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🧠 WHAT WILL YOU LEARN IN THIS INTERVIEW? 1. Challenges of designing for AI 2. How to get a job as an AI Designer 📢 WHY IS HENRY MODISETT A ROCKSTAR? Henry Modisett is the Head of Design at Perplexity AI. Previously he worked as a designer at Quora and Google. 🤝 CONNECT WITH HENRY MODISETT Twitter -https://twitter.com/henrymodis LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/henrymodisett/?originalSubdomain=ca 🤙 CONNECT WITH JAYNEIL DALAL LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayneil Twitter - https://twitter.com/jayneildalal 📺 INTERVIEW VIDEO: https://youtu.be/4BH454Kw-90

🧠 WHAT WILL YOU LEARN IN THIS INTERVIEW? 1. How the iconic Facebook like button was designed?  2. How a designer invested early in startups like Figma, Framer and Diagram?  📢 WHY IS SOLEIO CUERVO A ROCKSTAR?  Soleio Cuervo is a software designer turned investor. He led early design efforts at Facebook, Messenger, then Dropbox. Now he invests in extraordinary software startups and helps them win through great design. He is a proud backer of Figma, Framer, Vercel, Vanta, Perplexity, Synthesia, Read.cv, Pulley, Replit, Universe, Liveblocks, tldraw, Plain, and dozens more startups worldwide!  🤝 CONNECT WITH SOLEIO CUERVO Twitter - https://twitter.com/soleio Website - https://read.cv/soleio 🤙 CONNECT WITH JAYNEIL DALAL LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayneil Twitter - https://twitter.com/jayneildalal  📺 INTERVIEW VIDEO:https://youtu.be/hZ3Z2frAWvM

My guest today is Maheen Sohail who recently switched from Design Manager to Senior Designer role at Meta. In this episode, we discuss the following: - Interview trailer - Who is Maheen Sohail (Senior Designer at Meta)? - How to deal with layoffs as a designer? - What does a Design Manager do when her entire team gets shut down? - How does a Design Manager say goodbye to their team when it's time to leave the company? - How does a Design Manager not lose touch with their craft? - How to manage senior designers as a first time Design Manager? - Why should a designer consider becoming a Design Manager? - How does becoming a Design Manager make you more empathetic? - How does a Design Manager resolve conflict between designer and engineer? - Why is becoming a Design Manager so hard? - Should a Design Manager share frequent updates about their work with the team? - Is switching from Design Manager to IC seamless? - Switching frequenty between management and IC roles as a designer - Do Design Managers need to be design tool experts? - Why designers should not become managers early in their career? - Designers sharing their favorite Bollywood movies  Interview Video: https://youtu.be/LXPKGTGvFrY?si=6pVqr9zENQkYso2Y Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayneil 

My guest today is Julian Park who is the CEO at Bezi, a collaborative spatial design tool. In this episode, we discuss the following: 00:34 Why I'm interviewing Julian Park (CEO at Bezi) 1:41 Why Spatial Design is the future of the UX Design industry? 4:13 Why Apple priced the Vision Pro headset so high? 5:15 Why designers should become early adopters of spatial design? 8:34 Learnings from working at Facebook Oculus as an engineer 9:25 Why join the Meta Oculus team over WhatsApp or Instagram? 11:00 Why quit Meta to start a 3D design tool company Bezi? 14:15 Finding startup ideas while working at FAANG/MAMA 15:03 Why you shouldn't pitch your startup idea as an employee to Meta leadership? 15:56 How to build trust with your startup cofounders? 17:36 How to divide responsibilities among startup cofounders? 18:48 Learnings from Figma's startup journey 22:33 How many hours does a startup CEO work? 24:47 How to avoid burnout as startup CEO? 26:15 How to level up as a startup CEO? 28:21 Advice for entrepreneurs working at FAANG/MAMA 30:09 How to escape the golden handcuffs at FAANG and quit? Interview Video: https://youtu.be/F8G3jgQjXzg Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayneil 

