Last Received
dingodavesubstack
Sun, 08 Mar 2026 01:55
pick
Sat, 07 Mar 2026 22:24
vanchina2
Sat, 07 Mar 2026 17:55
support
Sat, 07 Mar 2026 17:42
codenewsletter
Sat, 07 Mar 2026 16:06
fjart
Sat, 07 Mar 2026 15:32
eatingwell
Sat, 07 Mar 2026 15:13
geeksoutfit
Sat, 07 Mar 2026 15:00
drop
Sat, 07 Mar 2026 14:52
thedeepview
Sat, 07 Mar 2026 14:35
Newest Addresses
thedeepview
Tue, 03 Mar 2026 14:28
serviice
Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:50
geeksoutfit
Fri, 20 Feb 2026 19:19
enron
Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:25
eatingwell
Sun, 01 Feb 2026 18:13
snopes
Tue, 27 Jan 2026 14:05
stechnique
Mon, 26 Jan 2026 17:35
techniquee
Fri, 23 Jan 2026 20:58
n004123050
Wed, 07 Jan 2026 16:19
balmar
Wed, 07 Jan 2026 15:02
Last Read
ztr
Sun, 08 Mar 2026 02:08
bby
Sun, 08 Mar 2026 02:08
mydailymoment
Sun, 08 Mar 2026 02:08
by
Sun, 08 Mar 2026 02:08
nomailnn
Sun, 08 Mar 2026 02:08
jonbobby
Sun, 08 Mar 2026 02:08
liamonnn
Sun, 08 Mar 2026 02:07
cb322c5
Sun, 08 Mar 2026 02:07
vanchina2
Sun, 08 Mar 2026 02:07
nbobby
Sun, 08 Mar 2026 02:07
Most Received
ail
129480
gp6
110822
jonbobby
85072
gp6dd
84471
bobby
64066
mydailymoment
61015
cb322c5
57039
vanchina2
56249
liamont
53714
funnyordie
52238
Available Messages
The following is a list of recent messages for ztr. Select one to see the content. Messages are removed frequently. Check early. Check often.
Subject
Received
Listen: Snowflake’s former CRO on scaling from $0 to $3 .5B (and surviving 4 CEOs)
Sun, 01 Mar 2026 15:13:27 GMT
Do you really need a forward deployed engineer?
Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:57:21 GMT
Listen: Most CROs are salespeople. Vanta’s CRO says tha t's changing
Sun, 22 Feb 2026 16:10:14 GMT
Listen: Why Rippling’s VP of Design thinks speed improv es quality
Sun, 15 Feb 2026 16:04:14 GMT
A new podcast from First Round: How the top 0.001% of scaleup execs operate
Thu, 05 Feb 2026 18:42:24 GMT
Mastering the skill of company-building, from Applied Intuition ’s founder
Wed, 28 Jan 2026 16:45:52 GMT
What cold-calling from a closet taught Gusto’s founder about PMF
Tue, 20 Jan 2026 17:22:00 GMT
The unconventional growth levers that made Canva a $42B company
Tue, 13 Jan 2026 16:59:32 GMT
The best company building advice we heard in 2025
Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:58:00 GMT
The most honest lessons about the path to product-market fit
Fri, 19 Dec 2025 17:34:48 GMT
Selected Message
From: review@...
