Perplexity CEO explains why you need to understand your 'dopamine system' if you want to start your own company
Perplexity's CEO Aravind Srinivas recently shared his advice for founders on startup success.
Srinivas emphasized creating products based on personal passion over market trends.
Founders should understand what gives them "dopamine hits," he said.
Perplexity's CEO may be weathering a current controversy over the way his startup's AI product produces content online, but he also has some advice for people starting their own company — and it involves understanding your "dopamine system."
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas recently sat for an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman that was published Wednesday and acknowledged that the traditional business wisdom still applies: relentless determination, grit, and believing in yourself.
However, Srinivas also stressed working on ideas you are passionate about — not just what the market wants, or what you think will get you VC funding.
"If you work from that perspective, I think you'll give up beyond a point because it's very hard to work toward something that isn't truly important to you," Srinivas said. "Like, do you really care?"
Srinivas said founders should start with something that they personally love and use, rather than what they think is most likely to be profitable. If you attempt to mold your interests into what you think will be lucrative, he said, "eventually you'll give up, or you'll be supplanted by someone who actually has a genuine passion for that thing."
"If you're not a person who gets that and you're really only getting dopamine hits from making money, then it's hard to work on hard problems," he said.
Srinivas said he and his Perplexity cofounders, Denis Yarats and Johnny Ho, were already "obsessed" with search and knowledge-based products even prior to starting Perplexity, including work at Quora.
Having already cultivated a passion for improving search quality made it easier for them to work on Perplexity without any "immediate dopamine hits."
"It's important to know what your dopamine system is — where do you get your dopamine?" Srinivas said.
Most startups fail. And with their fickle nature, Srinivas said support systems are necessary to avoid getting discouraged. He also encouraged people, especially those in their late teens to mid-twenties, to relentlessly pursue their passions while they have the time and energy.
"If there is a certain idea that really just occupies your mind all the time," Srinivas said. "It's worth making your life about that idea."
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