First Principles Part 1: Darwinbox’s Rohit Chennamaneni on leading without a CEO, the ‘show don’t tell’ product mindset, and why resilience beats intelligence
Jan 12, 2026
Rohit Chennamaneni, co-founder of Darwinbox and an innovator in enterprise HR tech, dives into the unique structure of his company, which thrives without a CEO. He discusses how the three founders share decision-making power for faster growth. Rohit emphasizes the importance of product design that prioritizes user adoption over complexities. He reflects on the need for resilience over intelligence in leadership and shares insights on building an experience-led HR platform that truly resonates with employees.
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Founder Equality With Role Clarity
- Darwinbox's three founders started as equals and never felt the need for a single CEO because roles naturally split by strength.
- They kept decision speed by predefining who had veto in deadlocks instead of appointing a CEO.
Adoption Trumps Feature Depth
- Adoption, not feature depth, determines an HR system's value because it's the only system used by everyone.
- Treat HR tech as an experience platform, not merely a control database, to unlock real insights.
Design Mobile-First And Configurable
- Build HR products mobile-first for markets where many employees lack laptops and need simple access.
- Prioritise configurability so local cultural policies map into the product and increase usage.