To: [email protected]
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2026 16:04:14 GMT
Subject: Listen: Why Rippling’s VP of Design thinks speed improves quality
To: [email protected]
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2026 16:04:14 GMT
Subject: Listen: Why Rippling’s VP of Design thinks speed improves quality
- HTML Content
- HTML Source
- Plain Text
HTML Content
HTML Source
<!doctype html>
<html>
<head>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<!--[if mso]><xml><o:OfficeDocumentSettings><o:PixelsPerInch>96</o:PixelsPerInch><o:AllowPNG/></o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]-->
<title>Listen: Why Rippling’s VP of Design thinks speed improves quality</title>
<style>
.post-title-link {
display: block;
margin-top: 32px;
color: #15212A;
text-align: center;
line-height: 1.1em;
}
.post-title-link-left {
text-align: left;
}
.view-online-link {
word-wrap: none;
white-space: nowrap;
color: #73818c;
text-decoration: underline !important;
}
.kg-nft-link {
display: block;
text-decoration: none !important;
color: #15212A !important;
font-family: inherit !important;
font-size: 14px;
line-height: 1.3em;
padding-top: 4px;
padding-right: 20px;
padding-left: 20px;
padding-bottom: 4px;
}
.kg-twitter-link {
display: block;
text-decoration: none !important;
color: #15212A !important;
font-family: inherit !important;
font-size: 15px;
padding: 8px;
line-height: 1.3em;
}
.kg-cta-link-accent .kg-cta-sponsor-label a {
color: #62DCAD !important;
}
.kg-cta-link-accent .kg-cta-text a {
color: #62DCAD !important;
}
.kg-audio-link {
color: #73818c !important;
}
@media only screen and (max-width: 620px) {
table.body {
width: 100%;
min-width: 100%;
}
.hide-mobile {
display: none;
}
.mobile-only {
display: initial !important;
}
.hide-desktop {
display: initial !important;
}
.desktop-only {
display: none !important;
}
table.body p,
table.body ul,
table.body ol,
table.body td {
font-size: 16px;
}
table.body .post-excerpt {
font-size: 16px !important;
}
table.body .kg-callout-card {
padding: 16px 24px !important;
}
table.body .kg-callout-text {
font-size: 16px !important;
line-height: 1.5em !important;
}
table.body pre {
white-space: pre-wrap !important;
word-break: break-word !important;
}
table.body .content {
padding: 0 !important;
}
table.body .container {
padding: 0 !important;
width: 100% !important;
}
table.body .main {
border-spacing: 10px 0 !important;
border-left-width: 0 !important;
border-radius: 0 !important;
border-right-width: 0 !important;
}
table.body .btn table {
width: 100% !important;
}
table.body .btn a {
width: 100% !important;
}
table.body .img-responsive {
height: auto !important;
max-width: 100% !important;
width: auto !important;
}
table.body .site-icon {
padding-top: 0 !important;
}
table.body .site-info {
padding-top: 24px !important;
}
table.body .post-title-link {
margin-top: 24px !important;
}
table.body .post-meta-wrapper {
padding-bottom: 24px !important;
}
table.body .site-icon img {
width: 36px !important;
height: 36px !important;
}
table.body .site-url a {
font-size: 13px !important;
padding-bottom: 16px !important;
}
table.body .post-meta,
table.body .post-meta-date {
white-space: normal !important;
font-size: 13px !important;
line-height: 1.2em;
}
table.body .post-meta,
table.body .view-online {
width: 100% !important;
}
table.body .post-meta-left,
table.body .post-meta-left.view-online {
width: 100% !important;
text-align: left !important;
}
table.body .post-meta.view-online-mobile {
display: table-row !important;
}
table.body .post-meta-left.view-online-mobile,
table.body .post-meta-left.view-online-mobile .view-online {
text-align: left !important;
}
table.body .post-meta.view-online.desktop {
display: none !important;
}
table.body .view-online {
text-decoration: underline;
}
table.body .footer p,
table.body .footer p span {
font-size: 13px !important;
}
table.body .view-online-link,
table.body .footer,
table.body .footer a {
font-size: 13px !important;
}
table.body .post-title a {
font-size: 26px !important;
line-height: 1.1em !important;
}
table.feedback-buttons {
display: table !important;
width: 100% !important;
max-width: 390px;
}
table.feedback-buttons img {
display: inherit !important;
}
table.body .feedback-button-text {
display: none!important;
}
table.body .latest-posts-header {
font-size: 12px !important;
}
table.body .latest-post-title {
padding-right: 8px !important;
}
table.body .latest-post h4,
table.body .latest-post h4 span {
