Episode 19 - What Happens When a Product Designer Becomes a Founder?

WEBVTT
1
00:00:07.809 --> 00:00:12.310
Hi, I'm Sarah. Hello, I'm Monica. Hi, I'm Miriam. Hi,
2
00:00:12.570 --> 00:00:14.369
I'm Audrey. Hi, I'm Tracy.
3
00:00:14.390 --> 00:00:15.410
And I'm John.
4
00:00:16.179 --> 00:00:17.280
And we love science.
5
00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:33.700
Welcome to the Design Minds podcast. Design Minds is a
6
00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:37.869
community of design builders who grow, support, and build together.
7
00:00:38.469 --> 00:00:42.530
In this podcast, we share real stories of scary decisions,
8
00:00:43.049 --> 00:00:45.990
unglamorous behind the scenes, and the ups and downs of
9
00:00:46.030 --> 00:00:48.670
building products, services, communities.
10
00:00:48.869 --> 00:00:53.539
Businesses, and more. I'm your host, My name is Sarah Barber.
11
00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:57.479
I am a UX designer at Arizona State University, a
12
00:00:57.579 --> 00:01:01.840
founding organizer of Bisbee Zine Fest, and a devoted community
13
00:01:01.899 --> 00:01:05.700
member of Design Minds. Today, we have a very special guest,
14
00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:09.109
Amara Khan, to unpack the topic of what happens when
15
00:01:09.129 --> 00:01:12.890
a product designer becomes a founder. Amara Khan is a
16
00:01:12.989 --> 00:01:16.230
UX UI designer with over two years of experience designing
17
00:01:16.349 --> 00:01:23.159
user-centered experiences across healthcare, education, fitness, and AI-driven products. Passionate
18
00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:27.239
about solving complex problems through research and systems thinking, she's
19
00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:30.530
currently building her first startup while exploring the transition from
20
00:01:30.579 --> 00:01:35.400
designer to founder. Through her work, she advocates for continuous discovery,
21
00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:41.340
thoughtful product decisions, and building solutions that create meaningful impact. So, Amara,
22
00:01:41.739 --> 00:01:43.560
over to you. Tell us a little bit more about
23
00:01:43.579 --> 00:01:46.219
your background and why this topic is important to you.
24
00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:52.200
Hello, everyone. My name is Amara. As Sarah mentioned, I'm
25
00:01:52.260 --> 00:01:55.939
a Unix UI designer, and I have experience working with
26
00:01:56.780 --> 00:01:59.640
a couple of startups. And why.
27
00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:03.769
Being a startup founder matters to me as a designer.
28
00:02:03.950 --> 00:02:07.650
I believe there are so many developers as a founder
29
00:02:07.829 --> 00:02:11.030
and we should have more designers in the industry because
30
00:02:11.050 --> 00:02:15.099
I think so we can share good insights, good product experience.
31
00:02:15.539 --> 00:02:19.439
And also I just want to share my experiences with
32
00:02:19.500 --> 00:02:22.580
everyone because I believe a lot of us just thinking
33
00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:26.449
about building a product and I want us just not
34
00:02:26.509 --> 00:02:29.750
thinking about it, start doing it. And that's how we
35
00:02:29.770 --> 00:02:34.090
learn from our own experiences, you know, the takeaways. And
36
00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:38.250
because learning never comes from just sitting and thinking about it.
37
00:02:38.300 --> 00:02:41.180
It's by doing. And that's what I've learned through Design
38
00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:44.300
Mind Community and specifically Unji. She played a huge role
39
00:02:44.419 --> 00:02:47.210
in all that. So that's what I'm trying to share
40
00:02:47.250 --> 00:02:48.069
with everyone here, too.
41
00:02:49.900 --> 00:02:52.479
That is amazing. And we are so excited to have
42
00:02:52.520 --> 00:02:56.000
you here today. Your experience is so fascinating and we're
43
00:02:56.039 --> 00:03:00.219
really excited to dive into it. So to get more
44
00:03:00.259 --> 00:03:04.050
into it, what inspired you to transition from product designer
45
00:03:04.129 --> 00:03:07.090
to founder? What originally ignited that spark?
46
00:03:09.509 --> 00:03:13.030
Thank you for asking that question. Honestly, it was my
47
00:03:13.569 --> 00:03:19.509
own personal motivation because I wanted to have my life
48
00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:23.419
I would want to have more ownership of my life experiences.
49
00:03:24.199 --> 00:03:27.199
And that is the main reason I wanted to build
50
00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:31.840
a startup, something that I have working simultaneously while I
51
00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:34.800
can gain more life experiences. I wanted to travel. I
52
00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:37.000
want to write a book. So I want to do
53
00:03:37.060 --> 00:03:40.120
that without worrying about too much of a job. So
54
00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:44.830
that's my motivation to build my own startup and to work,
55
00:03:45.469 --> 00:03:48.250
to build my life the way I wanted it. not
56
00:03:48.409 --> 00:03:53.439
too strict around nine to five. So that's the main reason. Absolutely.
57
00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:56.340
And I love that, especially speaking to like ownership of
58
00:03:56.379 --> 00:03:58.840
your life and like what goes into all the time
59
00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:02.020
that you have in a day. It sounds really empowering
60
00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:04.080
to be able to be like, all right, as a startup,
61
00:04:04.139 --> 00:04:07.060
like I kind of get to decide what that looks like. Um,
62
00:04:07.300 --> 00:04:11.400
what was like the biggest mindset mindset shift you experienced
63
00:04:11.860 --> 00:04:14.199
while kind of going from product designer to founder?
64
00:04:14.219 --> 00:04:20.319
So, um, Being a product designer is you're just designing
65
00:04:20.439 --> 00:04:23.720
user flows. And when you become a founder, you are
66
00:04:23.779 --> 00:04:27.189
not just designing, you know, one or two flows. You
67
00:04:27.290 --> 00:04:30.430
are also thinking about the product as a whole. You're
68
00:04:30.550 --> 00:04:33.769
thinking about the business. You're thinking about marketing. You're thinking
69
00:04:33.829 --> 00:04:37.490
about the people that you're working with, the development. So
70
00:04:37.610 --> 00:04:41.449
it all goes along. And so that's the thing. I
71
00:04:41.509 --> 00:04:45.699
never thought that, you know, becoming a founder carries away
72
00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:49.920
that much value. responsibility. So it's the amount of responsibility
73
00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:54.300
that comes, you know, becoming a founder. It's extreme, but
74
00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:58.449
you also have to be, you know, be present and
75
00:04:58.470 --> 00:05:02.509
be responsive for every change that may come through this process.
76
00:05:04.449 --> 00:05:08.170
Absolutely. And NG has a great question in the chat.
77
00:05:09.009 --> 00:05:11.689
Can you describe what you're building and what's going into that?
78
00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:14.750
Sure, definitely.
79
00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:18.709
So right now I'm still exploring my product and it
80
00:05:18.769 --> 00:05:21.850
is around the experiences of moving to a new state
81
00:05:22.269 --> 00:05:24.629
and trying to navigate a life in a new place.
82
00:05:25.129 --> 00:05:28.689
So as I mentioned, I'm still working through the product details.
