Dylan Field is the cofounder and CEO of Figma, the collaborative design platform that has revolutionized how product teams work.
In my firstever live podcast, recorded at Figma Config, Dylan and I dig into:
• How intuition and product taste drive Dylan’s decisionmaking
• The challenge of keeping things simple
• Dylan’s thoughts on the future of product management
• Lessons from Figma’s early days
• How Figma built their initial user base
• Dylan’s journey from intern to CEO of a 1,000+person company
• The future of design tools and AI

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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/dy...

Where to find Dylan Field:
• X: https://x.com/zoink
• LinkedIn:   / dylanfield  

Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X:   / lennysan  
• LinkedIn:   / lennyrachitsky  

In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:11) Welcoming Dylan Field
(02:36) Highlights and surprises from Config
(06:58) The philosophy of design
(08:01) Raccoon feet and muffin hands
(09:57) Building and refining intuition and product taste
(12:50) How to influence leadership
(16:14) The role of product managers
(21:12) The future of product management
(22:20) The importance of simplicity in design
(26:10) The long road to Figma’s launch
(27:44) Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
(29:07) Knowing when it’s time to ship
(30:39) Early user acquisition strategies
(35:50) Spotting trends and future innovations
(39:20) Reflections on leadership and growth
(43:16) Lightning round

Referenced:
• Mihika Kapoor on LinkedIn:   / mihikakapoor  
• Rick Rubin on the Creative Act—60 Minutes:    • Rick Rubin on the Creative Act — 60 M...  
• Figma pages: https://help.figma.com/hc/enus/artic...
• Leading through uncertainty: A designled company—Brian Chesky (Config 2023):    • Leading through uncertainty: A design...  
• An inside look at how Figma builds product | Yuhki Yamashita (CPO of Figma): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an...
• Vision, conviction, and hype: How to build 0 to 1 inside a company | Mihika Kapoor (Product at Figma): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/vi...
• An inside look at Figma’s unique GTM motion | Claire Butler (first GTM hire): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an...
• Zigging vs. zagging: How HubSpot built a $30B company | Dharmesh Shah (cofounder/CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/le...
• Nadia Singer on LinkedIn:   / nadiasinger  
• Sho Kuwamoto on LinkedIn:   / shokuwamoto  
• FigJam: https://www.figma.com/figjam/
• Tim Van Damme on LinkedIn:   / timvandammemaxvoltar  
• Coda: https://coda.io/
• Shishir Mehrotra on LinkedIn:   / shishirmehrotra  
• Websim: https://websim.ai/
• eToys.com commercial (from Dylan’s childhood acting career):    • eToys.com Commercial (Recorded 11/05/...  

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.