Groq's founder says his 'terrible' leadership cost his company 3 to 4 years

Jonathan Ross, the co-founder of Groq, has candidly acknowledged his initial struggles with leadership, admitting that his inexperience resulted in a costly delay of three to four years for the company. Speaking on the 'Founders' podcast, Ross described himself as 'one of the world's worst leaders' in the early days of Groq, a chipmaker renowned for its innovative language processing units. Ross, a former Google engineer, emphasized the critical transition founders must make from being technically skilled to effectively managing teams. He reflected on his own journey, stating, "The first thing that you have to do as a founder is you have to go from the technical thing that you know how to do and that you can add value with, to learning how to manage people." In 2016, Ross co-founded Groq to create custom AI inference chips, providing an alternative to Nvidia's GPUs. A significant milestone came in December when Nvidia entered a $20 billion deal with Groq, allowing Ross and other key engineers to join Nvidia while Groq continued its independent operations. Now serving as Nvidia's chief software architect, Ross shared insights into his leadership evolution. He recognized that not hiring individuals capable of working autonomously and overly delegating responsibilities hindered progress. "What ended up happening was things would just grind to a halt because they wouldn't know what to do, and I wasn't telling them what to do," he explained. A pivotal change occurred when Ross shifted his hiring strategy to focus on selecting talent carefully. He noted, "I went from looking for positives, which is what you do when you're trying to grow talent, to looking for negatives, which is what you do when you're trying to select talent." This approach has resonated with other tech leaders, as many have shared similar experiences regarding the distinction between management and leadership. For instance, Figma CEO Dylan Field highlighted the confusion between the two roles, admitting he had to learn the importance of one-on-one meetings and accountability. Additionally, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn shared his belief that founders should micromanage until they reach a certain employee count, though he acknowledged he may have extended that approach too long. Ross’s journey serves as a reminder of the challenges many founders face in their early days, emphasizing the importance of effective leadership in driving company success.