20VC Figma Founder, Dylan Field on How Leadership Needs To Evolve with Scale, The Transition from Application to Platform & The Future of Remote Work, Education and Digital Spaces

In this episode of "20 Minutes VC," host Harry Stebbings interviews Dylan Field, founder and CEO of Figma, a design platform that has rapidly grown into one of 2020's fastest-expanding companies. Field shares his journey from internships at notable tech firms to launching Figma, which has raised over $132 million, and is now valued at $2 billion. He discusses the importance of maintaining company culture amid hypergrowth, particularly during the shift to remote work due to COVID-19. Field also touches on the challenges of transitioning from application to platform, Figma's plugin ecosystem, and the future of design and collaboration in digital spaces. Additionally, he reflects on leadership and management as evolving skills, the impact of the Teal Fellowship on his views on education, and the significance of building long-term hiring relationships.

• Host Harry Stebbings introduces the podcast and the theme of interviewing founders of rapidly growing companies.
• Dylan Field, founder and CEO of Figma, is welcomed back to the show.
• Figma is recognized for its growth and significant venture capital funding.
• Dylan's background includes internships at Flipboard, LinkedIn, and O'Reilly Media.

"Welcome back. This is the 20 minutes VC with me, Harry Stebbings. Now, following on from our episode last week with Hop In, I wanted to stay on the theme of interviewing the founders of the fastest growing companies in."

This quote sets the stage for the episode, highlighting the focus on interviewing founders of fast-growing companies and introduces Dylan Field from Figma.

• Figma helps teams with design creation, testing, and shipping.
• It is one of the fastest-growing companies of 2020.
• Dylan Field has raised over $132 million in financing for Figma.
• Investors include Sequoia, Andreessen, Index, Greylock Founders Fund, and Kleiner Perkins.
• Figma's latest funding round valued the company at a reported $2 billion.

"And I'm so thrilled to welcome back to the hot seat Dylan Field, founder and CEO at Figma, the company that helps teams create, test and ship better designs from start to finish and is one of 2020s fastest growing companies. To date, Dylan has raised over $132,000,000."

Harry Stebbings provides an overview of Figma's business and its success in securing significant funding, indicating the company's rapid growth and the high-profile investors backing it.

• Dylan Field's first internship was at O'Reilly Media.
• He was exposed to various aspects of tech and entrepreneurship through O'Reilly.
• Dylan also interned at Microsoft Research, LinkedIn, and Flipboard.
• His experiences at these internships shaped his path towards founding Figma.

"So I started off as an intern, and my first internship was at O'Reilly Media."

Dylan Field discusses his initial steps in the tech industry, emphasizing the significance of his internship at O'Reilly Media in shaping his career trajectory.

• Dylan acknowledges management and leadership as skills that need to be developed.
• He highlights the importance of learning from mentors, advisors, and investors.
• Dylan emphasizes the need for self-awareness and continuous improvement as a leader.

"First of all, I think that I didn't fully recognize at the time, but management and leadership are skills."

Dylan Field reflects on the realization that leadership is a skill set that requires learning and development, much like any other professional skill.

• Dylan discusses the evolution of his leadership style, from being less empowering to more enabling.
• He stresses the importance of finding a balance between pushing for results and empowering the team.
• Dylan aims to provide context to his team to help them understand his decision-making process.

"I hope that now I'm a more empowering leader overall."

Dylan Field shares his journey towards becoming a more empowering leader, indicating his commitment to personal growth and adapting his leadership style to better support his team.

• Dylan believes in fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• He advises on the importance of unpacking the "why" behind decisions and feedback.
• The goal is to maintain a positive culture while addressing areas that need improvement.

"I think that, first of all, there's a cultural decision to make, which is, are you a culture where you're always improving or not?"

Dylan Field discusses the importance of creating a culture that is focused on constant improvement and the need to communicate effectively when goals are not met.

• Emphasizes the need to explain the rationale behind decisions or actions.
• Challenges the pressure to provide immediate answers or directives.
• Advocates for a more thoughtful approach to communication and leadership.

"I think that as we're all moving so fast, which is fear day is chunked into half, half hour bits, there's so much pressure to constantly be giving people the answer or telling people no this way. And a thing that I'm trying to challenge myself to do more and more is just to really step back and say, here's why. Here's why. I think this."

This quote highlights the speaker's personal challenge to resist the pressure of fast-paced decision-making and instead take the time to explain their reasoning to others, fostering a deeper understanding.

• Discusses the difficulty of delegation and the belief that one can perform tasks better themselves.
• Suggests that finding the right person is key to effective delegation.
• Challenges the notion of being the best at a particular skill and the importance of introspection.

"I think if you think you can do it better, you haven't found the right person."

This quote suggests that the inability to delegate may stem from not having found a person who can perform the task to the desired standard, implying the need for better recruitment or trust in others' capabilities.

