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Do Software Products Still Need a User Interface? · First of Kind

First of Kind

Karri Saarinen: How We Win

Can a designer/founder win the VC game by ignoring all its rules? Karri Saarinen is the co-founder and CEO of Linear, the product development system for teams and agents. A Finnish designer, he was previously the principal designer at Airbnb and the founding designer at Coinbase. In this conversation with Soleio at his historic barn in Silicon Valley…

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Notes

  1. Why Did Linear Compete on Quality Instead of Speed? at 0:49

    Karri Saarinen says Linear competed on quality instead of speed because a faster product would not win a slow market. Full answer

  2. Should Designers Design in Figma or in Code? at 7:51

    Karri Saarinen still designs product ideas in Figma rather than in code. He does not feel the need to design in code. A simple fix is a different case. Full answer

  3. How Did Facebook Notes Reveal Group Messaging? at 15:28

    Soleio found that Facebook Notes revealed a desire to send messages to groups of people when users wrote notes and tagged others as if the tags were recipients. Full answer

  4. Has Linear Ever Run Split Tests? at 18:02

    Karri Saarinen says Linear has never run split tests. Instrumentation is used only when a specific question needs an answer. Full answer

  5. How Does Linear Help Teams Know What to Build? at 22:51

    Karri Saarinen says Linear can help provide some of the intent and context that building now needs, for humans and for agents, once teams have almost… Full answer

  6. Do Software Products Still Need a User Interface? at 27:04

    Karri Saarinen says software products still need a user interface when people have to share one account of the truth, and sometimes they do not. Full answer

  7. Why Did Karri Saarinen Start Linear? at 32:30

    Karri Saarinen started Linear because bug tracking is work people in the industry have to do almost every day, and it feels bad that they are forced to use… Full answer

  8. Why Does Linear Reject the Minimum Viable Product? at 40:06

    Karri Saarinen rejects YC's MVP advice. Linear moved fast and still tried to build a good product, and trying to be good is how the company stays unique. Full answer

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