‘I have nothing to lose’: Perplexity CEO says fear of failure is ‘the stupidest thing’ holding you back

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas says fear of failure is 'the stupidest thing' holding people back, urging a focus on offense and risk-taking. Srinivas, who grew up in a lower-middle-class family in India, co-founded the AI startup valued at up to $20 billion. Other leaders like Qualtrics founder Ryan Smith and Informatica CEO Amit Walia echo the importance of pushing boundaries and embracing discomfort for success.

As workers grapple with layoffs https://fortune.com/tag/layoffs/ , AI disruption https://fortune.com/article/ai-layoffs-unemployment-benefits-eligibility-sam-altman-dario-amodei/ , and the constant pressure to prove their worth, self-doubt can feel like an unavoidable part of building a career. But Aravind Srinivas, the CEO of AI giant Perplexity, says that operating under the fear of failure only holds back success. He carved out his place in the trillion-dollar tech race by focusing on the thrill of winning. “I have nothing to lose,” Srinivas recently said on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxFyVcO1Yow the 20CV with Harry Stebbings podcast. “I came from nothing. I never even imagined myself to be doing all this. So my life has already been extraordinary beyond any level of imagination.” In 2022, he cofounded the 30-year-old founded Perplexity, which has since reportedly raised at least $1.5 billion in total funding https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/10/perplexity-reportedly-raised-200m-at-20b-valuation/ , its market cap estimated to be around $18 billion https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-17/ai-startup-perplexity-valued-at-18-billion-with-new-funding , or even potentially $20 billion http://theinformation.com/briefings/perplexity-finalizes-20-billion-valuation-round?rc=em6blq&im ref=3lG2aZ1aaxyZWT7Q-xV1WXF7UkuTu50Iv20E3M0&sharedid=techcrunch.com&irpid=10078&utm term=techcrunch.com&irgwc=1&afsrc=1&utm source=affiliate&utm medium=cpa&utm campaign=10078-Skimbit%20Ltd. , as of 2025. But growing up in Chennai, India, in a financially lower-middle-class family, he said that simply having a job was the bar for success. And the AI prodigy outshined in every measurable way, receiving a bachelor’s degree with a specialty in electrical engineering at the esteemed Indian Institute of Technology IIT . The year after he graduated, Srinivas landed a research internship at OpenAI, then at Google https://fortune.com/company/alphabet/ DeepMind—the job most coveted by his family. So now, anything more is just the cherry on top of an already extraordinary career. “All we wanted to do was get a job in sic Google. Being an engineer at Google was considered a win,” the CEO continued. “I’m already doing remarkably well compared to that ambition we had as a family, so there’s really nothing for me to lose.” “That’s why anytime I try to act like I’m trying to avoid failure, I’m being on the defense, I remind myself that like that’s the stupidest thing to do,” Srinivas said. “It’s better to go all in and try your best. Be on the offense all the time. Attack, attack, attack.” Leaders find success by taking risks and getting comfortable with the uncomfortable Ryan Smith, the former CEO and founder of cloud-based software platform Qualtrics https://fortune.com/company/qualtrics/ , agrees that it’s critical to push boundaries https://fortune.com/2016/06/07/qualtrics-success-imperfection-failure/?utm source=chatgpt.com in order to succeed. In fact, he winces at past memories of not following his own advice. If every company’s new hire, products, and acquisitions are all “safe,” then it’s clear nothing revolutionary is on the horizon. Smith says taking smart risks to stay on the cutting edge is essential. “My biggest fear as a CEO is that people will stop pushing the boundaries,” Smith wrote for Fortune https://fortune.com/2016/06/07/qualtrics-success-imperfection-failure/?utm source=chatgpt.com in 2016. “Some of my biggest regrets are when I had a big idea and didn’t hop on it fast enough or go all the way because I was afraid of failing.” Even being put in uncomfortable and fierce work environments can be a huge growth opportunity. Amit Walia, the CEO of software company Informatica, said being “pushed around” earlier in his career set him for success as the boss of a $7.6 billion business. Walia spent nearly five years at consulting giant McKinsey https://fortune.com/company/mckinsey/ as a senior engagement manager, and looks back on his stint as “intense” and daunting. However, Walia says it was immensely rewarding in advancing his skills as a tech leader. “You really get pushed into difficult situations at McKinsey …You have to always have a clear bent of mind to be very analytical, to really distill out the problem to its core,” Walia told Fortune https://fortune.com/2026/01/17/doordash-google-ceos-informatica-ceo-amit-walia-mckinsey-alum-smart-consultants-executive-experience/?showAdminBar=true&utm source=chatgpt.com earlier this year. “You become a better person by being pushed around by the environment of a lot of other smart people.” Joanna Griffiths, the CEO of $400 million intimates company Knix, has even worked with a hypnotherapist to help https://fortune.com/2026/02/08/knix-founder-joanna-griffiths-sees-hynotherapist-rewire-brain-work-through-fear-of-failure/?utm source=chatgpt.com “rewire” her brain—particularly, on her fear of failure. Through their hour-long biweekly sessions, Griffiths has been learning how to make smarter decisions “out of a place of optimism, instead of fear.” “We put so much emphasis on the fear of failure,” Griffiths told Fortune https://fortune.com/2026/02/08/knix-founder-joanna-griffiths-sees-hynotherapist-rewire-brain-work-through-fear-of-failure/?utm source=chatgpt.com earlier this year. “We often don’t allow ourselves to think it the whole way through and be like, ‘Okay, if this actually did fail, what’s the thing that’s going to happen? Do I still have my family? Do I still have my health? Do I still have my internal knowledge?’” The Fortune 500 Innovation Forum will convene Fortune 500 executives, U.S. policy officials, top founders, and thought leaders to help define what’s next for the American economy, Nov. 16-17 in Detroit.