83
00:05:28.750 --> 00:05:31.189
So I would not want to go in too much detail,
84
00:05:31.670 --> 00:05:34.560
but in broader sense, the problem I'm interested in is
85
00:05:34.779 --> 00:05:39.279
how people establish a sense of, you know, sense of
86
00:05:39.379 --> 00:05:44.129
place and find local resources, when they move around or
87
00:05:44.170 --> 00:05:45.689
when they build a life in a new place.
88
00:05:48.009 --> 00:05:52.649
That's amazing. And it sounds like we're on the early stages.
89
00:05:52.689 --> 00:05:54.879
So I'm sure we're all really excited to see how
90
00:05:54.939 --> 00:05:57.240
it's going to progress over time. And hopefully you'll share
91
00:05:57.259 --> 00:06:00.740
it with the DM community once you're ready. But we'd
92
00:06:00.839 --> 00:06:05.350
love to see that. What was maybe the biggest surprise
93
00:06:05.410 --> 00:06:08.389
or one of the bigger challenges about building this startup?
94
00:06:09.410 --> 00:06:13.750
I would say... It requires, you know, a lot of
95
00:06:13.790 --> 00:06:19.209
decision making. And if you're someone who thinks about, you know,
96
00:06:19.269 --> 00:06:22.110
a lot before making a decision, then it could be
97
00:06:22.250 --> 00:06:26.449
very taxing for you because you have to make decision
98
00:06:26.509 --> 00:06:29.569
on fly. And sometimes you have to make decisions when
99
00:06:29.620 --> 00:06:32.310
you're not even sure about it. What's the outcome of it?
100
00:06:32.339 --> 00:06:35.240
Because you never have a whole picture when you're making decisions.
101
00:06:35.850 --> 00:06:38.430
So as a founder, you have to, and then you
102
00:06:38.449 --> 00:06:40.750
have to live with your decisions, good or bad, you
103
00:06:40.769 --> 00:06:44.209
are responsible for it. So right now I'm still navigating
104
00:06:44.250 --> 00:06:46.610
through this and I'm still learning, but it is one
105
00:06:46.629 --> 00:06:49.290
of the things that, you know, I find it challenging.
106
00:06:49.870 --> 00:06:53.209
The amount of responsibility and the decision-making that comes with
107
00:06:53.230 --> 00:06:57.990
being the founder, it's immense. Absolutely.
108
00:06:58.009 --> 00:07:01.509
I love that you spoke to that too, because like
109
00:07:01.529 --> 00:07:04.750
you're saying, there's so much more kind of accountability, responsibility,
110
00:07:04.810 --> 00:07:07.410
the decisions you make are like your decisions and kind
111
00:07:07.449 --> 00:07:10.410
of reflect throughout the business. And it's funny, like in
112
00:07:10.449 --> 00:07:13.110
my position, I work in like a marketing department within
113
00:07:13.129 --> 00:07:16.149
a college, within a university. And so there's so many
114
00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:19.639
like middlemen, like a lot of bureaucracy that happens. And
115
00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:21.680
it sounds like in a startup, you kind of get
116
00:07:21.699 --> 00:07:24.459
the say and you get to establish like how it works,
117
00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:28.600
why it works, who it's working for. which sounds really empowering.
118
00:07:29.160 --> 00:07:32.579
So I'm curious with your UX background, how has that
119
00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:35.079
shaped the way you approach building the startup?
120
00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:36.899
Definitely.
121
00:07:37.139 --> 00:07:40.279
So as a UX designer, I will say as a founder,
122
00:07:40.459 --> 00:07:44.459
I still think as a UXer whenever I'm making any decisions.
123
00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:47.810
So it's always goes from the beginning, from the basics.
124
00:07:47.850 --> 00:07:51.230
So do the research, even though if you're looking, you know,
125
00:07:51.350 --> 00:07:54.459
as a, you know, as a business person. So you
126
00:07:54.680 --> 00:07:57.579
do research, you do your due diligence, you know, in
127
00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:01.180
finding all the resources and pinpoints, everything to develop a structure.
128
00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:04.189
So I think so UX has played an important role
129
00:08:04.230 --> 00:08:06.910
because I believe that UX is just not limited to
130
00:08:07.009 --> 00:08:10.370
what we do as UX researchers or UI design or building,
131
00:08:10.689 --> 00:08:13.850
you know, a mobile app or web design. It's also
132
00:08:13.889 --> 00:08:16.490
in our day-to-day routine than when you're doing. So I
133
00:08:16.529 --> 00:08:18.810
apply that in every part of the process. And that
134
00:08:18.889 --> 00:08:21.889
helped me a lot as a, you know, UX designer.
135
00:08:22.660 --> 00:08:25.250
because it gives me a structure to follow through. So
136
00:08:25.490 --> 00:08:26.730
it's amazingly helpful.
137
00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:32.129
I love that, especially because I think sometimes UX has
138
00:08:32.169 --> 00:08:35.909
a limited scope of being like, okay, it's just a
139
00:08:35.929 --> 00:08:38.029
website or it's just an app. But like you said,
140
00:08:38.049 --> 00:08:43.240
a user experience carries into everything, your day-to-day routines, how you.
141
00:08:43.129 --> 00:08:43.960
Move through the world.
142
00:08:44.500 --> 00:08:47.039
That's also a user experience in and of itself and
143
00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:50.179
all the kind of products and services and everything you
144
00:08:50.220 --> 00:08:52.460
interact with in a day. So I think it's really
145
00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:55.509
fascinating that from the ground up, you get to structure
146
00:08:55.590 --> 00:08:59.710
it through that lens. and seeing how people who you're
147
00:08:59.750 --> 00:09:03.190
working with will collaborate, how what you're doing will service others.
148
00:09:03.610 --> 00:09:07.320
I think that's really exciting. And I'm wondering if there's
149
00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:10.899
any assumptions that maybe you went into the startup space
150
00:09:10.940 --> 00:09:14.240
with that you kind of had to challenge or maybe
151
00:09:14.340 --> 00:09:17.019
shift through as you were taking on this new role.
152
00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:19.340
Yes, definitely.
153
00:09:19.610 --> 00:09:22.620
So You know, I have always that assumptions, even though
154
00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:26.240
when you, you know, I, you see movies about the
155
00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:30.259
founders because I was checking movies about Uber and Google,
156
00:09:30.590 --> 00:09:33.070
you know, the founders. So the one thing that I
157
00:09:33.129 --> 00:09:36.129
had assumptions of, they all know everything about, you know,
158
00:09:36.149 --> 00:09:39.789
what they're building and they already have all the leadership skills.
159
00:09:39.830 --> 00:09:42.330
They have the confidence, but I feel like that is
160
00:09:42.389 --> 00:09:45.960
just still an assumption. Because none of us know everything
161
00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:49.299
as we are starting building everything. And the leadership is
162
00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:53.529
one thing that we develop through the process. It doesn't come,
163
00:09:53.769 --> 00:09:56.970
you know, right away or, you know, not, and you're
164
00:09:57.009 --> 00:09:59.970
not born with it. So it's developed skill that you're developing.
165
00:10:00.340 --> 00:10:03.200
right away as you're building a product. So that's one
166
00:10:03.259 --> 00:10:07.480
thing I had assumptions about that leadership and the confidence.
167
00:10:07.539 --> 00:10:10.450
Everyone has it as a founder, but that's not true.