padding: 4px 0 6px !important;
font-size: 15px !important;
}
table.body .latest-post-excerpt,
table.body .latest-post-excerpt a,
table.body .latest-post-excerpt span {
font-size: 13px !important;
line-height: 1.2 !important;
}
table.body .subscription-box h3 {
font-size: 14px !important;
}
table.body .subscription-box p,
table.body .subscription-box p span {
font-size: 13px !important;
}
table.body .subscription-details,
table.body .manage-subscription {
display: inline-block;
width: 100%;
text-align: left !important;
font-size: 13px !important;
}
table.body .subscription-details {
padding-bottom: 12px;
}
table.body .kg-bookmark-card {
width: 90vw;
}
table.body .kg-bookmark-thumbnail {
display: none !important;
}
table.body .kg-bookmark-metadata span {
font-size: 13px !important;
}
table.body .kg-embed-card {
max-width: 90vw !important;
}
table.body h1 {
font-size: 32px !important;
line-height: 1.3em !important;
}
table.body h2,
table.body h2 span {
font-size: 26px !important;
line-height: 1.22em !important;
}
table.body h3 {
font-size: 21px !important;
line-height: 1.25em !important;
}
table.body h4 {
font-size: 19px !important;
line-height: 1.3em !important;
}
table.body h5 {
font-size: 16px !important;
line-height: 1.4em !important;
}
table.body h6 {
font-size: 16px !important;
line-height: 1.4em !important;
}
table.body blockquote {
font-size: 16px !important;
line-height: 1.6em;
margin-bottom: 0;
}
table.body blockquote p {
margin-right: 15px !important;
margin-left: 15px !important;
}
table.body blockquote.kg-blockquote-alt {
border-left: 0 none !important;
margin: 0 !important;
font-size: 18px !important;
line-height: 1.4em !important;
}
table.body blockquote.kg-blockquote-alt p {
margin-right: 20px !important;
margin-left: 20px !important;
}
table.body hr {
margin: 2em 0 !important;
}
table.body .kg-header-card.kg-v2 span {
font-size: inherit !important;
}
table.body .kg-header-card.kg-v2 .kg-header-card-content {
padding-top: 64px !important;
padding-bottom: 64px !important;
}
table.body .kg-header-card.kg-v2 .kg-header-card-image + .kg-header-card-content {
padding-top: 52px !important;
padding-bottom: 52px !important;
}
table.body .kg-header-card.kg-v2 .kg-header-card-heading {
font-size: 2.2em !important;
line-height: 1.1 !important;
}
table.body .kg-header-card.kg-v2 .kg-header-card-subheading {
line-height: 1.3em !important;
}
.feature-image-caption {
font-size: 13px!important;
}
.kg-card-figcaption {
font-size: 13px!important;
}
.kg-card-figcaption p,
.kg-card-figcaption p span {
font-size: 13px!important;
}
table.body .kg-cta-card {
padding: 0 20px;
}
table.body .kg-cta-card.kg-cta-bg-none {
padding: 0;
}
table.body .kg-cta-sponsor-label {
padding: 10px 0;
}
table.body table.kg-cta-content-wrapper {
padding: 20px 0;
}
table.body .kg-cta-immersive.kg-cta-has-img:not(.kg-cta-bg-none):not(.kg-cta-no-label) table.kg-cta-content-wrapper {
padding-top: 0;
}
table.body .kg-cta-minimal .kg-cta-image-container {
padding-right: 20px;
}
table.body .kg-cta-immersive .kg-cta-image-container {
padding-bottom: 20px;
}
table.body .kg-cta-immersive.kg-cta-no-text .kg-cta-image-container {
padding-bottom: 0;
}
table.body .kg-cta-button-container {
padding-top: 16px;
}
table.body .kg-cta-minimal .kg-cta-image-container {
display: inline-block !important;
width: 100% !important;
padding: 0 !important;
padding-bottom: 16px !important;
padding-right: 0 !important;
}
table.body .kg-cta-minimal .kg-cta-content-inner {
display: inline-block !important;
width: 100% !important;
padding: 0 !important;
}
table.body .kg-cta-minimal img.kg-cta-image {
width: 52px !important;
height: 52px !important;
}
table.body .kg-cta-minimal a.kg-cta-button {
display: inline-block !important;
}
table.body .kg-cta-minimal table.kg-cta-button-wrapper td {
padding: 4px 16px 5px;
}
table.body .kg-cta-immersive .kg-cta-button-wrapper {
padding: 6px 18px 7px;
}
}
@media all {
.subscription-details p.hidden {
display: none !important;
}
.ExternalClass {
width: 100%;
}
.ExternalClass,
.ExternalClass p,
.ExternalClass span,
.ExternalClass font,
.ExternalClass td,
.ExternalClass div {
line-height: 100%;
}
.apple-link a {
color: inherit !important;
font-family: inherit !important;
font-size: inherit !important;
font-weight: inherit !important;
line-height: inherit !important;
text-decoration: none !important;
}
#MessageViewBody a {
color: inherit;
text-decoration: none;
font-size: inherit;
font-family: inherit;
font-weight: inherit;
line-height: inherit;
