Diego Zaks - Designing the fastest growing startup ever

Imagine joining an early stage startup as the first senior designer and within a few years, it becomes the fastest growing company *ever*. Well… that's the story of Diego Zaks (https://x.com/diegozaks) who is now the VP of design at Ramp (https://ramp.com/). This week’s episode is all about how they were able to win with design and what makes their culture so special. We go deep into: Why velocity is the key to quality The impact of “truth seeking pods” How Diego creates a culture of collaboration What it takes to be a great founding designer The #1 trait Diego looks for in design candidates How Diego has changed the way he gives feedback How designers are empowered to make strategic calls + a lot more… Want to work with Diego at Ramp? They’re hiring ✌️ - https://ramp.com/careers Chapters 0:00 Intro 1:12 How Diego became the 2nd designer at Ramp 3:45 Ridd's experience with Ramp 4:56 Setting the tone for what Ramp can be 8:47 What makes for a great founding designer 13:19 Overview of how design works at Ramp 16:11 Empowering designers to make strategic calls 19:37 Thoughts on Founder Mode 20:41 How Diego gives feedback to designers 23:12 How designers collaborate at Ramp 27:34 How to get better feedback 33:03 The importance of having a great PM 40:58 How Ramp structures feature releases 43:11 What Diego looks for when hiring designers 45:26 Not being afraid to make mistakes Dive is where the best designers never stop learning 🤿 🌐 dive.club 🐦 twitter.com/joindiveclub Now you can join advanced courses taught by the top designers to help you take a huge leap forward in your career 💪