Design Adjacent: Isaiah Steinfeld on entrepreneurship, mentorship, and the future of design

Isaiah Steinfeld is a proven startup veteran and innovation leader with the unique ability to deeply empathize with the user/customer while creating a big product vision. In the entrepreneurial space, he focuses on innovation capability that helps identify, develop, and invest in new future-focused opportunities. In this episode of AIGA Design Adjacent, Bennie Johnson talks with Isaiah about entrepreneurship, mentorship, and the future of design.

About Isaiah Steinfeld

Isaiah Steinfeld has successfully built, launched, and scaled disruptive products and businesses (Lyft, Intuit Workforce) for over a decade. Steinfeld most recently participated in the On Deck Founder Fellowship program, researching and building in the early stages of his next startup.

Before On Deck, Steinfeld held a leadership role as a Digital Product Leader and Entrepreneur at Nike inside their Advanced Innovation division: Valiant Labs, where he led global exploration around emerging technologies like AI/ML, IoT, XR, and Blockchain and founded new business ventures/startups to help create the future of sport and commerce for Nike.

In addition to leading and growing companies, Isaiah publicly speaks and writes about innovation, design, and technology. He is also actively involved in the tech community serving as a mentor, advisor, and investor with various startups, funds, and early-stage accelerators (TechStars, Berkeley Blockchain, MIT Technology Review, and more) focused primarily on early and growth-stage companies in the software and emerging tech space.

About AIGA Design Adjacent

AIGA Design Adjacent is a monthly podcast series with AIGA’s Executive Director, Bennie F. Johnson, in conversation with industry leaders who are innovating and designing the future. These conversations expand beyond the design community, encompassing industries and areas that intersect with design and shift the ways in which we think about and interact with each other and the world around us.

About Bennie F. Johnson

Bennie F. Johnson is the Executive Director of AIGA, the professional association for design. Bennie thrives on the connections between marketing, technology, education, and innovation. With experience in strategic and consumer marketing, brand management, and innovation management, he is drawn to opportunities that allow him to lead and create new modes for business engagement. He has broad experience growing brands, businesses, and organizations with a special focus on venture launch and brand relaunch business environments.