}
.btn-primary table td:hover {
background-color: #34495e !important;
}
.btn-primary a:hover {
background-color: #34495e !important;
border-color: #34495e !important;
}
}
</style>
</head>
<body style="background-color: #fff; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0; padding: 0; -ms-text-size-adjust: 100%; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; color: #15212A;">
<span class="preheader" style="color: transparent; display: none; height: 0; max-height: 0; max-width: 0; opacity: 0; overflow: hidden; mso-hide: all; visibility: hidden; width: 0;">Ryan Lucas joins Executive Function</span>
<table role="presentation" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="body" width="100%" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; background-color: #fff; width: 100%;" bgcolor="#fff">
<!-- Outlook doesn't respect max-width so we need an extra centered table -->
<!--[if mso]>
<tr>
<td>
<center>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600">
<![endif]-->
<tr>
<td style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A;" valign="top"> </td>
<td class="container" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; display: block; max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto;" valign="top">
<div class="content" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; margin: 0 auto; max-width: 600px;">
<!-- START CENTERED WHITE CONTAINER -->
<table role="presentation" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="main" width="100%" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; background: #ffffff; border-radius: 3px; border-spacing: 20px 0; width: 100%;">
<!-- START MAIN CONTENT AREA -->
<tr>
<td class="wrapper" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; box-sizing: border-box;" valign="top">
<table role="presentation" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%;">
<tr class="post-content-row">
<td class="post-content-sans-serif" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.5em; color: #15212A; padding-bottom: 20px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e0e7eb; padding-top: 32px; max-width: 600px;" valign="top">
<!-- POST CONTENT START -->
<p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em;"><em>On our second episode of Executive Function, Rippling’s VP of Design, Ryan Lucas, discusses how to build a fast, demanding, supportive place for designers to do their best work.</em></p><div class="kg-card kg-image-card" style="margin: 0 0 1.5em; padding: 0;"><a href="https://email2.firstround.com/c/eJxUj0tq6zAYRlcjzRT-l14DDS5cvA_JkhpROy6OkkJXXxo66fD7OHA4NZWCTnRL6D2iR7Gg257HZkZNLkZstWLmwOwAADlyYNHXVChnaN7HLAwFYxGbAVonh8w1OD0SATkgtOhAIFwcOWpdLJRCudiuBPo47_M8Hrd6WY9db-k658dd8T9Fi6LlbM_RPi9_qZ9f0WJXKw4tKV52xf-5dAi0gqm4OiNdgonE3fTV-4iRqwerz_Q1TyWwjbwft5dypvLY3s2rWM_0dj3u83c9E30HAAD__y3EUto" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #62DCAD; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><img src="https://review.firstround.com/content/images/size/w1600/2026/02/Ryan-3.jpg" class="kg-image" alt loading="lazy" width="600" height="338" style="border: none; -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; max-width: 100%; display: block; margin: 0 auto; height: auto; width: auto;"></a></div><h3 id="listen-now-youtube-apple-spotify" style="margin-top: 0; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.11em; font-weight: 700; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; margin: 1.5em 0 0.5em 0; font-size: 26px;">Listen now: <a href="https://email2.firstround.com/c/eJxUj01q6zAURlcjzRzuj3RlDTR48PA-JEu3EbXj4igpdPWloZMOv48Dh1NTKSjOtoQhIAZ0Hmzbc9-mXpPEiK1WzDwzCwAgR57Z2WsigpijcNYG0lQ9VS--SMjoo9dgeyIgAUKPAg7mi5BQU-ehFMrFq3Gg_byP83jc6mU9drul6xgfd8P_DC2GlrM9e_u8_KV-fkNL5tycztnwshv-z0VhphWmiqtMTt08RWKddA0hYuQawNszfY3TONh63o_bSzlSeWzv06vYjvR2Pe7jdz0TfQcAAP__i-5TuQ" rel="noreferrer" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #62DCAD; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">YouTube</a> | <a href="https://email2.firstround.com/c/eJxUj0tq6zAYRlcjzRT-lyRroMGFi_ehZyNqx8VRUujqS0MnHX4fBw6nxpzRiW4RvUf0KBZ029PYzKjRhYCtVky8MDsAQA68sOhrDLYXT01sws4guScn7FsBwdYCWT0iATkgtOhAYLk4ctS6WMiZUrZdCfRx3ud5PG71Uo5db_E658dd8T9Fq6L1bM_RPi9_qZ9f0cpYfBYExeuu-D_nDgsVMBWLM9JlMYG4m168Dxi4erD6jF_zVALbSPtxeylnzI_t3byK9Yxv1-M-f9cz0ncAAAD__3BsU0M" rel="noreferrer" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #62DCAD; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Apple</a> | <a