00;00;00;00 - 00;00;08;08 Speaker 1 All right, let's dive into something that, probably keeps a lot of founders up at night. We're talking about that. That pretty daunting 90% failure rate for startups. 00;00;08;09 - 00;00;10;02 Speaker 2 Yeah, it's a tough statistic to ignore. 00;00;10;04 - 00;00;34;17 Speaker 1 Exactly. And today we're going to explore how really prioritizing UX design might just be the difference maker. The difference between booming success and well, ending up is just another statistic like a big belly flop. We've got some really interesting research and case studies lined up, stuff like designed driven companies apparently pulling in 32% more revenue. 00;00;34;18 - 00;00;35;27 Speaker 2 That's significant. 00;00;36;04 - 00;00;42;14 Speaker 1 And how small tweaks like remember the Airbnb story about focusing on better photos, how that led to massive growth? 00;00;42;14 - 00;00;49;23 Speaker 2 Absolutely. And what's fascinating, I think from looking at this, is how many startups still see design as well, like a finishing touch. 00;00;49;23 - 00;00;51;04 Speaker 1 Yeah. Like the paint job at the end. 00;00;51;05 - 00;01;01;08 Speaker 2 Exactly. Something you sprinkle on after the quote unquote real work is done. But, these sources really argue that UX design is absolutely fundamental, like right from day one. 00;01;01;08 - 00;01;20;03 Speaker 1 So it completely flips that old build it and they will come idea. It's more like, hang on, understand them first, then build what they actually want and need. But I am curious though thinking about that Airbnb example. Wasn't that a huge risk for them going door to door to take photos. I mean they weren't exactly rolling in cash back then. 00;01;20;04 - 00;01;31;06 Speaker 2 Oh absolutely. It was gamble definitely. But it really highlights a key principle we see coming through here. Early UX work is often about tackling those core user anxiety anxieties. 00;01;31;07 - 00;01;33;13 Speaker 1 Yeah. Being worried the place looks dodgy. 00;01;33;13 - 00;01;51;28 Speaker 2 Precisely. People were hesitant to book on Airbnb because, well, they couldn't fully trust the photos they were seeing. They couldn't really visualize the space or feel safe about it. Okay. So by improving those visuals, Airbnb directly built trust and, you know, tackle that uncertainty head on. It wasn't just window dressing. 00;01;51;29 - 00;02;10;06 Speaker 1 Gotcha. So it wasn't just about making it look pretty was actually solving a fundamental user problem. Yeah. Using design. Exactly. And that actually leads me to a question I had. We hear UX design thrown around all the time. Right? Yeah. What? What does that actually mean? What does it entail day to day? Our sources break it down all day to a few key areas. 00;02;10;07 - 00;02;33;04 Speaker 2 Yeah they do. They generally outline about four main disciplines. You've got, experience, strategy, sort of the big picture okay. Then interaction design how you actually use the thing. User research, understanding the users. Obviously information architecture how everything's organized and even content design, which might surprise some people. 00;02;33;04 - 00;02;35;27 Speaker 1 Hold on. Content design. You mean like writing? 00;02;35;28 - 00;02;37;02 Speaker 2 Yep. Right. 00;02;37;06 - 00;02;41;02 Speaker 1 I always thought UX was mostly about, you know, the visuals, the buttons, the flow. 00;02;41;03 - 00;02;57;22 Speaker 2 It's a super common misconception. But think about it. Every word on the screen, every button label, every error message. Yeah. Even the tone of voice use it all massively contributes to the overall user experience. Good, clear, concise writing helps people navigate it. Cuts down frustration. 00;02;57;22 - 00;02;59;03 Speaker 1 Yeah, okay, I can see that. 00;02;59;05 - 00;03;16;26 Speaker 2 And it can even add a bit of personality and make it feel more human. You could think of it like, information architecture as the skeleton, right? Interaction design is maybe the muscles, how it moves. And content design is kind of the skin. The words that communicate everything. They all have to work together, you know? 00;03;16;28 - 00;03;30;21 Speaker 1 Okay, okay. That makes a lot more sense. Putting it that way helps. But let's be real for a second. Most early stage startups, They don't exactly have the budget for a whole team of UX specialists covering all those bases. 00;03;30;22 - 00;03;38;12 Speaker 2 No, you're absolutely right. Resources are almost always tight in the startup world. That's precisely why it's so crucial to embrace design thinking. 00;03;38;15 - 00;03;40;27 Speaker 1 Design thinking. Okay, so that's like a framework. 00;03;41;00 - 00;03;47;19 Speaker 2 Yeah, essentially it's a problem solving approach that just keeps the user right at the center of everything. Yeah. Constantly. 00;03;47;21 - 00;03;49;06 Speaker 1 So what does that look like in practice? 00;03;49;14 - 00;03;59;24 Speaker 2 Well, it means really digging deep to understand the problem from their perspective, the user's perspective. Then, you know, brainstorming solutions, building quick prototype types. 00;03;59;24 - 00;04;01;01 Speaker 1 Right. Like mockups. 00;04;01;04 - 00;04;10;07 Speaker 2 Yeah. Mockups. Wireframe and sometimes even just sketches on paper. And then the absolutely critical part testing those prototypes with real users. 00;04;11;00 - 00;04;17;10 Speaker 2 Getting that feedback, learning what works, what doesn't, and then iterating, going back and refining it based on what you learned. 