If you’re wondering what Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu says about failure, here it is in a nutshell: he doesn’t believe in pointing fingers or assigning blame. Instead, he argues that real growth comes from extracting lessons from failures—and that’s exactly how he leads Zoho.

Who is Sridhar Vembu (Zoho Founder) — and Why His Voice Matters

Born in Tamil Nadu and educated at IIT Madras (and later Princeton), Sridhar Vembu, co-founder of Zoho, has always stood apart from the typical tech entrepreneur. He’s someone who walked away from Silicon Valley temptations to build something rooted in India—something that blends engineering integrity, regional sensitivity, and a long-term mindset.

Over the years, Vembu has consistently reminded us that doing business isn’t just chasing metrics or scaling fast—it’s about being honest, learning constantly, and refusing to hide behind excuses.

The Setting: When, Where, What Happened

• Date & place: This interview was published in mid 2023, in Tamil Nadu, where Vembu has strong roots and continues to live part of his life in a rural village.

• Occasion: In conversation with media, Vembu was asked how Zoho responds to setbacks, errors, and external pressures.

• Key message: “We don’t play the blame game — we pick lessons from failures,” he said. That’s a leadership posture, not just a throwaway line.

• Backdrop: Zoho, under Vembu’s leadership, has faced many challenges—product delays, competition from giant firms, infrastructure constraints, and the pressure of global markets. And yet, it continues to grow and evolve.

“We Don’t Play the Blame Game” — What He Really Means

Vembu’s phrase isn’t just a neat soundbite. It reveals something deeper about how he runs Zoho and thinks about leadership:

• Responsibility over scapegoating. Mistakes happen—even in the best teams. His view: Accept them. Then ask, “What did we miss? What could we do differently next time?”

• Mindset shift. Instead of creating a cultural fear of mistakes, he wants a culture curious about them. That flips the dynamic from hiding errors to openly dissecting them.

• Ownership at every level. If you work at Zoho and something fails, you’re not tossed aside—you’re invited into the reflection and remedy process.

• Lessons as currency. Failures become curriculum. The next iteration of a product or idea is sharper because it’s built on insights, not denial.

How this Philosophy Shows Up in Zoho

To understand how this ethos plays out in practice, look at a few real moves Zoho (under Vembu) has made:

• Rural offices doing high-end work. Instead of centralizing in big cities, Zoho builds tech teams in smaller towns, trusting they can do world-class work.

• Investing in own infrastructure. While many rent cloud servers, Zoho builds its own data centers. That’s riskier, but gives control and long-term headroom.

• Zoho Schools / Zoho University. Training young, often underprivileged students—putting them straight into work roles. Mistakes will happen, but that’s part of learning.

• Vertical restraint. Rather than launching loads of new products, Zoho focuses on deepening features and integrating workflows in existing products.

Each of these moves can go wrong. But because failure is embraced (not hidden), the company learns faster.

The Bigger Implication: For You, For Startups, For Leaders

Reading Vembu’s example, here’s what we can carry into our own work (whether we lead, code, manage, or create):

1. Don’t fear mistakes — fear denial. A hidden mistake grows worse than an admitted one.

2. Embed review loops. After any project, product launch, or decision, schedule a retrospective: what worked, what didn’t, what to tweak.

3. Model vulnerability. If you’re a leader, share your own stumbles. It signals it’s safe for others to share theirs.

4. Lean into feedback. When data or team members point out what’s failing, listen, don’t deflect.

5. Choose deliberate risks. Not blind leaps—but calculated ones, knowing failure is possible and useful.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Q1. Who is the Zoho founder, Sridhar Vembu?
Sridhar Vembu is the co-founder and long-time leader of Zoho, a global SaaS company. He’s known for his contrarian thinking: rejecting blind growth, investing in rural places, and prioritizing engineering and autonomy.

Q2. What did he mean when he said “We don’t play the blame game”?
He meant that when things go wrong, the instinct isn’t to find someone to punish. Rather, it’s to analyze, reflect, learn, and adapt—turning failure into fuel.

Q3. How does this leadership style help Zoho
It fosters a culture of psychological safety, continuous learning, better resilience, and deeper ownership. Over time, that leads to more robust products and loyal teams.

Q4. Can startups adopt this approach or does it only work for mature firms?
Absolutely startups can and should adopt it early. In fact, early on you’re going to fail more often. Having a framework to learn rather than blame accelerates growth.

Q5. Isn’t admitting failure risky for reputation?
It can feel risky, yes. But over time, honesty builds credibility. People respect companies that own their flaws and show improvement, rather than those that pretend nothing ever went wrong.