Ryan Connaughton

Figma is skipping the traditional IPO roadshow and going public via direct listing. And it's 40x oversubscribed. Most companies avoid direct listings. In a traditional IPO, investment banks buy shares at a discount and then sell them to institutional investors. The banks act as underwriters, which means they guarantee a minimum price and provide stability. Direct listings are different. No underwriters. No discount. No roadshow presentations to convince investors. Existing shares just start trading on the exchange at whatever price the market decides. This creates volatility risk as there's no price floor. But Figma doesn't need to worry about that. There's massive demand already baked in. When Spotify went direct in 2018, everyone predicted chaos. Instead, it traded relatively smoothly. Same with Slack in 2019. But why does this really matter for Figma? They capture the full market value instead of giving banks a discount. In traditional IPOs, banks often price shares 10-20% below market value to ensure a successful launch. That's money left on the table. Why give away value when you don't have to?

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If you’re leading a scale-up and design isn’t embedded early, you’re already paying for it. Just not where you think. Delayed launches. Expensive last-minute rework. A product that “functions” but fails to land with users. Internal chaos between teams. This is what happens when design is treated as a wrapper, not a driver. It’s rarely a process issue. It’s a sequencing issue. Design done late means scope creep, missed signals, and siloed decision-making. Design done early leads to faster decisions, clear priorities, better collaboration, and products that meet real needs the first time around. If you’re running product or tech at a scale-up, the question isn’t if design is costing you. The question is where it’s leaking the most value. So, when do you bring design into the conversation: at kickoff, or once things start breaking? 🔃If you found this post helpful, repost it with your network. Follow Joe Woodham for weekly insights on design leadership, business fluency, and influence that lasts.

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“Everything is design and design is everything.” - Emily Campbell Today, Kim Lenox, Emily and I had a conversation with a thousand people to discuss Figma’s new study exploring how work is changing for 7 roles involved in product development. The quote above sums it up. Roles are blurring. And, more people than ever see design as an integral part of their work. The full story is longer and even more interesting: - 64% of respondents identified with two or more roles, and over a third said their responsibilities span three or more roles. - 56% of non-designers say design tasks like prototyping are a major part of their work, up 12 percentage points in a year - 19% of time is now spent with AI tools, expecting to increase to 27% in the next 12 months. This time is taken from solo work time rather than work with colleagues. And, 57% say they’re spending more time on work that’s higher value and strategic. - 53% say deep knowledge is still needed to do a task well, less than a quarter believe AI reduces the need for expertise. Matt Walker and team built the study of 1200 respondents and 50 interviews, covering 67 tasks. Alia Fite, Emma Webster, and Alex Praeger created an amazing report from the findings. Chad Bergman and Greg Huntoon answered so many questions in today's discussion. The key here is it’s not just design. It’s not just product development. And, I would guess this trend is actually is bigger than just this field. I think at the heart of these changes are a strong desire to communicate intent from one expertise to another. From marketing to design. From design to development. From PM to development. And, I think we’ll see even more of this blurring moving forward.

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UX costs nothing—until it costs everything. Every ignored friction point eventually resurfaces as support tickets, dropped leads, stalled onboarding, or lost renewals. We've seen this consistently across B2B platforms, member portals, and internal tools: → Poor navigation floods help desks → Inconsistent UI slows adoption and erodes trust → Bloated workflows quietly push users toward competitors Organizations often think they're avoiding UX costs, unaware they're already paying—through wasted time, constant patches, and staff burnout. High-performing teams don't see UX as a line-item luxury. They treat it as preventive ops. They measure it. Fund it. Protect it. Because solving root problems always costs less than endlessly triaging symptoms. If your support team is swamped or onboarding is stalled, it's probably not just a content issue. It's a UX issue—and you're already footing the bill.

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Whether you’re trying to get hired or promoted, we’ve developed an obsession with “showing impact.” I’m guilty of it too. Many talented designers struggle with this. They work in organisations where tracking is incomplete, and they’re forced to choose between showing nothing or making up numbers. But here’s something to keep in mind: Awareness beats access. I’d rather work with someone who doesn’t have data but understands what their work affects. Than someone who has all the data and no idea what to do with it. If you don’t have perfect data, you can still show impact by thinking through these layers: 1. Behaviour --- What are the smallest user actions your design is meant to influence? For example: • Form submissions • Button clicks • Page visits These are leading indicators. You can directly influence them with design. 2. Product --- If hundreds or thousands of users perform that behaviour more often, what product metric would it influence? For example: • Activation rate • Engagement • Discoverability These are team-level outcomes. Your work should support one or more of them. 3. Business --- If that product metric improves, what business impact would it have? For example: • New MRR • Retention • Expansion These are your lagging indicators. They show up later, but they matter most to leadership. Even if you can’t measure these directly, talk about what you believe your work affected. Be honest about the gaps. You can also share what you would have tracked if the data had been available. If you can tell a plausible story using these three layers—behaviour, product, and business—you’re already showing strong strategic awareness. And you’re pointing to the organisational gaps that made measurement difficult. That mindset matters more than a dashboard.

