First Time Founders with Ed Elson – Figma’s Founder on Post-IPO Life & the Road Ahead
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
This episode features Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO of Figma, who takes us through the remarkable journey from a WebGL experiment to building one of the most influential design platforms in tech. Dylan shares the surprising origins of Figma, which began as a technology-first exploration rather than solving a specific problem - a counterintuitive approach that led to one of 2024's biggest IPOs. (03:42)
- Core themes include: The evolution from single-player to multiplayer design tools, the strategic importance of design in modern software development, navigating the transition from private to public company, and leveraging AI to amplify rather than replace human creativity.
Speakers
Dylan Field
Dylan Field is the co-founder and CEO of Figma, the collaborative design platform that went public in July 2024 with one of the year's biggest IPOs. He started Figma in 2012 while studying computer science, initially exploring WebGL technology before pivoting to solve the collaborative design problem. Dylan previously worked at O'Reilly Media, where he gained expertise in identifying technology trends and understanding tech development cycles.
Ed Elson
Ed Elson is the host of First Time Founders podcast. He conducts in-depth interviews with successful entrepreneurs about their journeys from startup to scale.
Key Takeaways
Start with Technology, But Find Your Problem
Dylan reveals that Figma began not with a problem to solve, but with exploring WebGL technology in the browser. (06:17) They experimented with various applications including face swapping and photo editing before finding their true calling. While this approach goes against conventional wisdom of starting with a problem, Dylan emphasizes this isn't recommended for most founders - they were fortunate to have the buffer time to explore. The key lesson is that having a "why now" moment is crucial, whether technological, social, or regulatory, and sometimes great companies emerge from deep technological exploration combined with patient capital.
Embrace Multiplayer Collaboration Early
The transition from single-player to multiplayer design tools was initially met with resistance from designers who feared more stakeholders and committee-designed outcomes. (11:14) However, the web forced Figma to build collaborative features to avoid terrible user experiences when multiple people accessed the same file. This constraint became their biggest advantage, creating a single source of truth and eliminating version control nightmares. The lesson for founders is that sometimes technological constraints can force you into building features that customers don't initially want but ultimately transform entire workflows.
Focus on Long-Term Inputs, Not Short-Term Outputs
As a newly public company CEO, Dylan emphasizes focusing on controllable inputs rather than stock price fluctuations. (23:39) He tells his team the number will go up and down, but they only control the inputs that drive long-term value creation. This philosophy applies to any business leader - you get "one shower thought a day" and it should be focused on creating customer value, not monitoring metrics you can't directly control. Success comes from maintaining this long-term perspective even when facing quarterly reporting pressures.
Hire People You Can Learn From
Dylan's biggest management mistake early on was lacking basic management skills despite being a natural leader. (34:43) The breakthrough came when they hired their first experienced manager who taught Dylan essential skills like one-on-ones, goal setting, and accountability. His core principle became hiring people you can learn from rather than people who will simply look up to you. In interviews, Dylan's mental test is whether he comes out learning something new. This approach continuously levels up the entire organization and prevents the common trap of hiring less skilled people for control purposes.
Design as Competitive Advantage in the AI Era
Dylan argues that design has evolved from an afterthought to the primary way companies win or lose, especially with AI accelerating software creation. (27:15) As more software gets built faster, differentiation comes through great design, user experience, and brand. He sees AI as amplifying designers' roles rather than replacing them - AI can generate opinionated designs that spark reactions and help explore option spaces, but humans must still push deeper and make final decisions. The companies that value design will see even bigger opportunities, while those that don't will struggle increasingly in a more competitive landscape.
Statistics & Facts
- Figma is used by 95% of Fortune 500 companies, demonstrating massive enterprise adoption. (02:22)
- The ratio of designers to engineers changed dramatically from one designer for every 30 engineers to extreme cases like Airbnb having one designer for every two or three engineers. (04:26)
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated only 250,000 product and web designers when Figma started, which Dylan thought would be too small a market long-term. (17:17)
