Working with Founders

Most founders I work with arrive with a deck full of screens. The problem is rarely the screens. The problem is that the product is still trying to be three things at once, and the design is quietly carrying that confusion.

My first job is usually to put the screens away. We talk about what the product is supposed to prove in the next three months, and what one person needs to be able to do at the end of their first session. From there, the smaller decisions about layout, copy, and flow start to answer themselves.

The best early-stage design work is not about adding things. It is about removing the ones the product cannot yet afford. A founder who is willing to cut is much easier to design for than one who is trying to keep everyone happy.

When the work goes well, the result is rarely more screens. It is fewer, sharper ones, with a clearer story about what the product is for.