href="https://email2.firstround.com/c/eJxUj8tq6zAURb9Gmjmch54DDS5c_B96HDWidlwcJYV-fWnopMO9WbBYLZWCzmhJ6D2iR2NBy57HtoyWXIworWHmwOwAADlyYKOvqYAVitJ9a0xSa5OKUmso2Kv0EPRIBOSA0KIDA-HiyJF0Y6EUysV2ZaCP8z7P43Frl3rsekvXOT_uiv8pWhWtpzyHfF7-Uj-_ojX7aGMuTvG6K_7PpUOgCkvD6hbTTVgicV969T5i5ObB6jN9zVMZ2Ebej9tLOVN5bO_Lq1jP9HY97vN3PRN9BwAA___K31UN" rel="noreferrer" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #62DCAD; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Spotify</a></h3><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em;">“Figma is not the source of truth. It’s a bunch of rectangles in a vector drawing program,” says <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Ryan Lucas</strong>, VP of Design at <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Rippling</strong>. “The source of truth is the thing that customers experience.”</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em;">This exemplifies Lucas’s approach to building products, teams and cultures — utility above all else. In conversation with First Round partner Brett Berson, Lucas explores why you can’t scale taste, how his background as an industrial designer shaped his thinking and how to create a demanding yet supportive environment as a manager.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em;">Here are a few of our favorite moments from the conversation:</p><ul style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; padding-left: 1.3em; padding-right: 1.5em; list-style: disc; max-width: 100%;"><li style="margin: 0.5em 0; padding-left: 0.3em; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">A holistic framework for how designers should think about their jobs</strong>: “Useful, usable and desirable are the three things we need to deliver. People often forget about the last bit. Dreyfuss said the designer’s job is not done if the product doesn’t sell — you need to know a balance sheet, be able to write copy, talk to customers. The idea behind it is you basically can’t deliver a well-formed product unless you have an understanding of all those things.”</li><li style="margin: 0.5em 0; padding-left: 0.3em; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Creating a demanding yet supportive environment</strong>: “People can’t do great work unless you push them. You have to put people in a position of being somewhat uncomfortable. And I want it to be backed up by feeling like the feedback I’m giving them is really substantive. The supportive piece is that good creative work of any kind doesn’t come from fear. It’s hard to balance pushing people and keeping them out of that fight-or-flight zone.”</li><li style="margin: 0.5em 0; padding-left: 0.3em; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">If scaling judgement is possible</strong>: “How do you as a design leader scale quality and do it in a way that’s repeatable? You can define quality and get specific about it. But at some point, it’s still a little intangible. I think there’s a lot you can do to spread the ability to build better products across an org. But to get to the highest point on the mountain, you probably need the opinionated, tasteful, benevolent dictator.”</li></ul><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em;"></p><div class="btn btn-accent" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 100%; display: table;"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: auto;" width="auto"><tr><td align="center" style="font-size: 18px; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; border-radius: 5px; text-align: center; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: #2CC58A;" valign="top" bgcolor="#2CC58A"><a href="https://email2.firstround.com/c/eJxUj8tq6zAURb9Gmimch54DDS5c_B8-ejSidlwcJYV-fWnopMO9WbBYNYugt7plDAExoHWg276OzYyafUrYasWVI7MHAOTEka2-5hjJQm2hFyLxIaxe2EpEKgzUxOmRCcgDoUMPFuLFk6fWrQMRWsV1ZaGP8z7P43Grl3LsesvXOT_uiv8pWhQtZ3uO9nn5S_38ipaOEj2yU7zsiv-zdIhUwFQs3thuo0nE3fQSQsLENYDTZ_6ap7KwjXU_bi_lzPLY3s2rWM_8dj3u83c9M30HAAD__0UKUxc" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; border: solid 1px #3498db; border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 12px 25px; text-decoration: none; background-color: #2CC58A; border-color: #2CC58A; color: #FFFFFF;" target="_blank">Listen to the episode</a></td></tr></table></div><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em;"></p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em;">We’ve got a lot more interviews lined up in the