168
00:10:10.590 --> 00:10:14.129
And you build it through your experiences, through your work,
169
00:10:14.940 --> 00:10:18.980
And every good or bad decisions that you make, that's
170
00:10:19.019 --> 00:10:21.350
what it is. That's what makes you a founder.
171
00:10:23.570 --> 00:10:24.509
I love that.
172
00:10:24.610 --> 00:10:26.470
It reminds me of this quote that I've heard in
173
00:10:26.509 --> 00:10:29.649
my life that I always come back to, that confidence
174
00:10:29.690 --> 00:10:34.679
is a muscle you build. I think that speaks exactly
175
00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:37.440
to what you're saying. With any endeavor, you don't have
176
00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:40.899
to have the answers to everything, but maybe just the
177
00:10:40.980 --> 00:10:43.799
ability to want to seek out those answers or figure
178
00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:46.679
out what's behind that. And it sounds like that's exactly
179
00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:49.590
what you're doing, like knowing there's so much out there
180
00:10:49.629 --> 00:10:51.090
and how do you make it work?
181
00:10:52.409 --> 00:10:55.870
Exactly. Definitely. That's amazing.
182
00:10:55.889 --> 00:10:59.269
I also just wanted to post to the group here.
183
00:10:59.610 --> 00:11:02.490
Feel free to share any questions or insights at any time,
184
00:11:03.169 --> 00:11:05.600
whether in the chat or by raising your hand. We're
185
00:11:05.620 --> 00:11:08.820
so happy to have everyone here. And Amara, your story
186
00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:11.519
is so inspiring. So I'm excited to keep learning more.
187
00:11:12.789 --> 00:11:17.320
How do you balance wearing multiple hats while staying user-centered?
188
00:11:17.340 --> 00:11:24.179
So, you know, while working in a startup, it is
189
00:11:24.220 --> 00:11:28.950
important to stay user-centered, but it also is important when
190
00:11:28.990 --> 00:11:33.639
you are not user-centered and more business-centered. Because when you
191
00:11:33.710 --> 00:11:36.549
become a founder, then you're just not only thinking about
192
00:11:36.649 --> 00:11:39.450
as a user, as a product itself, you're thinking about
193
00:11:39.470 --> 00:11:43.289
the whole picture. So building a product is just one part,
194
00:11:43.889 --> 00:11:47.470
but building a whole business is a different part. So
195
00:11:48.029 --> 00:11:51.769
then I have, as a founder, I'm still learning to
196
00:11:52.129 --> 00:11:55.330
draw a boundary where I am more user-centered and where
197
00:11:55.350 --> 00:11:58.649
I'm more business-centered. So I think so. That's one thing
198
00:11:58.830 --> 00:12:02.590
I'm still working on because it's so easy to one
199
00:12:02.629 --> 00:12:06.669
can overtake the other. So I'm still trying to balance both.
200
00:12:07.250 --> 00:12:12.870
But I think so. It's just learning and talking to people,
201
00:12:13.330 --> 00:12:17.909
watching more material on people who have been through the
202
00:12:17.950 --> 00:12:20.950
same path as me and learning from their own experiences,
203
00:12:21.070 --> 00:12:26.440
reading books about it. But in my previous conversations with Angie,
204
00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:30.559
she has mentioned to me, which stick through me, that
205
00:12:31.379 --> 00:12:33.860
it doesn't matter how much you learn, watch videos or
206
00:12:33.899 --> 00:12:38.980
read books, the only thing that can tell you if
207
00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:41.120
your learnings are really effective is when you put them
208
00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:45.299
in practice. And I do remind myself if I'm learning
209
00:12:45.539 --> 00:12:49.000
anything new, I'm actually practicing that. And because when I'm
210
00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:53.639
trying to implement anything as a founder, That helps me
211
00:12:53.799 --> 00:13:00.600
to grow as a leader and work on my product better. Absolutely.
212
00:13:00.820 --> 00:13:03.480
I love that. And I especially loved what you said
213
00:13:03.500 --> 00:13:07.480
about like user needs and business needs, sometimes being in
214
00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:11.220
conflict or like trying to figure out how to assess
215
00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:13.500
both of those. And I think it's funny too, because,
216
00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:17.419
you know, without users, there is no business, but without business,
217
00:13:17.460 --> 00:13:20.299
there's no users. And so it's such a fine balance
218
00:13:20.779 --> 00:13:25.039
of being able to get them to like be copacetic,
219
00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:27.620
to speak to each other, to be on the same page.
220
00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:32.090
And so I'm interested too, if you have any more
221
00:13:32.129 --> 00:13:35.049
tips of how you've kind of been balancing those two
222
00:13:35.129 --> 00:13:38.389
and how you approach that further within the startup.
223
00:13:39.529 --> 00:13:42.929
I was just discussing that with Moya. I have a
224
00:13:42.990 --> 00:13:45.509
list of features that I want to build and I'm
225
00:13:45.529 --> 00:13:47.850
going to stick to it. It doesn't matter how tempting
226
00:13:47.909 --> 00:13:51.370
it is to add more features based on research. but
227
00:13:51.429 --> 00:13:53.409
I want to put them in the backlog. So I
228
00:13:53.470 --> 00:13:55.470
have a hard stop on what I want to build
229
00:13:55.649 --> 00:13:58.210
and what I want to get out from my product
230
00:13:58.590 --> 00:14:01.649
because I know what is important, but also not because
231
00:14:01.730 --> 00:14:03.769
I know it is important because I'm talking to people
232
00:14:04.490 --> 00:14:07.429
while I'm building a product. So I'm doing that simultaneously.
233
00:14:07.570 --> 00:14:13.039
So research and the UI, I'm not letting wait one
234
00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:16.039
for the other. So I'm doing both. But also, that's
235
00:14:16.100 --> 00:14:18.370
a hot stop for me. I don't want to overburden
236
00:14:18.610 --> 00:14:21.110
my product with the features. So that's, you know, I
237
00:14:21.129 --> 00:14:23.990
want to have two or three that works. So that's
238
00:14:24.110 --> 00:14:27.429
one thing I'm doing. And for a business perspective, I'm
239
00:14:27.470 --> 00:14:31.460
trying to do a lot of research. I'm trying to understand,
240
00:14:32.460 --> 00:14:35.720
you know, the in and outs of how others are
241
00:14:35.740 --> 00:14:40.870
doing the products. I'm making spreadsheets. I'm trying to follow
242
00:14:40.889 --> 00:14:43.350
the guidelines of other people. I'm, you know, I have
243
00:14:43.370 --> 00:14:47.649
created recently my LLC for the business. So that's, you know,
244
00:14:47.809 --> 00:14:49.490
one of the things that I'm trying to do. So
245
00:14:49.549 --> 00:14:55.059
hopefully I'll be able to balance everything under that. Absolutely.
246
00:14:55.159 --> 00:14:57.940
It sounds like a major feat, but you're definitely considering
247
00:14:57.980 --> 00:14:59.340
like everything.
248
00:14:59.000 --> 00:14:59.860
That goes into it.
