Welcome to Growthmates with Kate Syuma — Growth advisor, previously Head of Growth Design at Miro. I’m building Growthmates as a place to connect with inspiring leaders to help you grow yourself and your product. Here you can learn how companies like Dropbox, Adobe, Canva, Loom, and many more are building excellent products and growth culture. Get all episodes and a free playbook for Growth teams on our brand-new website — growthamtes.club, and press follow to support us on your favorite platforms. Listen now and subscribe on your favorite platforms — Apple, Spotify, or watch on YouTube (new!). In this episode, we chat with Randy, Head of Design at Notion. Join us as we explore Randy's incredible journey from crypto and coffee startups to becoming the Head of Design at Notion. He shares how he blends craftsmanship, simplicity, and user-centered design into Notion’s core values. Randy also provides valuable insights into the balance of functionality and emotional design, his approach to building talent-dense teams, and how to foster creativity within high-performing groups. — Brought to you by Command.ai — a user-focused platform offering an alternative to traditional popups or chatbots. Their AI “Copilot” answers questions, performs actions, and simplifies complex tasks. Use “Nudges” to guide users with timely, relevant messages, all within a no-code platform. Perfect for Product, Support, and Marketing teams to positively influence user behavior while respecting their needs: — Key highlights from this episode 👇 -Design for Emotion: Randy explains how Notion prioritizes emotional connection in user experiences. -Craftsmanship with Efficiency: The importance of talent density and focusing on fewer resources for more impact. -Marketplace Insights: How working in multi-sided marketplaces influenced Randy’s approach to product design. -Visual Design Mastery: Randy’s tips on typography and user interaction to improve design quality. -Creative Collaboration: Discover how Notion encourages team improvisation and shared creativity, much like a jazz ensemble. How to make your collaboration more creative? 🎨 * Improvisation and Team Dynamics: Notion encourages team members to express their creativity, similar to a jazz ensemble, fostering spontaneous collaboration that leads to innovative solutions. * Cross-Functional Teams: By promoting collaboration across different functions, Notion leverages diverse perspectives to enhance the design process. * Regular Feedback: Open communication and constructive feedback sessions help refine ideas and improve team dynamics. * Design Sprints: Quick prototyping and testing through design sprints allow teams to iterate rapidly while staying aligned with user needs. * Empowerment: Team members are encouraged to take ownership of projects, boosting morale and encouraging boundary-pushing creativity. * Utilizing Notion's Tools: The product itself is used as a collaboration platform, enhancing documentation, feedback, and progress tracking — Follow Growthmates updates on: * NEW! Growthmates website with “The Holistic Growth Playbook”: https://growthmates.club * Substack Newsletter (for instant inbox delivery): https://katesyuma.substack.com/podcast * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/growthmates-podcast/ * X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/kate_syuma * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growthmates_/ Where to find Kate Syuma, Growth Advisor (ex-Miro): * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekaterina-syuma/ * Newsletter: katesyuma.substack.com Where to find our guest — Randy Hunt (Head of Design at Notion): * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randyjhunt/ — What we’ve covered in this episode: [00:00] Introduction[00:06] Randy’s Career Journey[01:12] Working at Notion[02:19] Transitioning from Coffee Startup to Tech[04:04] Leadership at Etsy[05:00] Music and Entrepreneurial Spirit[06:09] Notion’s Craft and High Standards[07:33] Talent