coming weeks. Here are some of the incredible execs you’ll be able to learn from:</p><ul style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em; padding-left: 1.3em; padding-right: 1.5em; list-style: disc; max-width: 100%;"><li style="margin: 0.5em 0; padding-left: 0.3em; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">David Singleton</strong>, former CTO at <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Stripe</strong></li><li style="margin: 0.5em 0; padding-left: 0.3em; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Chris Degnan</strong>, former COO at DoorDash</li><li style="margin: 0.5em 0; padding-left: 0.3em; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Stevie Case</strong>, CRO at <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Vanta</strong></li><li style="margin: 0.5em 0; padding-left: 0.3em; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Katie Burke</strong>, COO at <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Harvey</strong></li><li style="margin: 0.5em 0; padding-left: 0.3em; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong style="font-weight: 700;">Sheila Joglekar Vashee</strong>, CMO at <strong style="font-weight: 700;">Figma</strong></li></ul><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em;">Whether you’re a senior IC who wants to know what it takes to get to the top, or a founder building out your C-suite, we hope you’ll walk away from these conversations with a new model for what executive excellence looks like.</p><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em;"></p><div class="btn btn-accent" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 100%; display: table;"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: auto;" width="auto"><tr><td align="center" style="font-size: 18px; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; border-radius: 5px; text-align: center; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: #2CC58A;" valign="top" bgcolor="#2CC58A"><a href="https://email2.firstround.com/c/eJxUj8tq6zAURb9Gmjmch54DDS5c_B96nUbUjoujpNCvLw2ddLg3CxarpVLQGd0Teo_o0VjQfc9jW0ZLLkbsrWHmwOwAADlyYKOvSWKohbhbl6uAD4GzjUS5x2gEs9cjEZADQosODISLI0ddjIVSKBcryoCM8z7P43Frl3rsekvXOT_uiv8pWhWtZ3-O_nn5S_38ilapwYuUoHjdFf_nIhCowtKwusWICUsklkWq9xEjNw9Wn-lrnsrANvJ-3F7Kmcpje19exXqmt-txn7_rmeg7AAD__8FkU_4" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; border: solid 1px #3498db; border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 12px 25px; text-decoration: none; background-color: #2CC58A; border-color: #2CC58A; color: #FFFFFF;" target="_blank">Take me to Executive Function</a></td></tr></table></div><p style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em;"></p>
<!-- POST CONTENT END -->
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<!-- END MAIN CONTENT AREA -->
<tr>
<td dir="ltr" width="100%" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; background-color: #ffffff; text-align: center; padding: 32px 0 24px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e0e7eb;" align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" valign="top">
<table class="feedback-buttons" role="presentation" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; margin: auto; width: 100%;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td dir="ltr" valign="top" align="center" style="font-size: 18px; color: #15212A; display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; font-family: inherit; text-align: center; padding: 0 4px 4px; cursor: pointer; width: 30%;" width="30%">
<a href="https://email2.firstround.com/c/eJxUkU2u4yAQhE-Dd0R0g_lZsBjpyfcAuolRHNtj4zxlTj-aaDZvWdKnkqo-ijmDNQNHcA7AgRnVwM_UFtko2hCAiSBpr7VVSoEO2mszzDF7BaFkD4HZKeMzWqBUgyqFPZk8tIgKrUIYwSqj_M2iRa5mVDljymMVRtV2nP3YrpVuZXsOS5x730-hfwmcBE4Hvxp_335SAqelnZ1X-T2_5dH2fWnr_ZSvXW5VEp_tvso-t_VxynNnJtme-7G9-JS_r7S0_v6Ua4FTZaacykPgZIMnoDL-WArGCJzgH6-n62ok9JfOVXksShIUK001XgbUVdbiXICgyalRoH3wW-gvQrBcAyZdEugxpVLH0aAKHEwgp9FbhmDRO0xOUdA15AQUnEulZp2GI_7phzBqaem5rZ-TeszX8pAfR0OP93k7-__0ivg3AAD__3ChiyA" target="_blank" style="color: #62DCAD; text-decoration: none; overflow-wrap: anywhere;">
<img src="https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/more-like-this-mobile.png" border="0" width="42" height="42" alt="More like this" style="border: none; -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; max-width: 100%; display: block; margin: 0 auto; vertical-align: middle;">
