Chris Kalani is a former Facebook product designer and the CEO of Wake. Photo credit: Wake.
Everyone wants to become a founder. But it takes more than just a desire and a great business idea.
Today I am talking to Chris Kalani, a former Facebook product designer and the CEO of Wake. Wake is helping companies improve and scale their design process by giving them new ways to share and collaborate on work. Some of their customers include Facebook, Airbnb, WeWork, DuoLingo, Stripe and GoPro.
What did your path to a designer founder look like?
My path to being a designer and founder was a result of just saying “yes” over and over again. I kept taking on more projects, different jobs, and eventually I started to learn more about my strengths. I kept focusing more on what I wanted to do. I met and worked with people who inspired me. And from there, the momentum just kept building.
Since I was 14 years old, I always enjoyed building things on the Internet. The ability to create something, put it out in the world, get feedback and continue to iterate was a thrill for me. I didn’t know I wanted to be a founder or lead a company, I just knew I gained a lot of fulfillment out of constantly creating and sharing.
I’ve been a designer and front-end web developer for 12 years now. After high school, I skipped the college route and immediately started working for startups and agencies in Portland, Oregon. I worked with Nike, Microsoft, Visa, Adobe, and always had a few side projects.
In 2011, I joined Facebook, where I worked primarily on Messenger, Graph Search, and Growth & Engagement. I loved it, but after a few years, the team had grown so much that I felt like I wasn’t making as big of an impact as I wanted.
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My experience of being at Facebook when we scaled from 18 to 100 product designers exposed me to the value of having a close, highly communicative team. The more designers we added, the more communication and the more focus there needed to be on quality and cohesion. And without the right tools, those things become impossible to achieve.
With Wake, you can see what everyone is working on. Image credit: Wake.
A lot of what I learned during that time was what inspired me to create Wake for other design-focused companies who experience the same challenges. I wanted to help them start that journey of creating a shared visual consciousness that aligned their entire design team.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the design world today?
I’ve seen so many designers get wrapped up in aesthetics and designing for themselves. They need to focus on building useful things that solve real problems. I think designers need to realize the amount of power they have, and not succumb to the traditional roles companies put them in. They have the power to influence decision makers, CEOs and basically everyone in the company because they have this ability to take a vision and turn it into something tangible. Not everyone can do this.
Wake is helping companies improve and scale their design process by giving them new ways to share and collaborate on work. Image credit: Wake.
When they realize they have that power, they can control the conversation among their team. But if they’re designing for their own vanity, they’ll quickly lose that control and opportunity to lead.I think designers are able to meld the business, product, and culture into something more cohesive. At even the lowest level, they’re trained to translate business objectives into products and features people want to use. They’re exposed to working with engineers, executives, research and content teams while also keeping the user in mind.
How should creative people be taking advantage of technology?
There are so many tools available today that it can be overwhelming to manage them all. Designers need to focus on what technology will help them communicate with their teams and create better work, faster. The best way to take advantage of technology is to find the tools that simplify your design process and keep it moving forward.
Is being a designer co-founder of a tech company is the biggest opportunity in the design field today?
This is a tough question to answer. I think that’s up to the person and what they’re willing to do. The idea of a being a founder is exciting, but not everyone is cut out to manage a growing company. Designers do what they do because they love designing. Once you become a founder, a lot of that goes away. You have to be okay with the fact that being a founder means you will need to cut back on the creative work you enjoy doing and replace it with operations, HR, team communication and a million other tasks that go under the title of “CEO.” It’s enticing, but I’d encourage anyone who wants to be a designer-founder to sit with that before taking something on.
Wake on mobile. Image credit: Wake.
And it’s important to note that it’s not the only path to success for designers. There are lots of people I admire in the design world that aren’t founders who are on top of their game in other ways.
What does it take to become a designer founder?
It takes a lot of letting go and constant reminders that you are a leader now. You need to be comfortable with giving your employees, especially designers, autonomy when it comes to their responsibilities. It is so tempting to jump in and take over, but you’re no longer a designer, and every move you make is noted by your team. Sure, there will be times that you’ll jump in and design things yourself, but you need to be careful not to let the fact that you’re a founder trump all decision making. To keep your team driving forward while creating amazing products, you have to learn how to lead through open communication, coaching and consistent feedback.
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What kind of skills should a designer have to become a founder?
I have a firm opinion that people shouldn’t start companies for the sake of starting companies. Make sure it’s something you really want to work on because there are going to be a lot of times when you feel like you want to quit or that you’re not smart enough to continue. I’d also recommend finding a partner or employees who can internalize your vision and round out your skill sets. Startups can be volatile, and you need to surround yourself with people who can pick you up while you’re down.
You also need to have a clear vision of your purpose. So many founders get wrapped up in features and functionalities, but you’ll have no chance at success if you don’t know why you walk in those doors every day. And if it’s because you want the merit or recognition or money, you can forget it. The purpose you create when you start the company is what will drive every decision you make in the future. Everything from product development to hiring is based off this purpose and your values. So if you go into it with a superficial, unclear vision, it’s going to be impossible for you to hire quality people who are willing to commit to you and your company.