My guest today is DANIEL SCRIVNER who is the General Partner at Ligature VC In this episode, we discuss the following: - Why I'm interviewing @daniel-scrivner (General Partner at Ligature VC)? How to run a VC fund alongside your day job? How to hyper-focus at work? Why invest in Venture Capital as an asset class? Why do Venture Capitalists need to differentiate themselves? Why start a VC fund instead of passive investing in top-tier VC firms? Why raise a VC fund instead of angel investing? What should be the expected returns for a VC fund? How to get access to a great deal flow as a VC? Investing at the seed round in Notion What are the benefits of having operator LPs in a VC fund? Is the Design VC space getting crowded? How to invest in startups if you have no clout or access? Interview Video: https://youtu.be/8q4PEh8uSK8 For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show

My guests today is Om Suthar who is the Director of Product Design at DISQO. In this episode, we discuss the following: - Why I'm interviewing Om Suthar (Director of Product Design at DISQO) - Why is it important to control your burn rate as a startup founder? - What is Founder Market fit? - Startup Founder shares lessons learned from failing to raise funding from venture capitalists - Should you tell your employer about the startup you are doing on the side? - How to manage your startup and day job simultaneously? - How to Build Your Second Brain? - Startup horror stories from a first time founder - How to trust people and manage expectations? - How to evaluate different career opportunities? - Why do companies want to hire design entrepreneurs? - How does being an entrepreneur help a designer collaborate better with product partners? - Why should designers learn about how a business operates? - How can designers/researchers effectively present research findings to C-level executives? - What are the benefits for a designer to learn about the business side of things? - Why you should not quit your job to pursue an idea/startup? - How to set a career goal correctly? Interview Video: https://youtu.be/asEjJAov3nU For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show

My guests today is Kyle Turman who is the the Director of Product Design at Retool and previously led design teams at Slack, Dropbox, and Etsy. Interview Video: https://youtu.be/CPnSHrk9e6U In this episode, we discuss the following: - Why I'm interviewing Kyle Turman - Why is it hard for IC designers to switch into a design manager role? - What changes when you become a design manager from an IC designer? - Imposter Syndrome being a first time Design Manager - How do you measure output as a design manager? - How does a Design Manager track their progress? - Importance of focusing on business impact as a Design Manager - Why should a Design Manager pay attention to the existing company culture? - Why you should not micro manage your direct reports as a Design Manager? - Should you give feedback to your Design Manager if they are micromanaging you? - What are the long term impacts of not delegating work? - Why do you have to motivate your direct reports as a Design Manager? - How do you motivate designers at a company? - How to figure out what motivates designers on your team? - Why you should encourage your direct reports to double down on their strenghts as a Design Manager? - How do you grow as a Design Manager? - Asking for help from stakeholders as a Design Manager - How to be productive as a Design Manager? For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show

My guests today is Ben Huggins who is a Product Designer at Retool. Interview Video: https://youtu.be/grUjIw-DyMw In this episode, we discuss the following: - Why I am interviewing Ben Higgins? - Why take a career break as a designer? - Biggest fear when it comes to taking a career break - What do you need structure during a career break? - What to do during your time off? - What Jayneil Dalal learned from taking a sabbatical? - How to figure out what you want in your next design job? - Why you should not be a design manager? - Lessons learned from searching for a new design job - How to apply the concept of prototyping in your life? - Why you should have a full time job if you want to pursue side projects? - Advise for designers who are thinking about taking a sabbatical - How to explain a career break on your resume to a recruiter? For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show

My guests today areColton Schweitzer and Ludovic Delmas are the cofounders of Kickass UX which helps creatives build a kickass UX skillset and supercharge their careers. Interview Video: https://youtu.be/KI8kcRcqAu8 In this episode, we discuss the following: - Why I am interviewing the Kickass UX founders? - Does UX design pay more than graphic design? - Are there more UX design jobs than graphic design jobs? - What are the challenges faced by graphic designers when entering the UX field? - How is the graphic design process different from the UX process? - Do UX Designers have to worry about the UI when working at a company? - Why graphic designers struggle with communicating functionality? - Biggest issue with design portfolios from novice designers - What is the biggest problem with UX bootcamps? - How can design students make their design portfolios stand out? - How is working in UX different than graphic design? For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show