<p class="feedback-button-text" style="display: inline-block; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #15212A; font-weight: 500; margin: 1em 0 0 0; line-height: 1.4em; word-break: break-word; font-size: 13px;">More like this</p>
</a>
</td> <td dir="ltr" valign="top" align="center" style="font-size: 18px; color: #15212A; display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; font-family: inherit; text-align: center; padding: 0 4px 4px; cursor: pointer; width: 30%;" width="30%">
<a href="https://email2.firstround.com/c/eJxUkU2q4zAQhE8j7xTU3fpdaDHw8D0ktZSIOLbHVvLInH6YMJu3LPgoqPo45gxWTzWCcwAOtFFTfaS-yM7RhgCVGRJ5IquUAgrkSU-3aILKNSSfiYICa5vzTMkQF4bEvk49okKrEAxYpZW_WLRYmzYqZ0zZNKFV68c5ju258qVsj2mJtzH2U9AvgbPA-aivXr8vPymB89LPUVf5fXvLo-_70tfrKV-73JrkevbrKsetr_dTnnutLPtjP7ZXPeXvZ1r6eH_KSeDcauWcyl3gbINn4GJ-LAWtBc7qH0_z89lZ0BflpjwWJRmKlbppLwNSk604FyAQO2UE2nt9C_piBFtbwEQlAZmUSjNGowo16MCO0NsKwaJ3mJziQC3kBBycS6VlStMR_4xDaLX09NjWz0kj5udylx9H04jX23aO_-kV8W8AAAD__yumivM" target="_blank" style="color: #62DCAD; text-decoration: none; overflow-wrap: anywhere;">
<img src="https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/less-like-this-mobile.png" border="0" width="42" height="42" alt="Less like this" style="border: none; -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; max-width: 100%; display: block; margin: 0 auto; vertical-align: middle;">
<p class="feedback-button-text" style="display: inline-block; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #15212A; font-weight: 500; margin: 1em 0 0 0; line-height: 1.4em; word-break: break-word; font-size: 13px;">Less like this</p>
</a>
</td> </tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="wrapper" align="center" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A; box-sizing: border-box;" valign="top">
<table role="presentation" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="border-collapse: separate; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%; padding-top: 40px; padding-bottom: 30px;">
<tr><td class="footer" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; color: #73818c; margin-top: 20px; text-align: center; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 30px; line-height: 1.5em; font-size: 13px;" valign="top" align="center"><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0 0 1.5em 0; line-height: 1.6em;"><span> Made with ✨ by </span><a href="https://email2.firstround.com/c/eJxUj8tq6zAURb9Gmjmch54DDS5c_B-SjtSI2nFxlBT69aWhkw73ZsFiSSoFndEtofeIHo0F3fY8tmVIcjFiE8HMgdkBAHLkwEZfU8BIWLs0AO-zdF-BguXga7XZ2a5HIiAHhBYdGAgXR45aNxZKoVxsVwb6OO_zPB43udRj11u6zvlxV_xP0apoPdtztM_LX-rnV7QaaUIoTvG6K_7PpUOgCotgdYvpJiyRuC-9eh8xsniw-kxf81QGtpH34_ZSzlQe2_vyKtYzvV2P-_xdz0TfAQAA__-a2FOz" target="_blank" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #73818c; text-decoration: underline; font-size: 13px;"><span>First Round Capital</span></a><span>.</span></p></td></tr>
<tr>
<td class="footer" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: top; color: #73818c; margin-top: 20px; text-align: center; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 30px; line-height: 1.5em; font-size: 13px;" valign="top" align="center">First Round © 2026 – <a href="https://email2.firstround.com/c/eJxU0DuO2zAUheHVUB2N--DrFiwCGN4HH5exMLIdSNQMktUHMdJMeYCvOX_PtWJwi2aMETGi87Doo6ybXXsOIqi9Y-HEHAAAWTixW-5Zh8PBFWrwUQF0SJMIpaMQgEO_rJmAAhB6DOAgXQIF0uE81Eql-mEcjHU_5v46n_3SXo9ly_c5fx2Gfxi6Gbrt-rnq1-W7MnQ7n8dZj7avVf9Bvp3n2g1fuQ5I1MB2bMG64ZIV4mFHi1FQuEfwhsKH_jZ87YRBh1DhVpB9KW147whExUmPTCkoSqAUqUTowkNqwS4xljYqF0PhqV_HpnPqbvgKzXmGQNZjataFJLb4VC2PqDTIEWJb9vxn7sbBtpbH6_k-PXM9tw_7br7M_PP-Oub_9ZnpbwAAAP__iWt4uA" style="overflow-wrap: anywhere; color: #73818c; text-decoration: underline; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Unsubscribe</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<!-- END CENTERED WHITE CONTAINER -->
</div>
</td>
<td style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: top; color: #15212A;" valign="top"> </td>
</tr>
<!--[if mso]>
</table>
</center>
</td>
</tr>
<![endif]-->
</table>
<img width="1" height="1" alt="" src="https://email2.firstround.com/o/eJwszk1uwyAQQOHThF2i-YHBXsxhZgxuUO0gEdJFT1_J6vK91VfUHSWGqpgzYsaYINTT2nFvRWVdsZaCxguzAADyygvH8FSqOyVJnK2a-WaVjZK7ZMqbg3NoSkAChAkFIiwPIaG6xwTuZJ72W4S9jfcc_fMqj62fYejvHLcIR7Ozv6411T_H9_0Shalfz_6e__Wj9BcAAP__eos4Mg"></body>
</html>
Plain Text
On our second episode of Executive Function, Rippling’s VP of Design, Ryan Lucas, discusses how to build a fast, demanding, supportive place for designers to do their best work.