• Reflects on the Teal Fellowship as a unique educational opportunity.
• Highlights the achievements of young people through the fellowship.
• Questions the necessity of extensive experience for significant accomplishments.
• Discusses the societal impact of educational debt and the rising costs of college.
• Encourages introspection on the personal value and expectations of a college education.

"And so it's really, along with my experiences through Figma, it's made me question the belief that you need a ton of experience in order to go do something that's at sort of the world scale."

This quote reflects on the speaker's observations that young individuals, through opportunities like the Teal Fellowship, have accomplished significant feats without extensive experience, challenging traditional beliefs about the prerequisites for success.

• Explores the strategic considerations in evolving a product from an application to a platform.
• Discusses different approaches to market, either focusing on a specific use case or starting with a platform mindset.
• Emphasizes the ongoing process and challenges of expanding a product's platform capabilities.

"I think some companies start with a really innate sense of how to build a platform... But I think either way you have to eventually figure out how to think in a more platform-focused way."

This quote discusses the strategic decisions companies face when developing their products, whether to begin with a broad platform approach or to start with a specific use case and expand to a platform over time.

• Addresses the balance between frequent product updates and the risk of overwhelming users.
• Stresses the importance of maintaining simplicity in the user experience.
• Acknowledges the influence of power users on product development but warns against compromising the experience for new users.

"But I think also that it is possible to go too fast and to not consider things fully enough. And so it's important to make sure that you keep things simple."

This quote emphasizes the need for careful consideration in product development to avoid complexity that could detract from the user experience, especially for new users.

• Discusses the challenge of catering to both power users and new users simultaneously.
• Advocates for making complex functionalities possible without sacrificing simplicity for new users.
• Highlights the importance of solutions that address both power and simplicity.

"You do have to make those complex power user cases possible... But you can't do it at the expense of keeping simple things simple."

This quote underscores the delicate balance required in product design to satisfy the demands of experienced users while preserving ease of use for newcomers.

• Reflects on the early stage and potential of the Figma plugin ecosystem.
• Envisions Figma as a global design community and a "third place" for design engagement.
• Acknowledges the current role of design Twitter but suggests Figma could become a more centralized hub for design interaction.

"One of the things I'm most excited about, too, and I think it's holistically with plugins, is community."

This quote expresses the speaker's enthusiasm for the burgeoning community aspect of Figma, particularly through the development of its plugin ecosystem, which could foster a more connected and collaborative design environment.

• Figma aims to improve the experience centered around design and the way designers work.
• They are in the early stages of developing this improved experience.

"k there's a possibility of potential to create a much better experience than that, that's centered around design, the way designers work."

This quote explains that Figma sees potential in creating a superior design-centric experience, which is a fundamental aspect of their mission.

• Plugins increase the workflow defensibility of a product.
• Plugins should not only exist on the platform but also work best on it to create a competitive advantage.

"I think that anytime you're able to introduce more workflow, that is a pretty inherently defensible thing that will help your product."

This quote emphasizes the importance of integrating workflows through plugins to strengthen product defensibility.

• It's vital not to over-focus on competition; instead, focus on building a unique product.
• Listening to users is important, especially if they prefer a competitor's product, to understand and adapt accordingly.
• Balancing focus between competition and unique product development is key.

"It's important not to be too focused on competition. Otherwise you're not building what's uniquely you."

This quote illustrates the balance needed between being aware of the competition and maintaining a unique value proposition.

• Transition from physical to digital spaces has been a long-term trend, with 2020 being an inflection point due to COVID-19.
• Digital spaces are accessible, collaborative, and transparent but lack spontaneity and cross-team connections found in physical spaces.
• The shift to digital requires balancing synchronous and asynchronous work.

"And so what I see is that there's a transition over time that's been happening, and 2020 is that inflection point, that sort of big rush into digital spaces."

This quote highlights the accelerated transition to digital spaces as a significant external impact of COVID on Figma and the industry at large.

• Figma shifted from an in-person to a remote work model due to COVID-19.
• The challenge is to maintain spontaneity and connection in a remote environment.
• Figma introduced initiatives like Maker Week to foster internal team connections and creativity.

"For Figma, internally, pre Covid, we were entirely in person, and now we're supporting remote work, of course, just like everyone else does, but also we're permanently doing that long term."

The quote describes Figma's internal shift to a remote work model in response to COVID-19 and their commitment to it in the long term.

• Figma is experimenting with ways to maintain culture and encourage spontaneity remotely.
• Initiatives include social breakfasts, the Slack app Donut for random team pairings, and Maker Week with house-based team activities.

"One thing I'm trying is just more breakfast and more ways to connect with people and spend time with folks on the team."

This quote reflects Figma's efforts to maintain a warm, spontaneous company culture despite the shift to remote work.

• Managing culture during a pandemic is the hardest part of hypergrowth.
• Scaling culture is difficult, especially without in-person gatherings.
• Figma is focused on ensuring they manage this aspect correctly.

"It's dealing cultured during a pandemic. It's. It's a big change."

This quote outlines the challenge of maintaining and scaling company culture during rapid growth and a global pandemic.