249
00:14:59.940 --> 00:15:03.419
So that's so exciting to see. Eunji also noted that
250
00:15:03.470 --> 00:15:07.710
you've interviewed many design builders in the DM community and
251
00:15:07.750 --> 00:15:11.110
published articles based on those conversations. I think that's a
252
00:15:11.230 --> 00:15:14.750
really exciting endeavor and I've personally been loving seeing all
253
00:15:14.769 --> 00:15:17.879
of those. It's so exciting to hear from other people
254
00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:20.320
in the community, what they're working on, what they're building.
255
00:15:20.820 --> 00:15:23.740
So since you've kind of like heard so many stories
256
00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:26.399
and wrote about them, um, and you have so much
257
00:15:26.440 --> 00:15:29.879
of your own expertise, I'm curious, what advice would you
258
00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:32.809
give designers who are thinking about starting a company?
259
00:15:32.830 --> 00:15:34.669
Definitely.
260
00:15:34.850 --> 00:15:38.039
So, uh, with my own experience and with all the
261
00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:40.519
people that I've spoken to, I think so one thing
262
00:15:40.590 --> 00:15:43.110
that really stood out to me was like, if you're
263
00:15:43.159 --> 00:15:46.490
thinking about doing something, just don't think about it. Just
264
00:15:46.570 --> 00:15:48.370
go and do it. Even though if you don't have
265
00:15:48.529 --> 00:15:51.070
answers and that was the answer I have gotten from
266
00:15:51.110 --> 00:15:53.889
like literally everyone, because you don't have to have a
267
00:15:53.950 --> 00:15:56.889
concrete answer for everything that you're trying to do. If
268
00:15:56.929 --> 00:15:58.490
you have, you know, if you want to build a
269
00:15:58.529 --> 00:16:00.149
coffee app, if you want to just set up a
270
00:16:00.190 --> 00:16:03.389
clock or anything, just do it, you know, just don't
271
00:16:03.409 --> 00:16:05.840
wait for the outcome. Even though if it, you know,
272
00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:08.440
if it passes and if people likes it, that's amazing.
273
00:16:08.539 --> 00:16:10.759
If no one, you know, likes it, but it's not
274
00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:13.419
also a failure. It's just something that you learn through
275
00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:16.779
that experience. So take, I think, so that's how I'm
276
00:16:16.820 --> 00:16:19.299
looking for my product. So it's not going to be
277
00:16:19.340 --> 00:16:22.000
a failure. It's something that I have learned as a designer.
278
00:16:22.120 --> 00:16:25.419
And if I try to build something again, what learnings
279
00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:28.139
I can apply to the next one. So that's all
280
00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:28.820
about the learnings.
281
00:16:30.629 --> 00:16:34.340
That's amazing. And I saw that Unji just posted that
282
00:16:34.379 --> 00:16:38.039
Valeria launched a coffee app and then Valeria commented about
283
00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:42.250
opening an LLC for the app after talking to Amara. Valeria,
284
00:16:42.299 --> 00:16:44.149
I would love to invite you to speak a little
285
00:16:44.190 --> 00:16:47.190
bit more on that. What was that conversation like? And
286
00:16:47.250 --> 00:16:51.149
maybe if you have any insight about that process, no pressure,
287
00:16:51.230 --> 00:16:53.659
but since it's already been so inspiring, we'd love to
288
00:16:53.720 --> 00:16:54.340
hear about it.
289
00:16:58.509 --> 00:17:00.269
I hope you can hear me because I'm at a
290
00:17:00.289 --> 00:17:02.929
coffee shop and it's really, really loud right now.
291
00:17:04.380 --> 00:17:06.650
But I will be really quickly.
292
00:17:06.890 --> 00:17:09.880
I just had my interview recently with Amara about my
293
00:17:10.099 --> 00:17:11.440
app that came out.
294
00:17:11.460 --> 00:17:14.960
That was like launched, I think, last week.
295
00:17:16.099 --> 00:17:19.960
And I think, yeah, during the interview, you also spoke
296
00:17:20.039 --> 00:17:22.079
about LLC.
297
00:17:22.259 --> 00:17:25.309
To be honest, I had no idea what it is.
298
00:17:26.289 --> 00:17:28.970
I mean, I've heard about LLC, but I wasn't sure
299
00:17:29.089 --> 00:17:33.960
why you need the LLC and what's the reason. But yeah,
300
00:17:34.059 --> 00:17:38.759
Amara gave me some information and then I had to
301
00:17:39.180 --> 00:17:39.900
work on that.
302
00:17:40.299 --> 00:17:41.630
And I'm still working on it.
303
00:17:41.660 --> 00:17:45.549
But yeah, to be honest, once I launched the app,
304
00:17:45.700 --> 00:17:48.750
maybe a few days later, I opened the LLC.
305
00:17:49.609 --> 00:17:51.690
And yeah, it was really, really.
306
00:17:52.210 --> 00:17:56.690
powerful conversation and gave you so much motivation and really
307
00:17:56.890 --> 00:18:00.990
i'm i'm happy and glad that i had this opportunity
308
00:18:01.349 --> 00:18:05.490
to talk to amara about my app and um yeah
309
00:18:05.789 --> 00:18:06.970
to be here.
310
00:18:09.329 --> 00:18:11.859
Thank you so much for sharing about that. That is
311
00:18:11.960 --> 00:18:14.960
so inspiring, Jet. And I think it speaks too to
312
00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:17.400
like the ethos of the DM community is that we're
313
00:18:17.460 --> 00:18:20.130
all here to like support and learn from one another.
314
00:18:20.269 --> 00:18:22.470
And it's so exciting to see that in real time
315
00:18:22.509 --> 00:18:25.420
on this podcast. how much like one conversation can kind
316
00:18:25.480 --> 00:18:27.700
of change everything or at least like point you in
317
00:18:27.740 --> 00:18:30.279
the direction you want it to be in. So that
318
00:18:30.339 --> 00:18:34.480
is so exciting. Congratulations, Valeria. That is awesome. And Amara,
319
00:18:34.539 --> 00:18:38.220
so amazing that you were able to ignite that. And Eunji,
320
00:18:38.339 --> 00:18:41.200
you as well. It sounds like such a domino effect
321
00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:43.980
of goodness. So that's really exciting to hear and see.
322
00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:48.710
Ashik had a great question. For you, Amara, what was
323
00:18:48.750 --> 00:18:51.690
the very first piece of data or feedback you got
324
00:18:51.710 --> 00:18:55.019
from an actual stranger that made you say, okay, this
325
00:18:55.099 --> 00:18:58.420
is a real problem worth solving and building a business around?
326
00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:03.099
That's actually an amazing question. Before the startup I'm building
327
00:19:03.140 --> 00:19:07.609
right now, I have tried to, just don't laugh at me,
328
00:19:07.650 --> 00:19:09.430
but I tried to come up with a problem through
329
00:19:09.490 --> 00:19:13.829
chat DBT. And then we tried to, you know, when
330
00:19:13.849 --> 00:19:17.420
you're trying to come up for a problem through ChatGPT.
331
00:19:17.880 --> 00:19:20.210
So it's a machine. It's going to give you that
332
00:19:20.250 --> 00:19:23.309
type of problem that already existed. It won't be human centered.
