Head of Design at a Venture Studio
Venture studios are the sh*t. We are company and venture builders. We bring innovation, human capital, entrepreneurship, technology, among other things, under one roof. Big dreams with the muscle, wit, and grit to make it happen, the pragmatism to quickly axe any dead ends, all supported by a hive mind that would make Socrates blush.
It is the disruption the venture landscape and the world need right now.
Here’s what I’ve learned so far.
A Day in the Life
If you've been a part of startups, innovation companies, design thinking firms, or internal innovation teams, then I don’t need to explain the level of performance and focus needed to thrive. Now, multiply that by ten and you’ll start to get an idea of the venture studio tempo. If it were a spirit animal, it would have the speed of a cheetah, the high-performance of a horse, eagle eye focus, and the 360-degree micro-pivoting abilities of an owl. And if you're a designer, you would have an octopus’ miraculous ability to grow extra arms on demand.
Question. Validate. Repeat
The first thing challenged was my trusted and reliable design thinking framework, or the double-diamond approach to innovating. Gasp!
True to its essence, the venture studio challenges things that have an impact on efficiency, including frameworks that historically led innovation.
Now that is next level. 🙌
If a venture studio spots something that isn’t relevant or optimal, you better believe they will come up with a better option, or a workaround at the very least.
If I were to visualize the experience so far, the energy, the flows, the pivots, and even some of the madness, it would feel more like this type of diamond:
I don’t know about you, but there’s something exhilarating about that 👆 crazy diamond. It’s even aero-dynamic. Ok, I took it too far.
So, that was the first big mental adjustment. As a designer, I had to re-prioritize when and what tools I pulled out of my design arsenal. It means not using a design process just for the sake of doing it, unless it directly contributes to one of our 100 milestones. More on this in future posts.
Ownership
As a key player, Ownership is set at expert-level from the get-go, which is thrilling for those with Responsibility as one of their Clifton Strengths themes.
It means design leaders get to wear cross-functional leadership hats. You get a chance to step in the shoes of a founder and use all the data and insights available to make smart decisions. The beauty of this is in the diversity (e.g., demographics, experience, areas of study, industry background, etc.) that the studio model pours into each company. After all, “studies by economists, demographers, and research firms confirm that socially diverse groups are more innovative and productive than homogeneous groups.”
Having an impact at the core of the studio, and every company thereafter, is inevitable. I call this a perk, but shh…don’t tell my boss 😉.
It’s a dream come true for all the design leaders that are pushing for a seat at the table. At this venture studio, you have access to the whole damn building! So, yah, no pressure. Just, um, make it count.
Do Good. Do Better Together
My final thoughts are specific to my personal values and integrity to self and others.
I joined Platform Venture Studio because doing good and having a positive impact in the world is at its core. The founder is the embodiment of all these things and an inspiration to us all. He leads by example and has a track record to prove it.
Tackling, or hacking at, any of the critical issues that we humans face is no small feat, but together we can do better. We have the muscle, wit, and grit to make a difference right now. And that’s what we’re doing – building companies that have a positive impact in the world because doing good is good business for all.
I show up inspired by this mission, every single day.
Join the growing network at Platform and be part of the change. #LEGGO 💪🏽