How I might be able to help
TL;DR: Design ops and workshops!
Over the last few years I've been involved in and managed everything from product roadmaps to rebrands of major consumer products while part of companies scaling from me to several thousand employees.
I've hired and interviewed hundreds of designers and product managers. I've helped founders to pull apart their product strategies, as well as wrangling my own business model from time to time (yep, this is my second time as a founder).
I'm a Google launchpad mentor and have advised several early stage companies during their formative years. I'm also a domain expert in the process of scaling design and tech skills through Progression.
As a founder first, I'm very protective of my time, but I'd also like to avoid raising capital and need to keep the lights on! So I'm open to occasional and short-term engagements.
Here are some of the ways we can work together:
Workshops and group sessions
I've been running workshops for internal teams and startups for several years. Whether a couple of hours or a couple of days, I design the valuable time the team is putting in to be fun and engaging with clear outcomes.
Prices are upfront, so you know what you're paying. They're also subject to change.
Designing your Design Career
Half day: £1200 + £100 for every attendee over 12
Full day: £2000 + £140 for every attendee over 12
This workshop focuses on getting your design team to look at their own strengths across dozens of defined skills, and create a canvas for their own growth. It will stimulate better conversations about goalsetting and career paths within your company, and give you a framework to plan their growth over time.
The full day version also focuses on working relationships within the team and maps out attendees' journies and strengths beyond the company.
I also occasionally run these workshops on a ticketed basis.
Values and Vision
£2000/day + materials
If amidst the everyday chaos, you've lost sight of what the role of your team is in the company, or your product is in the world, it can sap motivation and focus, and lose you valuable employees.
An offsite session to fall in love with your mission again is often the tonic to a more productive, happier and more focused team.
This workshop focuses on resetting your team's focus – whether that's around design quality, product values, positioning or strategy.
I've run this workshop across both one and two days of focused, offsite time.
Design Ops consulting
£130 per hour / £950 per day (includes travel within London)
If you have a problem to solve around growing your design or product organisation that requires an experienced impartial third party to unstick, or you're planning something big and want a sense check, I may be able to help.
Designer experience
Experiencing the design team leaky bucket?
I can help to unpick and improve your nose-to-tail designer experience, to ensure that the people you hire have a fantastic and meaningful time with you.
Hiring strategy
Got budget and scope to double your team, but not sure where to start?
I can help with aligning your hiring process with your internal expectations, designing an interview process with produces fair, consistent results, and encouraging a more diverse range of applicants, as well as good old fashioned sourcing.
The value of design
Looking to improve design quality?
Often I see teams get caught up in the same conversations again and again when it comes to what constitutes 'the right answer', or just not bothering to share work across teams or projects at all.
This can lead to a poor end-user experience, but also designer frustration and churn, and painful relationships with engineers resulting in poorly built products.
But I can help! I've created and run design-ops teams and projects, wrangled inconsistent product experiences into shape and facilitated better communication and tooling, saving designers and engineers time and stress.
Coffee
£99, and you buy the coffee
I love meeting people for coffee. But as an unsalaried solo founder, it costs me money and takes me away from building my product. So this is probably the controversial one, but if you're looking for advice, and being paid for your time (by your boss), I think it's polite to pay it forwards.
Yes chances are that means I have fewer coffees. But right now I'm ok with that.
You will have my undivided attention for an hour, and I'll endeavour to introduce you to or follow up on whoever/whatever is useful from that time. You've paid me, and I intend to deliver.
If you're a student, looking for personal not work advice, or there's a high chance we'll be working together or you'll be a future Progression customer, this fee doesn't apply. Even more so, if you're from a marginalised group or under-represented background, I actively want to help. Get in touch!