Lessons learned as a founding designer

Danial Siddiki at UXDX Community: From Ideation to Delight in Design. Video: https://youtu.be/4EfDUy0FvLw

Readable transcript: edited from the recording's captions for readability (fillers and false starts removed, punctuation and section headings added). Wording is the speaker's own. Timestamps are positions in the video. Names marked [?] could not be verified against the audio.

Why startups, and what the founding designer role demands

[00:00:00] Danial: Hi everyone, again, I'm Danial Siddiki, and I'm glad to share what I learned from working at startups as a founding product designer. Quickly about me: I'm currently working as a product designer at Truv; it's a US fintech startup. I started my journey at the design agency KU [?] back in 2016, and since then I dived into the world of product design, working with everything from midsize companies to big corporations and a couple of startups. After hours I'm all about side projects; one even got a shout-out from Apple. And he [?]...

[00:00:49] At startups: I'm drawn to startups, even with the market's ups and downs, because they really foster a sense of ownership in everyone in the team, and that's something I truly value. I recommend startups to those who are ready for responsibility, ownership and navigating uncertainty. Being a founding designer, you're going to wear multiple hats and be expected to work long hours, weekends and more.

[00:01:26] It's also important to mention that how your startup looks, design-wise, is super important to getting attention and funding. It's often what customers see first. So cool design can make your product seem awesome, while a bad one can hide a good product, or vice versa. Finding the sweet spot between something that looks good and something that works great is tricky, and that's why I love working in startups.

[00:02:04] Jumping into midsize companies or big companies has its challenges, getting the hang of the product team culture. But startups are a whole different game. You're dealing with a ton of unknowns, and guess what, everyone's in the same boat. In startup product design you often work with what you've got, which means getting creative, doing your homework and not being afraid to take the first step.

Research first, and keep a record of past designs

[00:02:39] One big mistake I made was designing right away without looking into things first. I used to just start designing with the first idea I had. But in an early-stage company it's really important to avoid mistakes as much as you can, so it's better to do your research first. This means checking out what competitors are doing, talking to users, looking at data and seeing what's usual in the industry.

[00:03:13] I also started keeping track of all the different designs we made, right where we worked on them. This was super helpful when a new designer joined our team. Before that, he ended up making designs that were similar to ones we had already tried, and by showing him the previous design attempts, he could come up with new ideas instead of repeating old ones. So the lesson here is: if you're the only designer in the team, think ahead about what you could do better for new design teammates.

Irreversible decisions and the design system

[00:03:55] I once had to pick a UI framework library for a project, and what I went for seemed like a no-brainer choice: popular, lots of elements, nice fine UI. But fast forward a few months, and oops, it looked outdated and clunky, and we ended up tweaking and customizing like crazy. The lesson here: even in the fast-paced startup world, some choices, especially the big ones like your UI framework library, fonts, programming language, UX behavior, brand, et cetera, all need good thinking. Speed is great, but some irreversible decisions need more than a gut check.

[00:04:58] It's a no-brainer that every designer needs to build a design system, but in startups it's even more important, since you're going to build an enormous amount of components, products and features, but your fonts, colors and elements will be the same. So compared to larger companies' design systems, a startup's should be scalable not through a variety of elements but through their diversity, so development efforts will be reduced. Setting up a consistent design style from the start keeps your design at a startup looking unified, and makes sure your brand's vibe is future-proof. And remember, you're not going to be there forever, so make sure to leave behind some notes or a guide on your design thinking and decisions. This way the next person can pick it up where you left off, keeping the design game strong and maybe even taking it in new directions.

Delegate what you're not good at

[00:06:19] While working at startups as a designer, you face different types of requests. Besides interfaces, you might also be asked to design the marketing materials, the website, social network banners, design the logo, find the typeface, design animations, illustrations and so on. The one lesson I learned is that you need to be honest with yourself and delegate work to others where you're bad at it. I don't believe there are people that are good generalists, and I've never met one. One's good at branding, others at making landing pages, others at visual design, others at product design. I'm not saying that you need to find five more designers for your team. Since it's a startup, it's better to make some things yourself in the beginning to move forward. But for version 2.0, consider hiring an agency for the brand, and if budgets are tight, find a part-time designer who is good at designing websites and marketing materials.

Focus on impact and diminishing returns

[00:07:40] At a startup it's essential to focus on the most impactful features, the ones that will drive your North Star metric. While there is always room for improvement, it's better to tackle the low-hanging fruit. And I want to share something crucial I've learned about being a product designer in a startup: it's all about understanding diminishing returns. That basically means there comes a point where adding more work or resources doesn't really make our product any better. It's a game changer, because it teaches us to focus our energy on what really makes a difference for our users, instead of getting lost in the bits and trying to perfect every little detail. By focusing on the big wins and not worrying about the small things, we can keep our startup flexible, make sure we are always adding value where it matters, and stay ahead in innovation. It's all about making smart choices and knowing when good is good enough to make a real impact.

Execution with outsourced front end, and design review

[00:09:03] One thing I learned is that startups usually hire outsourced agencies to build the front end, and an outsourced front-end team might ruin [?] your product quality. Great startups require great execution, meaning the team should collaborate with each other. When front-end developers implement your designs, make sure they understand how it should work. Besides that, I also learned that in a startup there are no implemented design systems or tokens, so all implementations might be different and not correlate with the design. To avoid that and keep everything consistent, introduce a design review step before pushing to production. Ask engineers to get your sign-off before release. This might help you get a great result on the first iteration, because follow-up [?] fixes don't actually happen in startups.

