Dylan Field live at Config: Intuition, simplicity, and the future of design

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Prioritize Quality or Deadline in Iterative Software Development

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In software development, one can prioritize quality, features, or deadline, but not all three simultaneously. It is possible to release a product with features and a deadline and iterate to improve the quality over time. Alternatively, one can set a minimum quality bar and feature set to push out a product. The key is to understand the trade-offs when introducing a new product and focus on iteratively improving both features and quality to create a minimally awesome product.

Dylan Field is the co-founder and CEO of Figma, the collaborative design platform that has revolutionized how product teams work. In my first-ever live podcast, recorded at Figma Config, Dylan and I dig into:

• How intuition and product taste drive Dylan’s decision-making

• 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/dylan-field-live-at-config

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Where to find Dylan Field:

• X: https://x.com/zoink?lang=en

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanfield/

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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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

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Referenced:

• Mihika Kapoor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mihikakapoor/

• Rick Rubin on the Creative Act—60 Minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE1teB5bN-w

• Figma pages: https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038511293-Create-and-manage-pages

• Leading through uncertainty: A design-led company—Brian Chesky (Config 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkfijg7s76o

• An inside look at how Figma builds product | Yuhki Yamashita (CPO of Figma): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an-inside-look-at-how-figma-builds

• Vision, conviction, and hype: How to build 0 to 1 inside a company | Mihika Kapoor (Product at Figma): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/vision-conviction-hype-mihika-kapoor

• An inside look at Figma’s unique GTM motion | Claire Butler (first GTM hire): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an-inside-look-at-figmas-unique-bottom

• Zigging vs. zagging: How HubSpot built a $30B company | Dharmesh Shah (co-founder/CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-30-years-of-building

• Nadia Singer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadiasinger/

• Sho Kuwamoto on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shokuwamoto/

• FigJam: https://www.figma.com/figjam/

• Tim Van Damme on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-van-damme-maxvoltar/

• Coda: https://coda.io/

• Shishir Mehrotra on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shishirmehrotra/

• Websim: https://websim.ai/

• eToys.com commercial (from Dylan’s childhood acting career): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3Y92aCmmbU

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.