Jonathan Ross, founder and former CEO of AI chip startup Groq, said his early leadership mistakes delayed the company’s progress by three to four years as he learned to transition from engineer to manager. Ross made the remarks during an episode of the “Founders” podcast released Sunday.
Groq develops language processing units, or LPUs, specialized AI inference chips designed to run artificial intelligence models efficiently as an alternative to traditional graphics processing units used for AI workloads. Ross co-founded the company in 2016 after previously working as an engineer at Google.
“I was a terrible leader. I was one of the world’s worst leaders when I started,” Ross said, adding that learning to manage people instead of focusing solely on engineering “probably cost Groq three to four years.”
Hiring Mistakes Slowed Growth
Ross said one of his biggest mistakes was hiring employees who were not prepared to operate independently while delegating too much responsibility without providing enough direction. That often caused projects to stall because employees waited for guidance while he expected them to make decisions on their own.
He said his approach changed after he became more selective during hiring.
“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,” Ross said.
Nvidia Deal Changed Groq’s Next Chapter
Ross’s comments come months after Groq entered a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), under which Ross, Groq President Sunny Madra and other team members joined Nvidia to help integrate the company’s inference technology while Groq continued operating as an independent business.
Nvidia later expanded its use of Groq’s inference technology as part of its broader AI chip strategy.
Ross is not alone in reflecting on the challenges of leading a startup. Figma Inc. (NYSE:FIG) CEO Dylan Field has previously said he initially confused leadership with management before learning the importance of accountability and one-on-one meetings.
Duolingo Inc (NASDAQ:DUOL) CEO Luis von Ahn has also said founders should closely manage small teams early on but admitted he continued micromanaging longer than he should have.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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