How I Built This with Guy Raz Figma: Dylan Field
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Jun 16, 2025 
Dylan Field, co-founder of Figma, started his journey in design collaboration after dropping out of Brown University to pursue a Thiel Fellowship. He discusses the early challenges of monetizing Figma and the innovative features that revolutionized design workflows. Dylan shares his personal experiences of navigating skepticism, managing a young team, and the transformative moments that shaped his leadership. He reflects on the delicate balance of luck and hard work that led to Figma's notable growth, including its $20 billion acquisition bid from Adobe.
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Early Fun Experiments
- Dylan Field and Evan Wallace started Figma by experimenting with fun features like face swapping and meme generators.
- This early playful phase helped them explore the potential of web-based graphics despite initial uncertainty.
Collaborative Design Was Radical
- Real-time collaboration for design was a radical idea when Figma started, as designers often worked alone.
- The agency culture favored solitary design, making collaborative design initially unpopular.
Listen and Evolve as Leader
- Good leaders listen to team frustration and consider management help to scale effectively.
- Empower smart teams by encouraging idea sharing instead of enforcing rigid top-down decisions.