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Jason Hu

Hey, we're back with another Inside Design — this time in collaboration with Antler and three founding designers.

Inside Design is a workshop series that gives students a closer look at what working in design actually looks like. The sessions are built around small-group conversations where designers share how they think and make decisions in their day-to-day work.

This round focuses on what it means to be the first designer at a company - the one shaping how a product takes form before there's a system, a team, or a playbook. We have three founding designers - Niko Salkola (Zero), Jenna Pitkälä (Userlens), and Veeti Huotari (Realm) - joining us to talk through their day-to-day: working closely with founders, building the foundation of a product from scratch, moving fast without losing craft, and figuring out what design even means inside a company that's still defining itself.

As with previous sessions, the workshop will be dialogue-driven. Participants will be split into small groups of 5–8, each guided by one of the founding designers, creating space for conversation about the realities of being a designer at an early-stage startup. Whether you're a designer thinking about that path, or just curious about how products take shape, there's something here for you.

If you're interested in what we do, head to 

And if you're interested in founding a startup or getting funding, visit 

The Founding Designer

Daria Grigorova

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