333
00:19:23.890 --> 00:19:28.329
And that's what happened. And then using the ChatGPT prompts,
334
00:19:28.490 --> 00:19:32.279
I tried to apply for, you know, all the accelerators
335
00:19:32.339 --> 00:19:34.660
that went on. And of course, I'm not going to
336
00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:38.740
get in because it's not actually a problem. So Last
337
00:19:38.779 --> 00:19:42.079
year with my brother, I moved to California and that's
338
00:19:42.279 --> 00:19:45.740
where I realized it's a problem. And I ended up
339
00:19:45.789 --> 00:19:49.490
speaking to my friend's sister who has 20 plus some experience.
340
00:19:50.109 --> 00:19:54.359
in building products. She's a SAP manager. And I wanted
341
00:19:54.380 --> 00:19:57.339
to get some validation to someone who's more experienced and
342
00:19:57.380 --> 00:19:59.859
who has more experience in the industry. And I spoke
343
00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:02.400
to her and she mentioned that, okay, it is actually
344
00:20:02.440 --> 00:20:05.089
a good problem that you're trying to solve. And she
345
00:20:05.130 --> 00:20:07.930
was honored with me. And that's the first validation I got.
346
00:20:08.049 --> 00:20:10.910
And then there's something inside you when you're actually solving
347
00:20:10.950 --> 00:20:14.079
the problem. It's just, okay, that's the problem I actually
348
00:20:14.259 --> 00:20:16.740
want to spend my time on. And that was with
349
00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:19.700
this problem that I'm trying to solve. And that just
350
00:20:19.740 --> 00:20:22.279
stick to me because now I know because there is
351
00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:25.109
a problem, I'm willing to give, even it requires one
352
00:20:25.150 --> 00:20:27.509
year to five years, all my time to make sure
353
00:20:27.690 --> 00:20:31.089
it sees the light of day. So that's how serious
354
00:20:31.150 --> 00:20:34.539
I am about it. Absolutely.
355
00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:38.920
That's amazing. And such a great question too. Thank you, Ashik.
356
00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:43.430
I'm curious more about, I know you said you didn't
357
00:20:43.450 --> 00:20:46.549
want to go too into the project itself, but in
358
00:20:46.569 --> 00:20:50.230
terms of the process, I'm curious about like where you
359
00:20:50.289 --> 00:20:52.609
are right now and kind of where you see it going.
360
00:20:52.730 --> 00:20:55.690
And maybe like when you kind of know, maybe you
361
00:20:55.710 --> 00:20:58.400
finished a first round or like what, what does that
362
00:20:58.460 --> 00:20:59.480
scope look like to you?
363
00:20:59.500 --> 00:21:06.410
Definitely. So, Because I'm done with part of my user flows.
364
00:21:06.690 --> 00:21:10.430
And now my sister, she is a software engineer. And
365
00:21:10.670 --> 00:21:13.410
I have asked her to help me out to build that.
366
00:21:13.950 --> 00:21:16.680
So I'm using her time. I'm going to start building
367
00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:20.279
because I want to have her input while I'm building
368
00:21:20.339 --> 00:21:23.000
a product. Because it's so important to have developers. They
369
00:21:23.019 --> 00:21:26.029
can give you real insights. what can be built, how
370
00:21:26.049 --> 00:21:28.740
long it will take, and how much amount of time
371
00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:31.200
is required so I can adjust the design because I
372
00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:34.359
will be able to adjust design easily before it goes
373
00:21:34.420 --> 00:21:37.880
into development because then I don't want to have her
374
00:21:37.900 --> 00:21:41.180
to take time building something that can take six months
375
00:21:41.569 --> 00:21:44.890
to a year because my timeline is to actually done
376
00:21:44.910 --> 00:21:47.349
building within six months to one year window and it
377
00:21:47.390 --> 00:21:50.970
should be on App Store to use. So that's my
378
00:21:50.990 --> 00:21:53.890
goal and that's what I'm defining and I'm working alongside
379
00:21:53.930 --> 00:21:57.019
with her. So hopefully, let's see, you'll be able to
380
00:21:57.079 --> 00:21:59.680
see something and then I'll be able to share with everyone,
381
00:22:00.940 --> 00:22:03.769
with the community of Design Minds.
382
00:22:05.089 --> 00:22:06.329
That's amazing.
383
00:22:06.369 --> 00:22:08.369
Well, we are so excited to be cheering you on
384
00:22:08.390 --> 00:22:12.130
when that comes out, but no rush whatsoever. Take all
385
00:22:12.170 --> 00:22:13.849
the time it needs.
386
00:22:14.109 --> 00:22:14.670
We'll be ready.
387
00:22:17.970 --> 00:22:22.059
That's so amazing. Looking back on your journey so far,
388
00:22:22.230 --> 00:22:24.890
what's one lesson that you wish you had known before
389
00:22:24.930 --> 00:22:26.069
becoming a founder?
390
00:22:28.900 --> 00:22:31.039
Becoming a founder, I don't know you have to make
391
00:22:31.079 --> 00:22:35.000
too many decisions. I am a very slow decision maker.
392
00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:38.619
I don't like making decisions on a fly. I just
393
00:22:38.680 --> 00:22:41.779
think through things. Even if I have to buy something,
394
00:22:42.230 --> 00:22:45.450
I spent four days, five days just researching about the product,
395
00:22:45.829 --> 00:22:48.690
reading all the reviews and doing all that stuff. And
396
00:22:48.730 --> 00:22:51.269
I think so becoming a founder is totally like opposite
397
00:22:51.309 --> 00:22:53.750
to my personality that you have to make decision on
398
00:22:53.789 --> 00:22:55.970
a fly. You don't know about it. You don't know
399
00:22:56.009 --> 00:22:58.130
the outcome and you have to stick by it and
400
00:22:58.190 --> 00:23:01.660
you have to be, you know, really responsible for it.
401
00:23:02.170 --> 00:23:04.980
So this is still something I'm trying to adjust to
402
00:23:05.059 --> 00:23:08.079
it and, you know, holding on to that. It will
403
00:23:08.099 --> 00:23:11.440
help me go as a person too, but, Yeah, that's
404
00:23:11.539 --> 00:23:12.119
the one thing.
405
00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:14.839
Absolutely.
406
00:23:14.859 --> 00:23:18.549
And like you said, the stakes are higher when it's
407
00:23:18.589 --> 00:23:21.869
like you're the one who's responsible for all of this.
408
00:23:22.390 --> 00:23:27.329
I'm curious, what is your decision-making process like for you
409
00:23:27.349 --> 00:23:31.819
in this startup? I feel like in bigger teams, bigger organizations,
410
00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:34.279
they always have such a structure. It goes such a way.
411
00:23:34.579 --> 00:23:37.720
And I'm curious what those decision-making processes are like as
412
00:23:37.799 --> 00:23:38.519
a startup for you.
413
00:23:39.859 --> 00:23:44.180
I understand. So for me, because I'm the only UX designer,
414
00:23:44.839 --> 00:23:48.069
but I do have a friend. And then as I mentioned,
415
00:23:48.089 --> 00:23:51.170
my sister was a software developer. I do like, I
416
00:23:51.210 --> 00:23:53.690
really like to get their input because I don't want
417
00:23:53.710 --> 00:23:56.430
to be the person who's just self-centered and think that
418
00:23:56.450 --> 00:23:59.130
whatever I'm doing, it's right. I know everything because I'm
419
00:23:59.150 --> 00:24:01.650
the designer. So there are a few things that I
420
00:24:01.670 --> 00:24:03.990
do want to rely on is the user research that
421
00:24:04.029 --> 00:24:06.690
I'm getting and the people around me and their feedbacks.