My guest today is Gordon Ching who is the founder of Design Executive Council (DEC) building the network dedicated to advancing the design executive profession in Silicon Valley and beyond. Interview Video: https://youtu.be/Hm10bL4VTTk In this episode, we discuss the following: - Why I'm interviewing Gordon Ching - Why start Design Executive Council? - Why is being a design executive not a glamarous gig? - Why can't a design executive focus on design all day? - Why does a design executive need to develop their judgement? - Why does being a design executive feel lonely? - Who are the current members of the Design Executive Council? - Advantages of IRL meetings over Slack - What are some of the tough decisions a design exec has to make? - Real life example of a design exec demonstrating high Emotional Intelligence (feat Andy Vitale) - Why traditional design career ladder doesn't apply for design executives? - How do design executives level up? - Adopting ownership mentality in your career For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show

My guest today is Jared Erondu is a design & product leader, investor, and advisor. He's currently the GM of Performance and VP of Design at Lattice. Interview Video: https://youtu.be/MfrwNIJ19-I In this episode, we discuss the following: - Why I'm interviewing Jared Erondu - How has interviewing design leaders helped Jared in his design career? - How to keep in touch with people you meet throughout your career? - Why Jared Erondu joined Lattice? - How to evaluate different career opportunities? - Why people matter the most when dealing with early stage companies? - What if you get a career decision wrong as a designer? - Scaling the design team at Lattice - What is the design culture like at Lattice? - Does a founding designer have to become a design leader? - How to hire designers who are more senior and experienced than you? - How to mentor direct reports more senior than you? - How does Jared level up as Head of Design? For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show

My guest today is Joshua Philippe is the Head of Design at Strike a service that leverages Bitcoin’s open payment network to offer users the first global peer-to-peer payments app and a novel bitcoin-native neobanking experience. Interview Video: https://youtu.be/Xxd5NJ37-Lk In this episode, we discuss the following: - Joshua Philippe Bio - How childhood affects your listening skills? - Should designers coming out of school join FAANG or a design agency? - Should you join a late stage company or early stage startup as a designer? - What is a T-shaped designer? - Why designers need to have a mission statement? - Favorite comics, collecting baseball and Yu Gi Oh cards - Benefits of working as a designer at a branding agency - When & Why should a designer consider leaving the agency world? - Doing freelance gigs on top of 9-5 job - Should designers choose equity or money when consulting with startups? - Joining Strike - How to get promoted to Head of Design role at a startup? - How to get in touch with Joshua Philippe? For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show

My guest today is Mindaugas Petrutis who is the CEO at Coho which is The Direct To Experience ™️ Learning Network for professional growth. Interview Video: https://youtu.be/wgIaGMa-Dw8 In this episode, we discuss the following: - Mindaugas bio - How does it feel to launch a company out of stealth? - Importance of building authentic relationships - Should you have an agenda when building a relationship? - Why you should not focus on titles when building relationships? - Why you should provide context when doing outreach? - How to build a genuine relationship with a venture capitalist? - Why is it important to wait for the right time to ask for favors? - What not to do when you get intros? - Horror story about not following up - How to recover from a mistake when building relationships? - How to stand out as a design recruiter? For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show

My guest today is Jeff Veen who is a deisgn partner and head of platform at True Ventures. Interview Video: https://youtu.be/CeRkpEOrhWU In this episode, we discuss the following: - 00:00 Jeff Veen Bio - 02:19 How to deal with career burnouts? - 06:09 Why startup founders must learn to delegate - 09:29 Why join True Ventures as a Design Partner - 14:34 Taking a job opportunity on your terms - 19:44 Should you make friends at work? - 22:10 Having difficult conversations with cofounders early on - 26:47 A Day in the Life of a Design Partner at True Ventures - 33:58 Introverts vs Extroverts - 35:53 Challenge of keeping in touch with people - 40:15 How to Become a Design Partner at a VC firm? - 45:25 Importance of Trust Between Cofounders, Investors - 50:45 Does a Design Partner at VC firm need to be a Figma expert? - 54:30 Use Cases for AI Design Tools - 58:06 Power of Assuming Positive Intent For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show

