Hey there. Happy Saturday! Today, I want to share some thoughts on why I started my design business to help startup founders.

Design is not the strength for most founders

First, let's define the early stage as bootstrapped (pre revenue), the family and friends round, pre-seed, and seed stage—basically, before achieving product-market fit (PMF) and Series A funding.

In the early stage, founders are busy fundraising and proving traction for their project. Most founders are either technical or have a business background, and design is not their strength.

So, does that mean they need to hire a full-time designer to help them?

Well, it depends on the type of product and the founder’s preferences, of course. But I’d say the majority of early-stage startups can benefit from not hiring a full-time designer.

Here is why: 

1.Founders can hire the wrong designer if they don’t know what they are doing. 

Many founders think all designers are equal and believe their full-time designer can do everything they ask. That is not true! I have heard founders complain that they hired a product designer who could not fulfill their website design needs.

If you hire a website designer, they may not be able to meet your product design needs.

If you hire a graphic or visual designer, they can cover growth or social media marketing needs, but they cannot design websites.

You see? Just like not every developer is the same, design also has many sub-areas. Visual designers who have transitioned into product designers are your best fit for a first design hire.

However, those designers are usually very popular, even in FANG companies, and may not be interested in working for a startup at their current career stage.

2.Founders are busy: they don’t have time to manage a designer 

It’s a fact that startups cannot compete with large companies for top design talent. That’s why founders often end up hiring junior or mid-level designers who also lack experience.

The result? Founders end up playing the role of design manager. Imagine a technical founder having to manage a designer—one thinks logically, the other thinks creatively. I’ve experienced that myself, and it’s a disaster. Nobody is happy, and it’s time-consuming.

But early startups cannot afford a design manager or head of design. Even if founders are super busy, they still need to manage the full-time designer daily.

Unless the designer's role can evolve and they are willing to take on other responsibilities, there will always be periods where the designer feels they have nothing to do.

3.Founders don’t know what they are doing half of the time, they also need guidance 

One of the biggest complaints I hear from designers working in startups is the constant change: "Yesterday we decided on A, today it's B. Why does it change every day?"

It changes daily because founders have new ideas or because the market is constantly evolving. If the designer is not experienced enough to evaluate these ideas or even help filter out the less viable ones, they end up chasing after everything the founder says, leading to frustration and a sense of being unappreciated.

When I work with startup founders, they ask me about user issues, positioning, product scope, and priorities. Working with an experienced designer, even if only part-time, is more valuable than having a full-time, less experienced designer.

This is also why startups hire many advisors: fractional CPOs, CFOs, accountants, lawyers you name it.

3.Founders are frugal: they want predictable burns and safe runway

Some startups use agencies in their early stages, but the most common complaint is: it’s very expensive and unpredictable.

Hiring a full-time designer might cost a founder $10K per month, while with agencies, $20K could be gone within 1-2 weeks. Early-stage startups need to be frugal.

Founders want to know their monthly burn rates and be able to predict where they’ll be in 3-6 months. That’s why they engage agencies for one-time projects and don’t return even if issues arise after the product launch.

A different model: fractional in-house design

Imagine having a design team instead of just one designer working on your project. It’s much more affordable than a full-time hire, and the quality and speed are much better than what a single junior designer could provide.

Plus, no matter what your brand, website, or product design needs are, this design team can handle it all. They’re available on Slack every day for any quick questions or needs. The only difference is that meetings are replaced with video recordings.

That’s why I believe there is a market of fractional in-house design for early stage startups, and I am building one to fulfill that need.

If you are a founder or a designer also interested in learning more about this model. Follow me on X or Linkedin. I will update my journey as I go. 

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