Welcome back to a new season of The Room Podcast! To kick off Season 11, we're joined by Johnny Ho, co-founder of Perplexity, an AI-powered platform transforming the way everyday consumers interact with search. Johnny shares his path from competitive programming to entrepreneurship and offers insights into the development of Perplexity’s core product, which aims to deliver precise, reliable answers in a simple, intuitive way.

In this episode, we covered topics such as how Perplexity uses AI to deliver accurate and reliable search results using multiple LLMs, building a user-first product in a competitive tech space, and the importance of finding investors who want to work with you in the right ways.

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5:05 - Where did Johnny grow up and how did that shape his view of the world?
5:42 - Did Johnny always think he was going to be a founder?
6:21 - How did Johnny get into competitive programming?
7:23 - What brought Johnny to start working at Quora?
8:06 - What lessons did Johnny take away from his time at Quora?
8:49 - How did Johnny meet his cofounders of Perplexity?
9:17 - Why did Johnny, Arvin, and Dennis decide to start a company together?
10:01 - Why did Johnny think Arvin and Dennis would be good partners?
10:56 - What was the “aha moment” that inspired the core product of Perplexity?
12:04 - Why was user interface so important to Johnny and the team?
13:26 - What was the decision-making process behind implementing a unique feature allowing consumers to choose what LLM they use?
16:09 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Perplexity?
17:06 - What advice does Johnny have regarding picking the right investors to partner with?
18:11 - What’s a fun story or anecdote from founding Perplexity?
19:11 - When should a founder consider trying a new idea/ altering their concept?
20:32 - How is Perplexity’s go-to-market strategy changing with its success?
21:39 - How is Perplexity differentiating themselves from their competitors?
23:21 - Is B2B selling a part of Perplexity’s future plans?
24:51 - How does Johnny get authentic reviews from customers?
26:03 - What was a moment in Perplexity’s life cycle when things didn’t go as planned?
27:22 - Is it possible that some of Perplexity’s partners could be future competitors?
29:43 - Has Perplexity created a governing board?
30:00 - What’s next for Perplexity?
30:59 - What’s next for Johnny Personally
31:45 - Who is a woman in Johnny’s life that had an impact on him and his career?

Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.*
*Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC.

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