedIn
• Superhuman
• Rahul Vohra on Twitter
• Andreessen Horowitz
• Netscape

Marc Andreessen 

Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund

Brain.fm 

Must read books: The Art of Game Design, Gardens of the Moon

 

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