422
00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:10.059
Because I do value the feedback of the developer who's
423
00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:15.869
working and someone else outside from the development and UX field.
424
00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:18.470
They can give me a solid feedback to work on
425
00:24:18.529 --> 00:24:22.029
a product. And all that implementation then go into the
426
00:24:22.470 --> 00:24:26.410
product because I want to build a solid product that
427
00:24:26.450 --> 00:24:28.809
people can actually use and not something that I want
428
00:24:28.829 --> 00:24:33.170
to create and no one can use. So that's my
429
00:24:33.250 --> 00:24:33.609
end goal.
430
00:24:35.490 --> 00:24:38.670
I love that. And that actually leads me into my
431
00:24:38.750 --> 00:24:41.190
next question is I was going to ask like, what
432
00:24:41.230 --> 00:24:44.299
does success look like for you in this startup? Maybe
433
00:24:44.339 --> 00:24:46.799
not necessarily metrics, but maybe like what you want to
434
00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:51.700
get out of it personally, professionally. I'm curious about success
435
00:24:51.740 --> 00:24:53.740
and what that means for you in terms of the startup.
436
00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:58.890
Okay. So this is my first product that I'm building.
437
00:24:59.329 --> 00:25:02.799
So for me, to think about the success of it
438
00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:05.500
i would say if it gets to have like 100
439
00:25:05.500 --> 00:25:10.039
subscriber let's say in two three months window and people
440
00:25:10.119 --> 00:25:12.640
are willing to be and if i get to generate
441
00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:15.329
like 500 in revenue i think so that will be
442
00:25:15.380 --> 00:25:17.680
the success that i will i i would say that
443
00:25:17.769 --> 00:25:20.549
my hard work did pay off so i'm not you
444
00:25:20.589 --> 00:25:23.750
know imagining like oh my god multi-million but something that
445
00:25:23.789 --> 00:25:27.460
small that makes me you know, work harder for the
446
00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:30.230
next step or the next phase of the product. So
447
00:25:30.289 --> 00:25:32.769
that's the first step that I'm looking for just to
448
00:25:32.809 --> 00:25:35.950
get a hundred subscriber and my $ 500 revenue. That's the
449
00:25:35.990 --> 00:25:38.140
first thing that I want to do. That's about it.
450
00:25:39.309 --> 00:25:42.720
I love that so much. And especially because even with like,
451
00:25:43.059 --> 00:25:46.000
you obviously have like the hundred subscribers as like your
452
00:25:46.339 --> 00:25:50.170
ideal metric. And it sounds like already you've gained so
453
00:25:50.269 --> 00:25:53.190
much just from the process of doing this, like building
454
00:25:53.230 --> 00:25:55.950
up the confidence, learning all the research, seeing what's out
455
00:25:55.990 --> 00:25:58.970
there and seeing how you want to structure your own workflow,
456
00:25:59.009 --> 00:26:01.809
work life, how all of that works together. And so
457
00:26:01.849 --> 00:26:04.650
it's really exciting to see that happen in real time
458
00:26:04.710 --> 00:26:08.940
and see like, you taking this like really powerful ownership
459
00:26:09.059 --> 00:26:13.599
of your career journey. I'm curious what the differences you've
460
00:26:13.619 --> 00:26:17.539
seen are. If you had kind of like more, I
461
00:26:17.559 --> 00:26:19.950
guess like standard nine to five experience in the past
462
00:26:19.990 --> 00:26:24.029
or anything like that, what was the day-to-day transition like
463
00:26:24.089 --> 00:26:28.109
maybe from before becoming a founder to your day-to-day founder work?
464
00:26:28.130 --> 00:26:32.559
I understand. So, you know, if you're working as a
465
00:26:32.599 --> 00:26:35.970
nine to five, person or as a UX designer only,
466
00:26:36.130 --> 00:26:40.130
then you're just working on a task that is designed
467
00:26:40.250 --> 00:26:43.170
for you. But as a founder, you're working on something
468
00:26:43.210 --> 00:26:45.880
that you are designing, you know, so there comes a difference.
469
00:26:45.950 --> 00:26:48.700
So you are not being dictated. You are the one
470
00:26:48.779 --> 00:26:54.269
who is dictating everything. And that's the biggest shift that I,
471
00:26:54.509 --> 00:26:57.000
you know, as a designer, I can get. And also the,
472
00:26:57.630 --> 00:27:00.430
I would say the amount of ownership that I have
473
00:27:00.529 --> 00:27:04.089
by building. And I don't have a stress about answering
474
00:27:04.130 --> 00:27:08.630
like a gazillion people. So that's also one thing that
475
00:27:08.710 --> 00:27:12.500
I like doing myself because I think, you know, when
476
00:27:12.519 --> 00:27:15.059
I work alone, I think a lot. And then I
477
00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:18.640
think thoroughly because I have a step. I think through everything.
478
00:27:18.700 --> 00:27:21.339
I do research and all that stuff. So that's how
479
00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:23.960
it works for me. And it allows me the time
480
00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:27.309
to process what I'm working on. So that's, you know,
481
00:27:27.890 --> 00:27:29.970
that's one of the good things that I have gathered
482
00:27:29.990 --> 00:27:33.700
through my experience. that's amazing.
483
00:27:34.140 --> 00:27:36.660
And it sounds so powerful, too, to be able to
484
00:27:36.680 --> 00:27:40.539
have all of that autonomy and control and decide what
485
00:27:40.579 --> 00:27:42.859
comes next and where you're headed and the structure of
486
00:27:42.940 --> 00:27:47.490
it all. It's been so exciting to hear about this experience.
487
00:27:47.589 --> 00:27:49.930
And we just got a great question from Moyai in
488
00:27:49.970 --> 00:27:54.750
the chat. Moyai asks, How are you celebrating or acknowledging milestones?
489
00:27:54.890 --> 00:27:57.619
With startups, it's easy to get caught up on what's
490
00:27:57.650 --> 00:28:00.019
in front of you with so many decisions that you
491
00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:02.160
need to make. So are there any ways that you're
492
00:28:02.180 --> 00:28:05.180
like celebrating what's already happened or how far you've come?
493
00:28:06.859 --> 00:28:11.230
That's an amazing question, Moya. So actually, I haven't thought
494
00:28:11.269 --> 00:28:13.230
about it, but I think that's one of the things
495
00:28:13.269 --> 00:28:17.519
that I should, you know, input in my workflow. And
496
00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:20.220
I think that that's an amazing way to keep also
497
00:28:20.339 --> 00:28:23.509
track of whatever I'm working on. So that's one thing
498
00:28:23.529 --> 00:28:26.779
I would love to track. Right now, there's nothing in place.
499
00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:30.789
I love that.
500
00:28:31.220 --> 00:28:33.430
And that's such a good idea, Moyai. I feel like
501
00:28:33.470 --> 00:28:36.410
especially with the speed of like UX and startups, like
502
00:28:36.789 --> 00:28:39.190
it's a million miles a minute and you don't really
503
00:28:39.210 --> 00:28:41.289
get a second to look back and be like, okay,
504
00:28:41.329 --> 00:28:44.710
that was awesome that we accomplished that. And so Moyai,
505
00:28:44.750 --> 00:28:46.910
I love that you brought that up. And Amara, I
506
00:28:46.970 --> 00:28:49.339
hope that that becomes a log now of all your
507
00:28:49.380 --> 00:28:50.240
amazing wins.