Listen now: YouTube [https://email2.firstround.com/c/eJxUj01q6zAURlcjzRzuj3RlDTR48PA-JEu3EbXj4igpdPWloZMOv48Dh1NTKSjOtoQhIAZ0Hmzbc9-mXpPEiK1WzDwzCwAgR57Z2WsigpijcNYG0lQ9VS--SMjoo9dgeyIgAUKPAg7mi5BQU-ehFMrFq3Gg_byP83jc6mU9drul6xgfd8P_DC2GlrM9e_u8_KV-fkNL5tycztnwshv-z0VhphWmiqtMTt08RWKddA0hYuQawNszfY3TONh63o_bSzlSeWzv06vYjvR2Pe7jdz0TfQcAAP__i-5TuQ] | Apple [https://email2.firstround.com/c/eJxUj0tq6zAYRlcjzRT-lyRroMGFi_ehZyNqx8VRUujqS0MnHX4fBw6nxpzRiW4RvUf0KBZ029PYzKjRhYCtVky8MDsAQA68sOhrDLYXT01sws4guScn7FsBwdYCWT0iATkgtOhAYLk4ctS6WMiZUrZdCfRx3ud5PG71Uo5db_E658dd8T9Fq6L1bM_RPi9_qZ9f0cpYfBYExeuu-D_nDgsVMBWLM9JlMYG4m168Dxi4erD6jF_zVALbSPtxeylnzI_t3byK9Yxv1-M-f9cz0ncAAAD__3BsU0M] | Spotify [https://email2.firstround.com/c/eJxUj8tq6zAURb9Gmjmch54DDS5c_B96HDWidlwcJYV-fWnopMO9WbBYLZWCzmhJ6D2iR2NBy57HtoyWXIworWHmwOwAADlyYKOvqYAVitJ9a0xSa5OKUmso2Kv0EPRIBOSA0KIDA-HiyJF0Y6EUysV2ZaCP8z7P43Frl3rsekvXOT_uiv8pWhWtpzyHfF7-Uj-_ojX7aGMuTvG6K_7PpUOgCkvD6hbTTVgicV969T5i5ObB6jN9zVMZ2Ebej9tLOVN5bO_Lq1jP9HY97vN3PRN9BwAA___K31UN]
“Figma is not the source of truth. It’s a bunch of rectangles in a vector drawing program,” says Ryan Lucas, VP of Design at Rippling. “The source of truth is the thing that customers experience.”
This exemplifies Lucas’s approach to building products, teams and cultures — utility above all else. In conversation with First Round partner Brett Berson, Lucas explores why you can’t scale taste, how his background as an industrial designer shaped his thinking and how to create a demanding yet supportive environment as a manager.
Here are a few of our favorite moments from the conversation:
* A holistic framework for how designers should think about their jobs: “Useful, usable and desirable are the three things we need to deliver. People often forget about the last bit. Dreyfuss said the designer’s job is not done if the product doesn’t sell — you need to know a balance sheet, be able to write copy, talk to customers. The idea behind it is you basically can’t deliver a well-formed product unless you have an understanding of all those things.”
* Creating a demanding yet supportive environment: “People can’t do great work unless you push them. You have to put people in a position of being somewhat uncomfortable. And I want it to be backed up by feeling like the feedback I’m giving them is really substantive. The supportive piece is that good creative work of any kind doesn’t come from fear. It’s hard to balance pushing people and keeping them out of that fight-or-flight zone.”
* If scaling judgement is possible: “How do you as a design leader scale quality and do it in a way that’s repeatable? You can define quality and get specific about it. But at some point, it’s still a little intangible. I think there’s a lot you can do to spread the ability to build better products across an org. But to get to the highest point on the mountain, you probably need the opinionated, tasteful, benevolent dictator.”
We’ve got a lot more interviews lined up in the coming weeks. Here are some of the incredible execs you’ll be able to learn from:
* David Singleton, former CTO at Stripe
* Chris Degnan, former COO at DoorDash
* Stevie Case, CRO at Vanta
* Katie Burke, COO at Harvey
* Sheila Joglekar Vashee, CMO at Figma
Whether you’re a senior IC who wants to know what it takes to get to the top, or a founder building out your C-suite, we hope you’ll walk away from these conversations with a new model for what executive excellence looks like.
More like this
Less like this
Made with ✨ by First Round Capital [https://email2.firstround.com/c/eJxUj8tq6zAURb9Gmjmch54DDS5c_B-SjtSI2nFxlBT69aWhkw73ZsFiSSoFndEtofeIHo0F3fY8tmVIcjFiE8HMgdkBAHLkwEZfU8BIWLs0AO-zdF-BguXga7XZ2a5HIiAHhBYdGAgXR45aNxZKoVxsVwb6OO_zPB43udRj11u6zvlxV_xP0apoPdtztM_LX-rnV7QaaUIoTvG6K_7PpUOgCotgdYvpJiyRuC-9eh8xsniw-kxf81QGtpH34_ZSzlQe2_vyKtYzvV2P-_xdz0TfAQAA__-a2FOz].
Warning
Almost all the messages that arrive here are garbage! Resist the urge to click on any unexpected or questionable links.
It may happen that e-mail will claim to come from liamon.com, especially from some administrative role or process. These are certainly garbage. There are no accounts to expire. There are no passwords to leak. There aren't administrators sending messages to liamon.com addresses. These are certainly phishing attempts.
Absolutely ignore those links!