Soleio - What makes a truly great software designer [+ spatial computing] (Dive Club Ep. 38)

Soleio made a name for himself as the 2nd design hire at Facebook and eventually went on to lead design at Dropbox. Now he invests in extraordinary software startups like Figma, Framer, Vercel, Perplexity, Replit, Universe, tldraw, and dozens more worldwide. So in this discussion we go deep into: The fascinating story behind project Motion How Soleio’s skillset evolved during his time at Facebook When it makes sense to invest in craft (and when it doesn’t) what Soleio looks for when hiring designers How startups can attract the top design talent Why Soleio is so excited about spatial computing The type of companies Soleio is looking to invest in next 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 💪 Chapters 0:00 Intro 1:30 Background as 2nd designer at FB 3:26 The story of project Motion 11:22 How Soleio's skill set evolved across the years at FB 17:00 Shipping over Craft 18:45 When it makes sense for startups to invest in craft 22:20 What it looks like for design to move the most important needles 29:00 What Soleio thinks makes a truly great software designer 23:32 What Soleio looks for in the hiring process 38:40 How founders can make their startup attractive for early designers 42:00 How designers can stand out as an early hire at a startup 43:46 Putting the recruiting reps in 45:30 What Soleio believes about the future of software design 49:00 Why designers might need to get ideas to production themselves #productdesign #podcast #uiux