Demystifying the Founding Designer Role

​About the Event

​A startup’s first design hire plays a foundational role, striking the precarious balance between executing on the day-to-day design work and building a design practice from the ground up. So what does it take to excel as a first designer, and what type of person is best suited for the task? In this conversation—moderated by Tara Kelly, author of First Designer In—we're bringing together three founding designers to learn about their journeys, lessons learned along the way, and tactical tips for succeeding as an early design hire.

​About the Speakers

​Elizabeth Lin, Founding Designer at Primer — I’m the Founding Designer at Primer, an online place for kids to find learning communities based on their interests. I’m currently based in New York and I enjoy playing saxophone and all things related to fashion.

​Dennis Cortes, Head of Design at Northstar — I’m the Head of Design at Northstar, a financial wellness company where I lead our design efforts and work on our product. Outside of work, I work on music under the name Cordio and am a huge fan of traveling, plants, animals, Pokémon, and food!

​Aly Agoff, Director of Design at True Link — I'm the Director of Design at True Link Financial, leading efforts across the business in growth, product, research, and marketing. Having spent a lot of my time in Fintech, I’m passionate about using data to create delightful and intuitive designs that democratize and modernize antiquated, inaccessible industries.

​Tara Kelly, Author of First Designer In — For over a decade, I worked as a designer in the startup world. I’ve made a career of being the first designer hired, then building up a team from scratch. So I wrote a book about it. I enjoyed writing so much that I've taken a hiatus from employment to explore publishing. I've since written multiple children's books under the pen name Kelly Tills.