Designer Night: Behind the Scenes at Y Combinator

Before we get into the article, here’s a little update about me. I’ve used the name Sven or Steven for several years. But by using these names, I got further away from my true self.

As I've gotten older, I reconnected with my father and learned about his journey to Canada— where I was born—and why he called me "Steven." It was mainly to make me sound more Western and more easily marketable. 

Names like "Sven" and "Steven" got me where I am today. Without them, I would not have gotten jobs at prestigious companies like Google or Coinbase.

I hid my real name for a very long time, but now I realize that this only caused me to hide my true self. As I developed more confidence, I decided to own my legal name, Minh.

So, on that note: 

Now that I’ve been properly reintroduced, let’s get into the article!

Designers finally have their seat at the table.

In 2025, designers have become the founders of successful ventures. When Y Combinator, the startup world's most successful incubator, dedicates an entire evening to design with Figma's CEO, Dylan Field, it illustrates a shift in how tech values design.

I was honored to attend this event at YC. Let me take you behind the scenes. 

When I got the invitation, I immediately booked my flight to San Francisco, and it was one of the most inspiring opportunities I have encountered in my design career. Seeing a design-only event would not have happened five years ago. It made me realize that designers have finally fought for and earned their seats at the table.

They rolled out the red carpet treatment for designers.

Y Combinator is located in a swanky spot in Mission Bay, and in true San Francisco fashion, I got a Waymo to self-drive me there. We were given lanyards with our names upon arrival, and you could see the giant iconic "Y" sign.

Upon entering, the farm-like architecture opened into a giant space for mingling. Bartenders served specialty cocktails and catered food for the night. There was a mix of YC alums, current YC prospects, and industry leaders in the design field, like myself, all with unique colors for identification.

It was like a high school prom again, but this time, I was chased by all the best prospects. The designers were the leading stars, and many of the YC founders used our colored lanyards to identify us and approached us about their products and marketing sites. 

It was literally live critiques.

Everyone is becoming design literate.

"More people across organizations are becoming designers" was something that Dylan (Figma’s CEO) mentioned. The language of design extends beyond designers and includes the entire organization, including PMs and engineers. We see new C-suite executive roles for designers, such as Design Chief Officers. These roles have been created within the last 5 years. 

Some notable developments are:

• Design leadership is expanding beyond traditional creative departments into core business strategy.

• Companies are evolving from not hiring designers to actively recruiting them as competitive differentiators.

• Design influences everything at the company, from product development to investor pitches.

Design influence extends far beyond aesthetics:

👉 At companies like Stripe, designers now shape pricing strategies. 

👉 At Notion, they help define product roadmaps.

👉 At my company, Studio.init(), designers participate in earnings discussions because design decisions influence the market.

Designers in the Age of AI.

This was the bold statement that dominated the conversation. YC's focus on design talent speaks volumes, with designer-founders like those at Airbnb, Linear, and Pinterest leading successful companies.

Airbnb exemplifies this trend, as RISD graduates transformed travel through design-focused experiences rather than algorithms. 

When asked about AI's impact on design jobs, Dylan emphasized that "experiences matter" more than ever. In an AI-saturated software world, brand experience becomes the key differentiator. As I noted in my previous newsletter, human "taste" drives these experiences because only people truly understand one another.

Dylan added, "AI might give you a thousand options, but designers bring the judgment to select what feels right for humans." As technical execution becomes more accessible through AI, design is evolving from pixel-perfection to experience orchestration, which is something algorithms simply cannot replicate.

How the CEO of Figma Uses AI

Dylan shared how AI is transforming design workflows at Figma. "AI serves as a hypothesis generator that gives you options you might not have considered," he explained. It makes designers more creative by rapidly surfacing obvious solutions, allowing them to focus on innovation.

"Tell me the 10 obvious ways to solve this problem," Dylan described as a prompt he uses with AI tools. This frees designers from reinventing the wheel each time.

The key, he emphasized, is developing better judgment: "Exercise better judgment, as you can see more options more rapidly. The ability to see the connections in the system better than AI can is something we must do."

The Big Takeaway

As I flew back from San Francisco, I reflected on how my career has mirrored this industry shift. Ten years ago, I fought for a seat in product planning meetings. Today, I'm co-founding companies with equal equity to technical partners.

The Y Combinator event wasn't just celebrating where design is now but forecasting where it's heading, from valued contributor to essential leader. The opportunity has never been greater for designers willing to expand beyond traditional skills into business strategy and experience architecture.

About the Author

Formerly known as Sven.

Co-founder of a venture studio called Studio.init(), where I partner with startups by trading design, development, and marketing expertise for equity. After honing my craft at Google, Coinbase, and Milkroad, I combine my HCI background and creative training to help people design and adapt to new technologies through psychology-driven methods. Follow me on LinkedIn or email me at [email protected]!

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