Startups move fast. Ideas pivot overnight. Features get scrapped and rebuilt in days. And in the middle of all this chaos, one thing often gets overlooked: product design.
Too many startups treat product design as a late-stage necessity — something to polish the interface once the “real” work is done. This is a massive mistake. Product design isn’t just about making things look good; it’s about shaping what gets built in the first place.
Yet, time and time again, startups prioritize hiring engineers and business strategists while leaving product designers on the sidelines until it’s too late. If you wait to bring in product design leadership, you risk spending months (or years) building something no one actually wants.
Product design is product strategy
If you think design is just UI, you’re doing it wrong. A good product designer doesn’t just make things look pretty — they help define what should exist and why.
Great product designers operate at the intersection of user experience, business needs, and technical feasibility. They bring user-centric thinking into early decision-making, ensuring that the product solves real problems rather than just checking feature boxes.
When product design is treated as a leadership role from day one, startups benefit in three key ways:
- User-needs drive product direction, not assumptions.
Without a product designer in leadership, early-stage startups often rely on gut feeling and founder intuition. A product designer ensures real user insights shape development from the beginning. - Speed doesn’t mean skipping strategy.
Startups move fast, but moving fast in the wrong direction is a waste of time and money. A product designer helps define an MVP that’s lean but still valuable, avoiding the trap of launching too much or too little. - A scalable foundation is built from the start.
Many startups build short-term solutions that become long-term nightmares. Product designers think in systems, ensuring early decisions don’t lead to massive rework down the line.
Founders, you’re missing out
It’s no surprise that most startup founders come from engineering or business backgrounds. But that also means many don’t truly understand the value of having a strong product design leader in place from the beginning.
Consider this: while every startup needs to figure out business models and technology, neither of those matter if no one actually wants to use the product. A startup that lacks strong product design leadership risks spending all its resources building the wrong thing in the wrong way.
Designers, it’s time to step up
The problem isn’t just on the founder’s side. Many designers still define their role too narrowly, waiting to be told what to design instead of driving product decisions. The best product designers aren’t just executors — they’re leaders.
Designers who take ownership early can shape everything from the roadmap to the user experience to the company’s long-term success. And yet, too often, they don’t claim that seat at the table.
So, where do we go from here?
Startups need to rethink product design as a strategic function, not a supporting role. Founders should prioritize hiring product designers early — and not just as UX/UI specialists, but as leaders.
And product designers? It’s time to take ownership. Startups need your vision, your ability to connect the dots, and your obsession with making products that truly matter.
Want to go deeper?
I wrote Product Design in Startups for exactly this reason. In it, I break down why product designers should be leading from day one — and how to actually make that happen.
If you’re a product designer looking to step up or a founder wondering how to build a user-centric product, this book is for you.
