Life lessons from Sundar Pichai: Rubrik co-founder Arvind Jain reveals what he learnt from Google CEO

There was a time when Arvind Jain believed he did not belong at Google.

Long before he co-founded billion-dollar startups Rubrik and Glean, Jain had arrived in the US from a small town in India, carrying more self-doubt than confidence. Surrounded by colleagues from prestigious institutions such as MIT and Stanford, he questioned whether he deserved a place among them.

Instead of allowing imposter syndrome to define his career, Jain chose a different approach. He carefully observed the people who consistently made an impact at Google, hoping to understand what set them apart. One colleague, in particular, left a lasting impression: Sundar Pichai, then a relatively new product manager who would eventually become Google's chief executive.

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Years later, reflecting on that experience in an interview with Fortune, Jain said those observations shaped not only his career at Google but also the philosophy he carried into building two successful technology companies.

More than just technical ability

Jain recalled that Pichai stood out for more than just technical ability. What caught his attention was an unusual combination of relentless effort and the confidence to back ideas that others considered unrealistic.

"What I learned by observing him was that the same attributes kept coming up, intensity, hard work. But also the ability to think big and have confidence," Jain told Fortune. "You have to think crazy."

That lesson became especially clear during Google's decision to build Chrome.

At the time, launching another web browser appeared to make little strategic sense. Microsoft's Internet Explorer dominated the market, Netscape had already faded into history, and many within Google questioned whether the company should invest resources in a browser.

Jain admits he was among the sceptics.

"I felt like that's such a bad idea," he said. "I was not thinking big enough."

The doubts were hardly confined to Google. Microsoft's then-chief executive Steve Ballmer famously dismissed Chrome as little more than a "rounding error", suggesting it posed no meaningful threat.

History proved otherwise.

Within a few years, Chrome had overtaken rivals to become the world's most widely used browser. The success elevated Pichai's standing inside Google and ultimately helped pave the way for his appointment as CEO in 2015.

Looking back, Jain believes the episode demonstrated the importance of backing bold ideas before the rest of the world understands them.

The mindset that shaped two billion-dollar companies

For Jain, Pichai's influence extended beyond a single product launch.

He says the willingness to ignore conventional wisdom and pursue ambitious goals was deeply embedded in Google's culture, particularly among co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

"They had no sort of constraints in their minds on what's possible," Jain said.

That mindset, he believes, became one of the biggest lessons he took from his years at Google.

"You have to say: we're going to do this thing which everybody thinks is stupid, maybe unrealistic," Jain told Fortune. "That's when magic happens."

Combined with discipline and hard work, that approach fundamentally changed the way he thought about innovation and entrepreneurship.

Rather than asking whether an idea seemed practical, Jain learnt to ask whether it had the potential to solve a meaningful problem, even if others initially dismissed it.

Those lessons would later influence his own entrepreneurial journey.

Jain went on to co-found Rubrik, a cloud data management company that has grown into a billion-dollar business, before launching enterprise AI startup Glean. Both companies have been built around solving complex enterprise technology problems, an ambition that mirrors the "think big" philosophy he says he first witnessed at Google.

For professionals grappling with self-doubt or wondering whether unconventional ideas are worth pursuing, Jain's experience offers a simple takeaway. Talent and hard work matter, but the willingness to challenge accepted thinking may matter just as much.

Sometimes, the ideas that appear the most unrealistic are the ones that redefine an entire industry.