Key Takeaways
- Dylan Field is the CEO of Figma, a $19.45 billion design tools company used by 95% of the Fortune 500.
- Before co-founding Figma in 2012, he had no experience as a manager.
- Field initially describes himself as “all bad,” but over time he learned how to be an effective manager.
Dylan Field found out the hard way that being a good leader doesn’t necessarily mean being a good manager.
The CEO of Figma assumed that because he had always been a leader, he was automatically ready to manage – only to learn that management was his own skill set.
In an episode of the First founders podcast that aired earlier this week, Field explained that he “absolutely didn’t know” how to be a good manager at first. Before co-founding Figma, a $19.45 billion design company used by 95% of the Fortune 500he interned at companies such as LinkedIn and Clapboard. He had never been a manager before co-founding the company in 2012. Figma now has one 1,600 employees.
“The good news is that if you’re a first-time manager, it’s all very educational,” Field said in the podcast. “Eventually it will feel like muscle memory.”
Related: Instead of cuts, this $28 billion design company’s response to AI is to hire more people
Field listed the basics of management: knowing where his team was, leading effectively one-on-one, building relationships, setting clear goals and holding people accountable.
“I think I was bad at it,” Field said.
Investors also turned up the pressure by expressing concerns about Figma rushing a product to market, he said. Field co-founded Figma in 2012, but it took the company three years ship a beta product. Opening the product to the public took another year, and adding a paid subscription took until 2017, marking five years between idea and full product launch.
“Please don’t take away from the fact that it takes five years to start a company,” Field said on the podcast. “You’ll be dead. We’re the outlier, from another time.”
Related: These Billionaire Founders Hate Being CEO: ‘It’s Like Staring into the Abyss and Eating Glass’
Field said what was “tremendously helpful” to the growth was hiring the company’s first manager, Sho Kuwamotowho started as technical director of Figma in 2015. Field “learned a lot” from Kuwamoto about management skills.
Over time, Field became better at management and practiced skills such as setting clear goals until they became instinctive.
Field’s experience is similar to that of other founders, such as Dustin Moskovitz, who have had to learn how to effectively manage employees. Moskovitz co-founded Facebook and Asana and led Asana as CEO for 15 years. In an October interview, he said the role of CEO was “exhausting” and did not suit his introverted personality.
“I don’t naturally like managing teams, and that wasn’t my intention when we started Asana,” he explains. “One thing led to another and I became CEO.”
Related: Airbnb’s CEO says he personally supervises 40 to 50 employees as direct reports
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Key Takeaways
- Dylan Field is the CEO of Figma, a $19.45 billion design tools company used by 95% of the Fortune 500.
- Before co-founding Figma in 2012, he had no experience as a manager.
- Field initially describes himself as “all bad,” but over time he learned how to be an effective manager.
Dylan Field found out the hard way that being a good leader doesn’t necessarily mean being a good manager.
The CEO of Figma assumed that because he had always been a leader, he was automatically ready to manage – only to learn that management was his own skill set.
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