00;04;17;10 - 00;04;25;02 Speaker 1 So less about endless planning meetings and more about actually like getting your hands dirty, building something, even something rough just to learn from it quickly. 00;04;25;02 - 00;04;43;15 Speaker 2 Precisely. Get something tangible out there. And prototypes. They really don't need to be these super polished, high fidelity things early on, right? Like I said, sketches, wireframes, maybe using tools like, Miro or Figma. Those can be life savers for collaborating on this stuff, even if your team is remote. 00;04;43;16 - 00;04;45;03 Speaker 1 Digital whiteboards and design tools. 00;04;45;05 - 00;04;55;27 Speaker 2 Exactly. The main goal is just to get something in front of actual users early and do it often. That's where those real moments happen. You learn so much just watching someone try to use your thing. 00;04;55;27 - 00;04;59;20 Speaker 1 That reminds me instantly of the, the Jezero story. Remember that? 00;04;59;20 - 00;05;01;06 Speaker 2 Yeah, the classic example. 00;05;01;08 - 00;05;09;18 Speaker 1 They had all this incredibly fancy tech, right? But they completely forgot to ask the basic question do people actually want or need this thing? 00;05;09;18 - 00;05;27;04 Speaker 2 Exactly. They engineered this, like, ridiculously complex, super expensive juicer that essentially just squeezed a prepackaged bag of goo. Yeah. They got so wrapped up in the technology itself, they just totally missed the user experience part. Like, why would someone pay hundreds of dollars for that? 00;05;27;05 - 00;05;28;25 Speaker 1 Total disconnect, total disconnect. 00;05;29;01 - 00;05;46;28 Speaker 2 And you contrast that with a company like slack. Even back in the early beta phase, they were laser focused on usability and constantly gathering user feedback. And that intense focus on the user experience, making it easy and even kind of delightful to use, that was a massive driver of their incredible growth. 00;05;46;29 - 00;06;05;22 Speaker 1 Okay, yeah, I'm definitely going to get the picture now. It's not just nice to have, it's it's potentially make or break. Absolutely. But one thing that really, piqued my interest, reading through the material was this whole discussion around having designer co-founder. Oh, yes. I mean, that doesn't sound like the typical engineer and business person startup founding team. 00;06;05;24 - 00;06;19;25 Speaker 2 Right? It might seem a bit counterintuitive at first glance, but the argument presented here is pretty compelling. Having that design focused perspective right there at the leadership level from the very beginning, it can be incredibly valuable. 00;06;19;27 - 00;06;20;29 Speaker 1 How so? 00;06;21;01 - 00;06;33;03 Speaker 2 Well, it helps ensure that user needs and the user experience are baked into every major decision, not just the product decisions, but even things that might seem purely technical or business strategy related. 00;06;33;05 - 00;06;38;21 Speaker 1 Okay. So it's less about needing the designer to actually be the CEO necessarily. 00;06;38;21 - 00;06;39;21 Speaker 2 Not necessarily now. 00;06;39;22 - 00;06;49;12 Speaker 1 But more about having someone at that top table who consistently champions the user who asks those. But how will this feel for the user? Questions throughout the whole process? 00;06;49;12 - 00;06;52;21 Speaker 2 Precisely. You mentioned case studies. Think about Chad Hurley at. 00;06;52;21 - 00;06;55;17 Speaker 1 YouTube, right? He wasn't technically a designer himself, was he? 00;06;55;22 - 00;07;20;26 Speaker 2 No he wasn't. But the sources point out how he really, really pushed for usability testing and constant design evaluation, even in the chaotic early days. He fundamentally understood that making YouTube seamless, easy, and even enjoyable to use was absolutely crucial for its success. Having that kind of vision, that user centric championing from the top down, it just makes a world of difference. 00;07;20;27 - 00;07;23;24 Speaker 1 Wow. Okay. So I guess thinking about all this. 00;07;23;25 - 00;07;24;13 Speaker 2 Yeah. 00;07;24;15 - 00;07;40;28 Speaker 1 What does it really mean for our listeners? Yeah. The big takeaway seems pretty clear, doesn't it? If startups want to beat those daunting odds, if they want to truly thrive. Yeah. UX design can't be an afterthought. No. It needs to be woven right into their DNA. Like, from the absolute beginning? 00;07;40;29 - 00;08;00;15 Speaker 2 Absolutely. Couldn't agree more. And maybe for everyone listening, whether you're, you know, building a product yourself, leading a team or honestly just interacting with apps and websites every day. It's worth asking that question more often. How can we make these things not just functional, not just usable, but actually truly delightful, intuitive, you know. Yeah. Human centered. 00;08;00;17 - 00;08;22;09 Speaker 1 Yeah. That leaves us with a great question to ponder. If you were launching a startup today. Right now. Yeah. How would you bake in that human centered design right from the get go? What specific steps would you take? Maybe even on a tight budget, to make sure your product isn't just usable but genuinely lovable, something people connect with? 00;08;22;11 - 00;08;23;04 Speaker 2 Good question. 00;08;23;04 - 00;08;28;03 Speaker 1 Definitely something to think about. That's all for this deep dive. But yeah, keep those brains buzzing on that one.