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Great design isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what matters most. When you prioritise right: Products improve faster. Users feel the difference. When you don’t: Time is wasted. Teams feel stuck. And here’s the perfect example. Most people think design progress comes from: Adding more features. Endless visual tweaks. Chasing “cool” ideas. But the truth is… None of that matters if: Usability blockers remain. Core flows stay broken. Business goals aren’t met. Here’s what prioritisation looks like when it works vs when it doesn’t: Clear priorities: - You fix what blocks users. - You design with impact. - Progress compounds daily. Scattered priorities: - You polish the wrong things. - You burn energy on low value. - Nothing meaningful ships. What changed? Not the number of hours. Not the size of the team. Not the tool you used. This is: Design prioritisation that works. Great founders ask: Am I investing in tasks that move the needle? Am I aligning design with business impact? Am I cutting noise instead of adding it? Because clarity in design isn’t about doing everything. It’s about choosing the right things. No wasted effort. No endless tweaks. No “busy work.” So ultimately:  If you want great design, prioritisation is the real superpower. ♻ Repost if you agree.

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So many good products get ruined by one thing... Rushed UI Before you hit publish, Run through this quick UI checklist I’ve used on 60+ projects: ✅ 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝘆 is consistent (H1, H2, body) ✅ 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁 passes accessibility check ✅ 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗧𝗔 is visible in under 3 seconds ✅ 𝗣𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴/𝗴𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻 is consistent across all breakpoints ✅ 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 works seamlessly on mobile/tablet ✅ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 are covered (hover, active, error, success) ✅ 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀 are optimized (no slow load) ✅ 𝟰𝟬𝟰 + empty states aren't forgotten ✅ 𝗙𝗼𝗻𝘁𝘀 are system-optimized or properly licensed ✅ No 𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗽𝘀𝘂𝗺 left on live screens (happens more than you think) ---------- Building something and want a second set of eyes? Shoot me a message - happy to help.

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6 UX Design Tools Actually Worth Paying For (Coming from someone who’s spent $100s testing new ones.) If you are in UX right now, it feels like there is a new tool dropping every single week. It is overwhelming and honestly getting very expensive 😂 These are the 6 tools I actually pay for because they help me: - Save time - Design smarter - Streamline my workflow Here’s the list: 1) Landbook – Web Design Inspiration ↳ For unique layouts and visual ideas that don’t look like the same homepage you’ve seen 1,000 times. 2) Mobbin – App design patterns ↳ Where I go to study real UX patterns from real apps. 3) UX Pilot AI – AI wireframing ↳ Let's me quickly test flow ideas and layouts before finalizing in Figma. 4) Relume – AI website builder ↳ Generate real copy and layouts (no lorem ipsum). Export to Figma or Webflow and everything actually works. 5) Cursor – Prompt-to-code prototypes ↳ Turn client ideas into clickable, interactive prototypes for: Investor demos, User testing, etc 6) Figma – The design home base (this one's obvious) ↳ Even with AI tools everywhere, Figma is still where everything comes together. This my current UX design stack. Am I missing anything? Drop your favorite tools below! (And if you found this helpful, save it for later.)

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Fractional design leadership is upcoming (and I love it). I work with and talk to many fractional design leaders. They have a new approach to design leadership: - Focus on value, not fixed time - Better brand than freelance - More cost-effective Because most companies can't invest heavily in design. A shame. But fractional work is a great intro to high-level design: - Part-time hires to solve specific problems - Highly valuable to immature design orgs - More strategic, setting the direction A win-win for both sides. Here's why you should consider this as a design leader: 1. Great first step into business 2. Better income diversification 3. More freedom & flexibility 4. Increased earning ceiling 5. Faster pace of learning If you want to learn how to start as a fractional design leader. My friend Gev Marotz runs a $2M/year fractional business. And he's sharing valuable insights on Substack (for free): → The Fractional Playbook So, if you're a (fractional) design leader, check it out. It's actionable, no fluff, and has practical insights. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eFj-EYDV

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