When Dylan Field co-founded Figma, a browser-based design tool that transformed how teams work together, he quickly learned that leading a startup was not the same as managing one.
Field arrived with a strong vision and leadership skills but had no experience managing people day-to-day – a gap he has since reflected on openly as Figma began to scale.
A former computer science student at Brown University and Thiel Fellow, Field was well equipped to build a product, but guiding a growing team proved to be a different challenge.
“Management and leadership are different,” he later admitted on the “First Time Founders” podcast, describing himself as an early-stage leader who had to learn management through trial, error, and by hiring people more experienced than himself.
The space between leading and managing – and why it matters
That turning point came with the decision to bring in seasoned managers, including Figma’s first director of engineering, who helped Field see management as its own discipline – one rooted in trust, clear communication, accountability, and consistent check-ins.
The learning curve – shared by many great founders – was steep, especially as Figma took years to move from beta to a paid product, testing the team’s patience and focus.
Over time, that shift paid off. Figma grew into a widely adopted collaboration platform used by companies like Microsoft, Airbnb, and Uber, while its open community and plugin ecosystem reshaped how design is taught and practised globally.
After a blocked $20 billion acquisition attempt by Adobe, Figma went public in 2025 – marking Field’s evolution from a first-time founder into the CEO of a public company.
Field’s journey is a reminder that vision alone doesn’t scale a startup. Management is a skill that must be learned, practiced, and refined – and for founders willing to do that work, it can become just as powerful as the idea that started it all.
