Go from Designer to Founder
3 Weeks
·Cohort-based Course
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.
Go from Designer to Founder
3 Weeks
·Cohort-based Course
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.
Hosted by
Steph Golik
Product Design Manager turned VC-backed startup founder.
Course overview
Designer founders start here.
👋 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, this course is for you.
Who is this course for
01
Ambitious designers that are exploring starting their own company.
02
Side-hustle designers ready to pursue an idea full-time.
03
Design leaders looking to be more entrepreneurial in their current role.
What you’ll get out of this course
Find the founder path that's right for you.
Explore the routes you can take, whether part-time or full-time, venture-backed or bootstrapped.
Craft a pitch that gets you funded.
Decide on the right funding route and create a pitch that takes your startup to the next level.
Lean into your design superpowers.
Discover how your own creative strengths and passions make you a powerhouse startup builder.
Step beyond design.
Learn about how to tackle the parts of company-building outside of product and design.
Live Lessons with a Designer Founder.
Each module is taught live by Steph with time for questions and roundtable discussions.
Go from Designer to Founder
The next wave of designer founders
Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb @ Config 2023
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.
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.
What people are saying
Ridd
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Steph Engle
Kyle Makishuk
Course schedule
3-4 hours per week
Live Modules with Q&A
Tuesdays & Thursdays • 1pm - 2pm EST
Steph will teach each module live, leaving time for Q&A. These will happen every Tuesday and Thursday.
Founder Roundtable
Last Friday • 1 - 2pm EST
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 your next steps.
1:1 Coaching Session (for early signup)
30 min
The first 5 people to sign up will receive a complimentary 30-min coaching session.
Weekly Journaling
1-2 hours per week
You'll be given weekly prompts related to the modules to apply the learnings yourself or your idea. These entries will help reflect, put the lessons into actions, and be a resource to you beyond this course.
Raise your first round of funding
This is my personal guide for how to pitch your startup and raise capital as a designer founder. It's powered by my insights of raising over $3.5M with no natural network.
As part of my course "Go from Designer to Founder," I'll be advising other designers on how to take the leap to start their own company and raise capital. We'll go into more detail during the course, but you can use this guide to get started.
Get this free resource
Meet your instructor
Steph Golik
Founder at Huddle
Meet Steph, a former Product Design Manager with over a decade of experience that is now the founder of Huddle and has raised over $3.5M in funding.
She's here to give real-life examples and insights on how to navigate the transition using design strengths and passion as a guide.
Course syllabus
01
The Designer Founder
Through examples and some self-exploration, we’ll explore how your own creative strengths and passions make you a powerhouse startup builder.
02
Taking the first steps
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.
03
Craft your founder path
Discover the entrepreneurial paths you can take – each with different commitment levels, risk tolerance and business types.
04
Business-building
Execution goes beyond design. Uncover what's outside of your expertise and how complementary teammates and tools can bridge the gap.
05
Designing a pitch
Learn how to know when your idea has legs and how to create both a pitch deck and strategy to get investors behind you.
Learning is better with cohorts
Active hands-on learning
This course builds on live workshops with real-time Q&A.
Meet fellow future-founders
Learn alongside and collaborate with other designers beginning their entrepreneurial journeys too.
Get support along the way
Sign up early to get a free coaching session and use the cohort chat to get async support from your instructor and fellow learners.