508
00:28:50.339 --> 00:28:51.859
Definitely. That is so exciting.
509
00:28:51.940 --> 00:28:52.500
Absolutely.
510
00:28:53.329 --> 00:28:55.569
And Eunji just had another great question in the chat.
511
00:28:56.049 --> 00:28:59.710
Eunji says, working alone also can be challenging to keep
512
00:28:59.730 --> 00:29:04.069
yourself motivated, disciplined, and accountable. How do you stay on track?
513
00:29:06.849 --> 00:29:10.329
I agree with what Eunji has mentioned. It's so hard
514
00:29:10.849 --> 00:29:15.640
to keep yourself motivated. But I think so... For me,
515
00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:18.119
working on anything is what I'm trying to get out
516
00:29:18.180 --> 00:29:20.720
of it. What's my end goal? So if my end
517
00:29:20.740 --> 00:29:23.740
goal is, because building an app will give me the
518
00:29:23.880 --> 00:29:26.900
autonomy of my own life and the sooner and the
519
00:29:26.940 --> 00:29:30.410
better I will do, the sooner and earlier I will
520
00:29:30.430 --> 00:29:32.690
be able to achieve that goal. So that's what keeps
521
00:29:32.730 --> 00:29:37.450
me motivated because I don't want to get trapped and
522
00:29:37.630 --> 00:29:40.319
I don't want to be just stuck in the life
523
00:29:40.380 --> 00:29:43.160
that I don't want and I regret some years later.
524
00:29:43.180 --> 00:29:46.720
So that's what keeps me motivated. What's my goal? What's
525
00:29:46.759 --> 00:29:48.609
I'm getting out of it? So I have to just
526
00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:50.950
focus on my goal and then I do the work.
527
00:29:51.089 --> 00:29:54.490
So that's it. There's nothing crazy. It's just the goal.
528
00:29:54.769 --> 00:29:56.890
I keep my eye on my goal that what I'm
529
00:29:56.930 --> 00:29:58.250
trying to get out of it. That's it.
530
00:30:00.289 --> 00:30:01.170
Absolutely.
531
00:30:01.190 --> 00:30:05.670
I love that. And kind of elaborating on that, too. Oh, Eunji,
532
00:30:05.779 --> 00:30:07.150
please ask your question.
533
00:30:07.170 --> 00:30:11.579
Hey, yeah, I just want to ask a follow up question.
534
00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:16.980
How do you design your day, Mara? Because, you know,
535
00:30:17.700 --> 00:30:20.599
working on your own project also means that you have
536
00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:24.200
to wear so many different hats means everything. you know,
537
00:30:24.279 --> 00:30:26.559
also means that you have to, you know, like you
538
00:30:26.599 --> 00:30:29.980
can be doing a lot of different tasks all at
539
00:30:30.200 --> 00:30:31.500
once and it never ends.
540
00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:33.880
Honestly, like it's really.
541
00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:38.920
Overwhelming to knowing what my priorities are or, you know,
542
00:30:38.940 --> 00:30:44.640
deciding what should I focus on each and every day because,
543
00:30:44.940 --> 00:30:47.880
you know, literally you can be doing so many different
544
00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:48.640
things all at once.
545
00:30:49.700 --> 00:30:51.150
So how do you handle that?
546
00:30:53.700 --> 00:30:57.000
So call me a night owl or whatever, but my
547
00:30:57.059 --> 00:31:02.799
mind works best after sundown. And I work the best,
548
00:31:02.839 --> 00:31:05.359
you know, doesn't matter how complicated it is. It's just,
549
00:31:05.500 --> 00:31:07.980
I feel like I got my brain working on that time.
550
00:31:08.059 --> 00:31:10.880
It gives me the time and space during the day.
551
00:31:10.900 --> 00:31:15.349
You know, I currently I'm working full time. So now
552
00:31:15.450 --> 00:31:18.829
I'm planning to wrap up all my work during the day.
553
00:31:18.869 --> 00:31:22.500
So I don't have anyone to disturb. And also now
554
00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:26.079
I'm trying to divide my time. Two or three days
555
00:31:26.140 --> 00:31:28.180
I'm going to work on this specific task and two
556
00:31:28.220 --> 00:31:30.440
or three days I'm going to build a website or
557
00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:33.059
something like that. Or the other days I'm going to
558
00:31:33.119 --> 00:31:35.099
research or reach out to the people. So I'm dividing
559
00:31:35.160 --> 00:31:39.369
the work. So I'm not also confusing myself while I'm
560
00:31:39.400 --> 00:31:42.809
working on multiple things at a time. So that's one
561
00:31:42.829 --> 00:31:45.410
thing I'm trying to do because I want to, whatever
562
00:31:45.430 --> 00:31:47.910
I'm working, I want to give that work full attention
563
00:31:48.150 --> 00:31:50.849
and not deviate from it to overtake the other. Because
564
00:31:50.910 --> 00:31:53.250
it's so easy because I still have like million tabs
565
00:31:53.329 --> 00:31:56.190
open up and I'm still scrolling through. And so easy,
566
00:31:56.410 --> 00:31:58.200
you know, like if you go to look for something
567
00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:00.319
and then you're just like, okay, I started this. Let
568
00:32:00.339 --> 00:32:02.319
me finish that. And then you go back. Okay, I
569
00:32:02.339 --> 00:32:04.720
started that. Let me finish that. So it becomes so
570
00:32:04.900 --> 00:32:10.289
easier to get distracted with everything. So I'm just putting
571
00:32:11.069 --> 00:32:13.890
notes for myself what I'm going to work today or tomorrow.
572
00:32:14.109 --> 00:32:17.190
And then I have a friend that I keep myself
573
00:32:17.230 --> 00:32:19.799
accountable to. So I tell her that, okay, I'm going
574
00:32:19.819 --> 00:32:22.339
to work on this list. So check me in on that.
575
00:32:23.079 --> 00:32:26.789
So he does that. And then I do that for
576
00:32:26.809 --> 00:32:28.990
her too. So we keep checking on each other. So
577
00:32:29.049 --> 00:32:31.589
I have that partner who works with me and that
578
00:32:31.630 --> 00:32:34.150
works fine. You know, we keep, and then I tell
579
00:32:34.170 --> 00:32:36.430
her I worked on this, this, this, and I'm lagging
580
00:32:36.509 --> 00:32:39.700
on this. So it's really helpful to have someone who
581
00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:42.339
looks out for you and who is your accountability partner.
582
00:32:45.180 --> 00:32:48.720
I love that, especially because like you was saying, working
583
00:32:48.779 --> 00:32:51.920
solo can be so challenging. So to have anybody in
584
00:32:51.960 --> 00:32:54.440
your corner that you can kind of like bounce ideas
585
00:32:54.480 --> 00:32:56.740
with or be accountable with, like, this is what I
586
00:32:56.779 --> 00:32:58.680
did today. This is what I was setting out to
587
00:32:58.720 --> 00:33:04.400
do today. That sounds so helpful and like, so amazing
588
00:33:04.440 --> 00:33:06.960
on keeping you on track, making sure everything gets done
589
00:33:07.019 --> 00:33:08.720
and that like you're able to do all the things
590
00:33:08.740 --> 00:33:12.319
you set out to do. That's amazing. And great question.
