
Figma’s CEO: Why AI makes design, craft, and quality the new moat for startups | Dylan Field
Dylan Field is co-founder and CEO of Figma, a beloved tool used by every modern product team. Founded in 2012, Figma has expanded from a single design tool to a comprehensive platform including FigJam, Slides, Dev Mode, and, most recently, Figma Make. After a $20 billion acquisition by Adobe fell through due to regulatory pushback, Dylan led the company to a successful IPO in 2025. What you’ll learn: • How Dylan kept internal morale up after the Adobe acquisition fell through • His approach to maintaining pace and a sense of urgency 13 years in • How to systematically develop taste • How Figma decides which product lines to add • Why Dylan obsesses over “time to value” • How AI is making design more valuable — Brought to you by: Stripe—Helping companies of all sizes grow revenue — Transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/why-ai-makes-design-craft-and-quality-the-new-moat — My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/175569466/my-biggest-takeaways-from-this-conversation — Where to find Dylan Field: • X: https://x.com/zoink • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanfield/ — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to Dylan Field (03:58) The Adobe deal fallout (05:50) Maintaining team morale post-deal (09:13) Strategies for sustaining high performance (13:37) Maintaining Figma’s unique company culture (16:22) Dylan’s leadership evolution (21:03) How to improve clarity as a leader (24:40) The controversy behind FigJam (31:06) Lessons from expanding Figma’s core product line (39:32) Time-to-value (45:14) Introduction to Figma Make (48:26) AI app prototyping and the future of Figma Make (53:38) Lessons from Figma’s AI product launch (57:47) The importance of craft (59:54) Developing good taste (01:05:35) The future of product development (01:10:32) Why AI won’t steal your job (01:14:37) AI corner (01:18:32) Lightning round and final thoughts — Referenced: • Dylan Field live at Config: Intuition, simplicity, and the future of design: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/dylan-field-live-at-config • Figma: https://www.figma.com/ • Adobe: https://www.adobe.com/ • Vision, conviction, and hype: How to build 0 to 1 inside a company | Mihika Kapoor (Product at Figma): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/vision-conviction-hype-mihika-kapoor • Notion’s lost years, its near collapse during Covid, staying small to move fast, the joy and suffering of building horizontal, more | Ivan Zhao (CEO and co-founder): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-notion-ivan-zhao • $46B of hard truths from Ben Horowitz: Why founders fail and why you need to run toward fear (a16z co-founder): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/46b-of-hard-truths-from-ben-horowitz • FigJam: https://www.figma.com/figjam/ • Cursor chat: https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/4403130802199-Use-cursor-chat-in-Figma-Design • Figma Slides: https://www.figma.com/slides/ • Figma Sites: https://www.figma.com/sites/ • Figma Buzz: https://www.figma.com/buzz/ • Figma Draw: https://www.figma.com/draw/ • Figma Design: https://www.figma.com/design/ • Dev Mode: https://www.figma.com/dev-mode/ • Figma Make: https://www.figma.com/make/ • Zach Lloyd on X: https://x.com/zachlloydtweets • Warp: https://www.warp.dev/ • Dylan’s post on X about Figma on an AI product leaderboard: https://x.com/zoink/status/1968588014935801884 • Kurt Cobain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Cobain • Damien Correll on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damiencorrell/ • Marcin Wichary on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwichary/ • Loredana Crisan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loredanacrisan/ • Amber Bravo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberbravo/ • Figma’s 2025 AI report: Perspectives from designers and developers: https://www.figma.com/blog/figma-2025-ai-report-perspectives/ • Jevons paradox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox#Energy_conservation_policy • AI prompt engineering in 2025: What works and what doesn’t | Sander Schulhoff (Learn Prompting, HackAPrompt): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ai-prompt-engineering-in-2025-sander-schulhoff • Pantheon: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11680642/ • Retro: https://retro.app/ • Thiel Fellowship: https://thielfellowship.org/ — Recommended books: • Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art: https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Comics-Invisible-Scott-McCloud/dp/006097625X • The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War: https://www.amazon.com/Spy-Traitor-Greatest-Espionage-Story/dp/1101904216 • Codex Seraphinianus: https://www.amazon.com/Codex-Seraphinianus-Anniversary-Luigi-Serafini/dp/0847871045 Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. My biggest takeaways from this conversation: To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
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