Take breaks, and quality over rushing

[00:10:21] Also make sure to take breaks, and be open about what's going on. Understand that stuff happens, people get sick, and there will be days when you're not at your best. Knowing how to handle and reduce slowdowns in work is crucial to avoid burnout. It's totally okay if you take your time thinking things through; rushing to solve problems isn't the way to go. Before, I tried to finish my work very quickly. When someone gave product feedback, I jumped into design right away without researching first, and this made the quality of my work lower. Since then I recognize the importance of quality, and of being transparent with yourself and with your team, even in the fast-paced startup environment.

Choosing the right startup

[00:11:27] So how do you choose the right startup? Choosing the right startup to work for is a bit like picking a new adventure. The first thing: go for something you're genuinely excited about. Passion for the product or service is key, because it's going to be a big part of your life. But here's a little inside tip I learned along the way: the team you are working with is even more crucial than the idea itself. A brilliant idea might get things off the ground, but it's the smart, driven people behind it that will navigate you through storms, or pivot when necessary, and push your startup towards success. These are the folks who will inspire you, challenge you and help you grow, and they're the ones who will turn a good idea into something truly groundbreaking. So when you're choosing your next adventure, look for a team that's not just talented but also shares your values, work ethic and vision for the future. Remember, a startup is a marathon, not a sprint, and the right crew makes all the difference. That's it. Thank you, everyone, and let me know if you have any questions.

Q&A

[00:13:08] Host: Thank you. There are a few things here to talk through. There's the approach of being a founding designer and building designs, and then there's maybe designers joining a startup. If you're looking at it as a founder, as a founding designer, what are the complexities of actually moving from a designer to an entrepreneur?

[00:13:37] Danial: I had some experience building my own stuff outside work hours. I think designers who found companies usually have a great vision of the product and a vision of how it should look, but they usually have issues with understanding product-market fit. Being the CEO of a startup means thinking not only about the product quality and the design, but also about the market, the competitors, the industry, and understanding your product-market fit better than anyone in the team.

[00:14:32] Host: Yeah. So that's a designer from an entrepreneurial place. Then looking at it from a scaling company looking to hire their first designer: how do you think they should approach that? You mentioned a few things in terms of fit and navigating storms. What do you think is the best way to approach hiring a designer?

[00:14:56] Danial: I think when you hire a first in-house designer, it's challenging for a company, because you need to find a person who will have the same culture, the same values. So I think it's all about communicating with the designer a lot, and maybe even working a few weeks together to understand how the designer works and how he thinks. The one lesson I learned is that there is no magic algorithm to understand if a designer will fit the company in a startup. It's all about trying first. Because as the first designer in the company, it's hard to predict how a designer will work in the team, especially with a new team, and with a team who are also working in a startup with this idea for the first time.

[00:16:07] Host: And for you, joining and onboarding as a founding designer, what was the biggest challenge to get your head around?

[00:16:19] Danial: I guess my biggest challenge was understanding the product and the industry. Because in fintech, and especially in the verification industry I'm working in right now, there are a lot of things going on in the market. So my challenge was to understand that, understand the values, understand what I should focus on while working with design. And what I learned is that as a designer you should communicate a lot in the beginning, and ask everyone, the COO, the CTO, maybe engineers, to get different points of view and a better vision of what your startup is doing.

[00:17:18] Host: Great, fantastic. And what advice would you give people who are trying to evaluate whether they should go into more of a startup role? Let's say they could be working at Google or a large enterprise; it would be a very big step, and a risk for a lot of designers. What advice would you give them in weighing up a decision like that?

[00:17:49] Danial: Yeah, great question. I'll be honest, I don't have the right answer, but my advice is to be honest with yourself and understand: are you ready for the risks? Are you ready to wear multiple hats? Are you ready to work outside your working hours? Sorry, do you hear me?

[00:18:09] Host: Yeah, yeah, perfect.

[00:18:12] Danial: So yeah, in a startup you have to be fast, you have to think things through, you have to be ready to work with different stakeholders, different projects and tasks. If you're ready and you're excited about it, if you have a lot of energy and motivation, go ahead and try it. You won't be hurt, I think. I've worked in a large company and in startups, and I'm very thankful for my experience working at startups, because it taught me a lot of things that I can also implement working in large companies.

[00:19:03] Host: Interesting. And what has been the biggest benefit? Can you give a specific example of something that you've taken from a startup and been able to implement within an enterprise?

[00:19:16] Danial: Yeah, I guess I would say that's ownership. Because when you work in large companies, there are a thousand or 10,000 people, and you think that you can't impact the company enough, and you might not have motivation because of that. You just do your job, do what you're told to do, and that's it. But in a startup you have a lot of ownership over what you're doing, and you also have a lot of motivation to work outside your projects and do something more for your company. Because almost all the time you have equity, which means you own the startup in some way, and you want this startup to grow. It's fun to see how your startup grows because of the decisions you made, and this motivates you to do more than you did before.

[00:20:34] Host: Great, thank you very much. Thank you so much, Danial, for your time and for an insightful talk. Appreciate it. Your talk will be available online this week for others to tune in as well. Enjoy the rest of your day.

[00:20:47] Danial: Thank you.