Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO of Figma, discusses the company's rapid expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Opinion
Dylan Field claims Adobe is not a direct competitor to Figma
“They're really not. I mean... They're very focused on other aspects of their business, and that was made abundantly clear in the antitrust process to all the regulators, too.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Lawyers advised Dylan Field the Adobe acquisition would almost certainly clear
“Our lawyers said that it would almost certainly go through.”
Insight
Field: Internal product development should be collaborative, not based on agency-style grand reveals
“A lot of designers at that point were coming from an agency culture where, you know, you go explore, you come up with a few solutions for the client, you present, you know, three solutions. And then you have a grand reveal of, like, here's the big, amazing thi…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Microsoft threatened to drop Figma unless it started charging for its product
“One of their design leaders came to our office and spent some real time with me, and he I think was sussing out, like, is, are they serious or not? And at the end, he goes, you know, your tool is free. I said, I know, I, we gotta make some improvements, I thin…”
Disclosure
VCs passed on Figma's Series B over InVision competitive concerns
“There were certain VCs that, you know, they take the meeting, but then they go at the end of the meeting, you know, look. Very impressed with what you've done, and, ah, great job, but I just cannot reconcile this with the work Envision's doing. Like, I, I'm so…”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Field: Good design will become an even bigger software differentiator
“I think what becomes differentiator is design. It's craft. It's how it works. It's brand. And as we look at the future, that's what I believe will still be the differentiator for software. It's going to be that craft. And I think that the value of design of go…”