Sep 19, 2018, 12:00 PM ETConference Presentation, Q&A

Design for Startups by Garry Tan (Part 2)

Pre-seed to Pre-A: Hire a co-founder designer or rely on consultants; a dedicated hire is rarely necessary unless the product has a user-facing element.
Series A: Hire a first full-time designer; for developer-focused products, this role should specifically cover Developer Experience (DX) as it is critical even for technical offerings.
Series B: Shift focus to building a dedicated design team rather than remaining at the "first hire" stage; hiring a single designer when an organization has 10–15 engineers is described as a "nightmare" that scares off talent.
Team Composition: To attract senior talent from design firms or large tech companies, founders must plan for a diversified team structure rather than a solo hire, as designers fear working in isolation.
Role Specialization: Break down hiring needs into specific roles rather than seeking a single "unicorn":
- Product Managers: Candidates with strong resumes and coherent design thinking.
- Interaction Designers: Candidates who lack visual polish but possess high empathy, strong writing skills, and communication abilities.
- Visual Designers: A standalone skill set often capable of working independently.

Portfolio Platforms: Leverage Dribbble, Behance, AIGA databases, and LinkedIn to identify talent.
Targeted Outreach: Identify companies in the specific sector that excel at design and reach out directly to their designers.
Educational Institutions: Recruit directly from programs including CMU, HCI, NYU, MIT, RISD, Parsons, and Stanford, though non-academic talent is equally prevalent.
Consultant Pipeline: Utilize the large pool of individual consultants who prefer varied projects; this serves as a testing ground for potential full-time hires.
Global Talent Pools: Use low-cost platforms like 99designs or Fiverr to run multiple job contests (e.g., 20 simultaneous jobs) to identify high-performing individuals in emerging markets like the Philippines, Thailand, Eastern Europe, and Africa.
Design Firms: Few firms work with startups due to a focus on Fortune 500 clients; referrals are the most effective sourcing method.
Recommended Agency: The speaker specifically endorses "Play-Doh Design" (useplaydoh.com), a recent YC graduate.
Content Marketing: Startups should attract talent by publishing content that demonstrates technical understanding of design terms, signaling a culture where founders speak the designer's language.

Phone Screen: Primary objective is assessing communication skills and the ability to explain vision; a beautiful portfolio is insufficient if the candidate cannot articulate their process.
In-Person Assessment: Candidates must walk through hard decisions and trade-offs, specifically demonstrating thinking regarding personas and prioritization.
Whiteboard Testing: A candidate who begins drawing immediately without asking user-centric questions (e.g., "Who is this for?") should be rejected.
Founder Alignment: The founder most familiar with the product should lead the final interview to ensure the candidate's problem-solving approach aligns with the team's existing logic.
Cultural Fit: Reject candidates who complain frequently or center conversations on themselves; prioritize empathy and active listening.
Validation: If no internal design leader exists, the speaker recommends using a trusted external expert as a final "check" before making an offer.

"About Us" Page Strategy: Founders should embrace vulnerability and personal storytelling on the "About Us" page to build trust, contrasting with the trend of impersonal corporate mimicry; this transparency was a key factor in Coinbase's early success.
User Interviewing Techniques: Use open-ended questions (e.g., "Tell me about your day") to uncover emotional friction points; "hair on fire" problems often manifest through strong negative emotions like anger or frustration.
Prototyping vs. Shipping: While some founders prefer shipping code immediately to avoid prototyping, the speaker acknowledges prototyping remains a valuable tool despite personal preference for direct implementation.
Design vs. Non-Design Problems: If a challenge involves distribution (business) or feasibility (technology), design alone cannot solve it; design is not a panacea for business or technical blockers.
Secrecy and Openness: While some enterprise or highly copyable markets may require secrecy, the general rule is to avoid obscurity by being public and human; founders should only remain secretive when necessary, not by default.
Controversy as a Growth Engine: Intentional controversy can generate massive earned media; the speaker cites Soylent's name as an example where negative backlash drove 90% of the market to discuss the product, ultimately fueling business growth.