My guest today is Lily Konings who is a Product Design Manager at Instagram with previous roles at Messenger, AngelList, and IBM Watson. Interview Video: https://youtu.be/6TYK2Qk6sqw In this episode, we discuss the following: - Lily Konings Bio - How does a designer get promoted? - Introvert designer's guide to building personal brand - How to connect with folks outside your team as designer? - How often should you update your design mentor? - Why you should ask for a design promotion? - Why your environment affects your promotion chances? - Biggest misconception designers have about getting promoted - How to figure out the right environment for promotion? - Questions every designer should ask a hiring manager - As a designer should you prioritize product or people during job search? - Creating a 'How to Work With Me' Guide - How to deal with imposter syndrome after getting promoted? - How can a Design Manager encourage direct reports to give candid feedback? - Importance of setting expectations - Does large social media presence help in hiring design talent? - How to get in touch with Lily Konings? For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show

My guest today is Adam Fry Pierce who is the Chief of Staff at Google where he manages strategic programs for Google's UX leadership. Interview Video: https://youtu.be/Gj7zbrM0NFE In this episode, we discuss the following: - Adam Fry Pierce bio - Career transition from event management to Design Ops - Downside of being a gifted people reader - Horror story - not being able to read people/situations - What is Design Operations (Design Ops)? - What does a Design Ops professional do? - More job opportunities in practice operations vs people operations - Is design experience required to break into Design Ops? - Top 3 skills to be a successful design ops professional - Career progression in Design Ops - Salary/compensation on Design Ops - Job security in Design Ops - How to break into Design Ops - Questions to ask during Design Ops job interviews - Future proofing yourself as a designer - End state for Design Ops leaders - How to get in touch with Adam Fry Pierce - How Adam Fry Pierce joined the core team at DesignOps Assembly For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show

My guest today is Ran Segall who is the founder and CEO of Flux Academy Interview Video: https://youtu.be/1APN2MHdxnY In this episode, we discuss the following: - Ran Segall bio - How does a CEO level up - Benefits of working with a business coach - Benefits of joining Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) - Desire to copy high growth startup playbook as a bootstrapped founder - How to grow a bootstrapped business - Choosing not to raise venture capital - Hard things about creating an online course - Benefits of hiring a Chief Operating Officer - Designing compensation model for bootstrapped business - Collaborating with other creatives via revenue sharing model - Benefits of podcasting - Going solo vs hiring a team - Taking time off as a bootstrapped founder - How to get in touch with Ran Segall For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show

My guest today is Murat Mutlu who is the cofounder & CEO of the design platform Marvel and research platform Ballpark. Interview Video: https://youtu.be/iXv4tqlL6vc In this episode, we discuss the following: - Murat Mutlu bio - How working at a design agency makes you better at sales - Why work on side projects as a designer - How to build trust with your cofounders - Do you have to be best friends with your cofounders - What to look for in a cofounder for your first project/startup - Is it necessary to have same interests, hobbies as your cofounders - Red flags to look out for in a potential cofounder - Biggest regret before starting a company - Building a strong network before starting a new venture - Transitioning from designer to a CEO - Focusing less on design after becoming a CEO - What if you can't level up in your role as CEO to meet the company needs - It's all about sales - Why keep the company located in London - Choosing not to build a personal brand - Freeing up your time as CEO to think about the future - How to stay motivated over the years working on the same problem - How to not get distracted with side projects as a CEO - How to get in touch with Murat Mutlu For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show

My guests today are Pieter Omvlee & Emanuel Sa who are the cofounders of Sketch. Interview Video: https://youtu.be/7SFix4Sakt8 In this episode, we discuss the following: - Pieter Omvlee and Emanuel Sá bio - What was it like in the early days of Sketch - Why Sketch decided to raise venture capital money from Benchmark - What is the Sketch company culture - Why Sketch's hiring process prioritizes communication skills - How to create a company culture where it's about the work and minimize politics - How to deal with a wrong hire - How to not get bored as a founder when working on same problem for 10 years - A day in the life of Pieter Omvlee and Emanuel Sa - Why Sketch did not move to silicon valley and open an office - How to view competition - Making difficult choices - Creating a transparent team culture at Sketch - How to prevent silos from forming at the company - Advice from Pieter and Emanuel for folks looking to join Sketch For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show