Lying awake at night isn’t an issue for the CEO of Telegram — it’s his dream scenario.
Pavel Durov, who cofounded the messaging app, said on Lex Fridman’s podcast Tuesday that he allocates 11 to 12 hours of sleep a night, even if he spends part of it with his mind racing.
He said brilliant ideas have come to him in those 12 hours when he’s trying to sleep.
And when he wakes up, he starts his morning without a phone.
Durov tries to limit his phone usage. Fridman said he spent two weeks with Durov and hadn’t seen him use his phone for social media the way many people do. Durov said phones are a distraction that can prevent people from forming their own ideas.
“My philosophy here is pretty simple,” Durov said. “I want to define what is important in my life. I don’t want other people or companies, all kinds of organizations, telling me what is important today and what I should be thinking about.”
Still, Durov said he understands the importance of staying connected without overdoing it. Durov built his career around apps that encourage smartphone usage. He’s the head of a messaging service and previously cofounded a Russian social networking site.
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“I know it’s kind of counterintuitive because I founded one of the largest social networks in the world, after which I founded the second-largest messaging app in the world,” he said in the interview.
Telegram didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Durov has also been outspoken about his other views on technology, including data privacy. The Russian-born entrepreneur said in August that he’d “rather die” than give third parties access to messages on Telegram.
He’s become a symbol of the fight between social media companies and governments. In August 2024, Durov was arrested by French authorities related to allegations that he allowed illegal activity on his platform. He has strongly denied all the charges. Telegram rarely shuts down channels or removes posts from its servers.
Although his job revolves around social connectivity, Durov said that in his own work, he’s found “the more connected and accessible you are, the less productive you are,” he said.
