1. What’s your leadership mantra in the fast-evolving tech landscape?
Stay curious, stay grounded, stay human.The pace of tech change can be dizzying, but the compass has to remain constant: listen to the customer, build products people trust, build teams that trust each other, and stay insanely curious about what’s next. For me, it’s always about scaling trust, not just tech.
2. How do you inspire and motivate your team during a challenging time?
I remind them that resilience is built in the trenches, not in the meeting rooms. During COVID, when travel froze, we focused on what we could control—community, empathy, and adapting fast. Leadership isn’t just about giving pep talks—it’s about making hard decisions, listening to the community, staying visible, and walking the talk, especially when it’s tough.
3. In an era of AI and automation, how do you see the role of human leadership evolving?
AI can automate decisions. Human leaders provide direction.The future of leadership is deeply human: emotional intelligence, empathy, ethical reasoning, storytelling, and the ability to build culture. Machines will crunch data, but it takes a leader to rally hearts and minds around a mission.
Also Read: Interview of ANUPAM MITTAL
4. Tell us about a major screw-up in your career—what went wrong and what did you learn?
In the early startup days at Letsbuy, we scaled too fast before we had a sustainable and profitable business model. The burn was fast, and the lessons were brutal. But it taught me the importance of focusing on the long term. prudent risk, and surrounding yourself with missionaries, not mercenaries. It shaped how we pivoted the Letsbuy operational processes and then later how we built Airbnb India, with a long-term lens.
5. What’s a mistake you see many young tech entrepreneurs making?
They chase valuation instead of value. The obsession with “scale fast” often comes at the cost of customer love and sustainable economics. Build something people can’t live without, build for the long term, and the scale will come.
6. How do you handle failure, and how do you encourage a failure-friendly culture?
Failure is data. It tells you what doesn’t work so you can find what does. I don’t romanticize failure, but I deeply respect teams that take bold bets. We’ve built a culture where post-mortems aren’t blame games—they’re learning labs.
7. What’s the next big disruption you foresee in the tech industry?
The intersection of AI and cultural context. Most AI models are Western-trained. The next leap is going to be about localization at scale—building culturally aware AI that understands India, Asia, the world outside the Valley. Also, watch for experiential platforms—tech that doesn’t just digitize but deepens human experience. The magic was, is and always will be in the people.
8. How do you unplug from the tech world? Or do you? Any non-negotiable habits?
I unplug with art, travel, and my daughter’s music playlist (which, by the way, has some great music I’ve never heard of). My wife’s Sufi art practice keeps me rooted. I try to get 10K steps a day and one uninterrupted meal with family, no screens, no slides.
9. What books changed your perspective on leadership & technology?
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things – for its brutal honesty.
- What It Takes by Stephen Schwarzman – a masterclass in bold ambition, decision-making under pressure, and long-term thinking.
- From Strength to Strength by Arthur C. Brooks – a powerful reminder that life and leadership are marathons, not sprints; and that reinvention is as important as ambition.
10. Podcasts and inspiring quotes you want to recommend to our readers?
Podcasts:
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- Masters of Scale by Reid Hoffman
- Pivot by Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway
- Figuring out with Raj Shamani
Quotes:
“Fall seven times, stand up eight.” — Japanese Proverb (my North Star for resilience)
“Build something 100 people love, not something 1 million people kind of like.” — Brian Chesky
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