Cohort 1

Considering taking the leap? Learn how to de-risk the move, leverage your skills beyond design and craft a pitch that gets your idea funded.

Steph Golik

Founder at Huddle

Go from Designer to Founder

👋 Steph here – I'm a design leader and former Product Design Manager at Cruise. I founded Huddle in 2021 and have since raised over $3.5m. I believe designers are uniquely positioned to build the next wave of big, impactful companies. I'm often asked by fellow designers about how to go about starting a company, what it's like to be a founder, and how to raise money. I've collected my insights into this 3-week sprint/course. Beyond my teaching, this course is an opportunity to meet other designers that also have the entrepreneurial itch. We'll learn together and support each other's endeavors during this course and after. If you've been thinking about starting a company on the side or are actively making moves, you're in the right place.

Designer founders start here.

Ambitious designers that are exploring starting their own company.

Side-hustle designers ready to pursue an idea full-time.

Design leaders looking to be more entrepreneurial in their current role.

Who is this course for

What you’ll get out of this course

Explore the routes you can take, whether part-time or full-time, venture-backed or bootstrapped.

Find the founder path that's right for you.

Decide on the right funding route and create a pitch that takes your startup to the next level.

Craft a pitch that gets you funded.


Discover how your own creative strengths and passions make you a powerhouse startup builder.

Lean into your design superpowers.

Learn about how to tackle the parts of company-building outside of product and design.

Step beyond design.

Each module is taught live by Steph, a product designer and now VC-backed startup founder.

Live lessons & coaching with a Designer Founder.

Through examples and some self-exploration, we’ll explore how your own creative strengths and passions make you a powerhouse startup builder.

The Designer Founder

Take steps before you make the leap. Learn frameworks to sort out if you're pursuing the right idea and de-risk your move to start a company.

Taking the first steps

Discover the entrepreneurial paths you can take – each with different commitment levels, risk tolerance and business types.

Craft your founder path

Execution goes beyond design. Uncover what's outside of your expertise and how complementary teammates and tools can bridge the gap.

Business-building

Learn how to know when your idea has legs and how to create both a pitch deck and strategy to get investors behind you.

Designing a pitch

Course syllabus

The next wave of designer founders

Designers make great founders because they're naturally creative problem solvers, can tap into emotions and have taste. Vision-to-reality is faster and sharper because there is less playing telephone.

Founding Designer at Maven, Founder @ Dive.club

What people are saying

Each module is taught live, leaving time for group Q&amp;A.

Live Modules with Q&A

The magic of a live cohort. To close out the course, put everything you've learned into action. We'll get together as a group and talk about where you landed and next steps.

Founder Roundtables (optional)
 

The first 5 people to sign up receive a complimentary 30-min coaching session.

1:1 Coaching Session (for early signup)
 

You'll be given weekly prompts to apply the learnings from each module to yourself and your idea. These entries will help reflect, put the lessons into actions, and be a resource to you beyond this course.

Weekly Journaling
 

Course schedule

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Stay in the loop

Meet your instructor

This course builds on live workshops with real-time Q&amp;A.

Active hands-on learning

Learn alongside and collaborate with other designers beginning their entrepreneurial journeys too.

Meet fellow future-founders

Sign up early to get a free coaching session and use the cohort chat to get async support from your instructor and fellow learners.

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About this course

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