Working with Series A is... spicy. The stakes are high.

It's no longer about exploration. Many investors give eighteen to twenty-four months to prove momentum. This is enough time to raise additional funding or to get acquired.

At this stage, a wrong hire can cause serious trouble. It can be make or break, and great backend technology isn't enough.

I've seen technically brilliant products stall because:

• The product felt like a minimum viable product.

• The experience was inconsistent.

• The UI felt generic (often a side effect of moving fast using pre-built component libraries).

• The team guessed too much what users find valuable.

All these clues jump out at the eye of savvy investors.

Also, many designers have never been entrepreneurs. They're excellent at execution and craft, but don't connect the dots the "Series A way." Or, MAANG designers can feel like the blank slate is too open-ended and crack under pressure.

Personally, that's my jam. I love to step in at this moment. Not to replace a future Founding Designer, but to do the unglamorous work first.

Building a strong foundation for a Series A isn't for everyone.

My financial advisor often says, "Past performance is not a guarantee of future results." That's true.

Nothing is a guarantee, but with the right mindset and reps, hiring the right designer will surely increase the odds of closing the next round or becoming the obvious acquisition.