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Confession with Ali Partovi
Introducing Confession with Ali Partovi

Confession with Ali Partovi

2 Oct 2026 · 1m · 1 chapter

Introducing Confession with Ali Partovi

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In short

Ali Partovi’s personal “confession” about rock bottom after being fired as CEO, focusing on fear of failure, shame, and the hidden lessons behind success.

Guest backgrounds

Ali Partovi is the episode’s sole guest; he recounts his experience as a CEO and the board members who fired him.

Key claims

Admitting weakness and fear is a bigger lift for leaders; behind success stories are painful, unseen lessons; being a CEO can make someone feel like they’re not “that person,” leading to intense emotions and a sense of lying.

Notable examples

He describes anger, sadness, and “every emotion,” feeling haunted by the moment of being fired, and questioning “why am I here?”

Written by AI. May contain mistakes.

Chapters

0:27

Exploring Emotions and Vulnerability

Ali shares his emotional journey and the lessons learned from failures.

“I basically felt like I was lying, and it felt just terrible.”

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Transcript

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0:00There was this deep fear that this risky bet that I took was a failure and that I was a fool.

0:09Ali Partovi: Behind every success story, there are painful lessons that we never hear about. Admitting weakness or admitting fear is actually a bigger lift for a leader. And that is unquestionably going to be on me. Being a CEO was like crazy. I was like, I'm not that person. I'm Ali Partovi and this is Confession. I was angry. I was sad. I was every emotion you can imagine. That was the definition of rock bottom. Inside, you're like making emotions. Like, why am I here? I basically felt like I was lying, and it felt just terrible. Even the most successful person you know is a human being, someone who makes mistakes, who has lessons that they learn from those experiences.

0:54So what are you looking for in a new CEO? Why are you asking me? That's the board members. They're the ones who fired me. It's just always harder than you think. I distinctly remember. In fact, it haunts me.

1:03Ali Partovi: Did you feel ashamed? This is Confession. Listen wherever you find your podcasts and watch episodes on YouTube.

From the publisher

Every successful tech veteran has a story they don't tell from the stage: the deal that fell apart, the agonizing period of self-doubt, the moment they hit rock bottom. We pull back the curtain on those stories in Confession with Ali Partovi, a new podcast featuring candid conversations with tech leaders including Satya Nadella, Dara Khosrowshahi, and others.