• Hiring talent is a long-term game based on relationships.
• Some hires take years to come to fruition due to different risk profiles and job changes.
• Building relationships with top talent is crucial for long-term hiring success.

"One thing that people don't usually realize when they're hiring talent is that it's a very long term game and it's based in relationships."

This quote underscores the importance of long-term relationships in the hiring process, especially for acquiring top talent.

• Total conviction is necessary for hiring for any role.
• Balancing the urgency to hire with the need to be thoughtful and conservative is essential.
• Figma emphasizes the importance of hiring the right people quickly but correctly.

"You can't make a hire unless you have total conviction."

This quote stresses the importance of being fully convinced of a candidate's fit before hiring, especially in a high-growth environment.

• The quote is incomplete, but suggests that board management and hiring share a common principle of seeking the right fit.

"One thing that I thi"

Although incomplete, this quote indicates that the speaker was about to share insights on board management, potentially drawing parallels to hiring practices.

• Initially, Dylan Field viewed the board as an entity he reported to, but now sees it as all reporting into Figma with himself leading the board on behalf of the company.
• He acknowledges the importance of leveraging the board's collective wisdom and experience from other companies.
• The CEO should ask the right questions to extract insights from the board members but also assert their own well-informed perspectives to guide decisions.

"I really thought of the board as this group that I was reporting into. I think now I think of it more as Figma is the group that we're all reporting into."

This quote reflects Dylan Field's evolved perspective on the role of the board and his relationship with it, emphasizing a collaborative approach where the company's interests are paramount.

• Harry Stebbings seeks advice on how to be an effective board member and create a safe environment for founders.
• Dylan Field suggests that board members should positively reinforce transparency, especially when founders report mistakes, which fosters trust and open communication.

"I think it's important to reward and to praise people when they come to you with information about mistakes."

Dylan Field highlights the value of board members responding supportively to founders' admissions of mistakes, which can encourage honesty and trust.

• Dylan Field finds investing in other companies and working with founders to be energizing and a different form of helping people compared to his operational role at Figma.
• This energy from investing is then channeled back into Figma, contributing to a positive feedback loop of enthusiasm and support.

"I really like helping people, and helping as an investor is just a very different way of helping people."

The quote captures Dylan Field's passion for mentorship and support in the startup ecosystem, which he finds personally rewarding and beneficial to his work at Figma.

• Dylan Field recommends the book "Snow Crash" for its relevance to 2020, discussing the concept of the metaverse and the idea of a mind virus, drawing parallels with the spread of QAnon.

"A recent book that I read, again, this is a reread for me, which I really appreciate even more in 2020 because I think it's like the quintessential 2020 book is Snow Crash."

This quote explains why Dylan Field finds "Snow Crash" particularly pertinent to the current year, with its themes resonating with the rise of virtual spaces and the spread of information online.

• Dylan Field hopes for the growth of more tech ecosystems like Silicon Valley around the world while recognizing the challenge of making them accessible to new entrants, especially in an online environment.

"I really hope that there'll be more ecosystems like Silicon Valley in the world."

The quote reflects Dylan Field's aspiration for the proliferation of innovation hubs globally and the importance of inclusivity within these ecosystems.

• Figma is adopting a hybrid remote work policy post-COVID, supporting both local and global talent and aligning with their goal of becoming a global company.

"We're going partially remote. So we are basically fully remote during COVID but after Covid, we'll be hybrid, and we'll continue to support remote work afterwards."

Dylan Field clarifies Figma's stance on remote work, indicating a balanced approach that accommodates both remote and in-office work preferences.

• The biggest threat to Figma is the potential to disrupt its culture during rapid scaling, which is seen as both an opportunity and a danger.

"The single greatest threat to Figma...is such an opportunity or danger of messing up our culture while we scale really fast."

Dylan Field identifies the delicate balance of maintaining company culture amidst aggressive expansion as a critical issue for Figma's future.

• Dylan Field perceives his ability to focus and make things happen as a strength, while acknowledging the need to manage his focus and assertiveness more softly.

"Biggest strength is that sometimes I can focus enough on something and make it happen... Biggest weakness is that I'm not always focused enough."

This quote reveals Dylan Field's self-assessment of his leadership skills, recognizing both his capability to drive results and the areas where he seeks improvement.

• By 2030, Dylan Field envisions Figma fully supporting the design process and lifecycle, enabling anyone worldwide to participate in design and access economic opportunities.

"I think that there's an opportunity for us to totally own and support the design process and lifecycle."

Dylan Field outlines the ambitious goal for Figma to become the go-to platform for the entire design journey, democratizing design and contributing to the digital economy.

• Harry Stebbings expresses enthusiasm for Dylan Field's leadership and the future of Figma, inviting listeners to follow both of them on social media for further insights.

"I just could not be more excited for the future ahead. With Dylan leading figma."

Harry Stebbings concludes the interview with a positive outlook on Dylan Field's impact on Figma and the potential growth trajectory for the company.