My guest today is Andy Budd, veteran design leader, venture capitalist, and author of "The Growth Equation."Andy brings unique insight from both sides of the startup ecosystem - as a designer who's advocated for UX, and as a VC who reviews over 7,000 of startup pitches yearly. In this conversation, we explore why most startups fail, when founders should bring in designers, and how designers can have maximum impact in early-stage companies.🔑 KEY INSIGHTS:Why having a "good product" is never enough for startup successThe counterintuitive timing for hiring your first designerHow to recognize true product-market fit Why the best startups build far less than they think they needAnd more...00:00 Introduction02:51 Challenges and Reasons for Startup Failures06:21 The Role of Design in Startups15:25 Designers as Founders21:09 Understanding Product Market Fit25:47 The Return of the Technical MVP26:31 Stripping Back to the Essentials27:19 Learning from Usage and Research27:33 The Airbnb Example: Testing Innovative Ideas29:09 The Role of Research in Early Stages30:45 Avoiding the Feature Fallacy32:39 Finding the Right Niche Market34:38 Balancing Quality and Enterprise36:21 The Growth Equation and Designer's Role40:49 Delighting Users and Adding Value44:20 The Growth Equation: A Design Book in Stealth48:37 Final Thoughts and Advice for DesignersFollow Andy Budd:Website: https://andybudd.com/bookTwitter: https://twitter.com/andybuddConnect with RanLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranliudesign/💕 Love the content? Consider supporting the channel by buying me a coffee! buymeacoffee.com/rantalksdesign