591
00:33:12.339 --> 00:33:15.750
Thank you so much. Um, Jamil has a question in
592
00:33:15.769 --> 00:33:19.230
the chat asking, how are you using AI in your journey?
593
00:33:21.539 --> 00:33:26.559
So that's an amazing question, Jamil. AI is so helpful.
594
00:33:27.099 --> 00:33:30.339
You know, I don't care whatever everyone says, but it's
595
00:33:30.359 --> 00:33:34.579
helpful regardless. Because the only thing, you know, it makes
596
00:33:34.599 --> 00:33:38.029
your workflow easier. The thing that will take me days
597
00:33:38.119 --> 00:33:41.839
to come, I can do in hours. And also, it
598
00:33:41.900 --> 00:33:45.039
helps me to think faster. You know, I am trying
599
00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:49.150
to use mainly Chats, EPT, Quad, or Figma Make. It
600
00:33:49.210 --> 00:33:51.809
helps me design or at least give me a draft
601
00:33:51.869 --> 00:33:54.829
of flows that I can refine quicker as compared to
602
00:33:54.849 --> 00:33:57.309
just sit through and think of other things. So it
603
00:33:57.369 --> 00:33:59.910
has made, you know, the same product that could have
604
00:33:59.970 --> 00:34:02.329
take two or three years or, you know, the research,
605
00:34:02.470 --> 00:34:05.490
it could take less time and I can make the
606
00:34:05.509 --> 00:34:08.050
product and the flows quicker and it can get out
607
00:34:08.170 --> 00:34:10.789
in the market much quicker. So I think it helps
608
00:34:10.820 --> 00:34:13.860
with the day-to-day flow and it has made my life
609
00:34:13.889 --> 00:34:14.889
easier at least a bit.
610
00:34:15.960 --> 00:34:16.699
Amazing.
611
00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:20.780
I feel like we've covered so much today and I
612
00:34:22.059 --> 00:34:25.260
feel like all the questions that I prepared yielded such
613
00:34:25.420 --> 00:34:28.739
excellent answers and we've talked about so much. I wanted
614
00:34:28.780 --> 00:34:30.980
to pose it to the group to see if there's
615
00:34:31.079 --> 00:34:33.780
any other questions that people had that maybe we haven't
616
00:34:33.820 --> 00:34:36.300
gotten to touch on yet, or if there's any insights
617
00:34:36.340 --> 00:34:38.860
or experiences you have that might align with this that
618
00:34:38.940 --> 00:34:41.579
you may feel comfortable sharing. I'm going to give it
619
00:34:41.619 --> 00:34:43.579
a second. If you have anything, please feel free to
620
00:34:43.619 --> 00:34:49.389
come off mute and share. And that's so okay if not,
621
00:34:49.489 --> 00:34:53.750
because hopefully we'll all be so inspired by this conversation
622
00:34:53.789 --> 00:34:55.550
that you'll have a lot more to talk about later
623
00:34:55.630 --> 00:34:58.429
when we all become founders and start something really cool
624
00:34:58.769 --> 00:35:04.110
like Amara did. Amara, is there anything that you wanted
625
00:35:04.130 --> 00:35:05.889
to share that we haven't touched on today?
626
00:35:05.909 --> 00:35:10.769
We have touched on almost everything, but I think so
627
00:35:10.889 --> 00:35:13.369
one thing I would just repeat back to everyone in
628
00:35:13.429 --> 00:35:16.750
case if you have a doubt about anything, if you
629
00:35:16.769 --> 00:35:20.230
have an idea, And if you're doubting yourself, don't do it.
630
00:35:20.750 --> 00:35:24.110
Just go ahead and build it. And trust me, it's
631
00:35:24.150 --> 00:35:27.869
an amazing experience. Don't look for success. Look for learning
632
00:35:28.070 --> 00:35:31.150
and success will come through it. So that's one thing
633
00:35:31.369 --> 00:35:33.309
I will stick by it. And that's what I'm trying
634
00:35:33.349 --> 00:35:36.039
to do. And that's what I will tell everyone to
635
00:35:36.079 --> 00:35:36.400
do it.
636
00:35:39.159 --> 00:35:42.119
That's amazing. And I haven't heard that before. So I'm
637
00:35:42.159 --> 00:35:44.960
definitely going to be living by don't look for success,
638
00:35:45.039 --> 00:35:48.320
look for learning. That is my new favorite quote ever.
639
00:35:48.840 --> 00:35:51.429
And Ashik actually has one more question. So I'm going
640
00:35:51.449 --> 00:35:55.010
to pose that here. As a solo founder, you have
641
00:35:55.050 --> 00:35:58.710
to make a million decisions alone. How are you using
642
00:35:58.730 --> 00:36:01.280
AI as a sounding board to stress test your own
643
00:36:01.340 --> 00:36:04.639
thinking or spot blind spots in your logic?
644
00:36:06.539 --> 00:36:06.659
Hmm.
645
00:36:07.699 --> 00:36:11.480
So I have like long conversations with chair deputy. Sometimes
646
00:36:11.539 --> 00:36:14.380
she's like the business self partner or something, something. So
647
00:36:14.420 --> 00:36:18.150
she plays a lot of roles. So it helps because
648
00:36:18.190 --> 00:36:20.949
chair deputy can give you a lot of answers and,
649
00:36:21.570 --> 00:36:24.050
but not all of them can work for you or,
650
00:36:24.590 --> 00:36:26.909
you know, for your business. So you have to pick,
651
00:36:27.030 --> 00:36:31.739
you have to still rationalize and use your critical thinking
652
00:36:31.840 --> 00:36:34.940
to make sure what you're building and what chair deputy
653
00:36:34.960 --> 00:36:38.190
is saying is aligning. And sometimes she gives very good
654
00:36:38.230 --> 00:36:41.309
points and sometimes it's extremely lame. So you have to
655
00:36:41.349 --> 00:36:43.929
learn to ignore it and not stick by everything chat
656
00:36:43.969 --> 00:36:47.659
deputy says. So I'm picking what I know goes along
657
00:36:47.719 --> 00:36:50.760
well with my product. And I ignore everything else she
658
00:36:50.800 --> 00:36:52.659
says because she says a lot of stupid stuff too.
659
00:36:53.099 --> 00:36:54.239
So just ignore it.
660
00:36:56.030 --> 00:37:00.090
All right. Well, that was an awesome last question. And
661
00:37:00.550 --> 00:37:03.250
I hope you all had a wonderful time being part
662
00:37:03.289 --> 00:37:06.769
of this podcast recording party. Amara, thank you so much
663
00:37:06.829 --> 00:37:10.429
for being such a wonderful guest. This has been such
664
00:37:10.469 --> 00:37:14.179
an insightful conversation. I'm feeling so inspired. I hope everyone
665
00:37:14.219 --> 00:37:16.840
else is too. And I hope you all have a
666
00:37:17.159 --> 00:37:19.679
wonderful rest of your day. Be on the lookout for
667
00:37:19.760 --> 00:37:22.460
next month's episode. And thank you all so much for
668
00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:28.400
being here with us today. Thank you.