How do you push for design quality when speed is the top priority since you’re in a startup?

First, recognize that while speed matters, design is a powerful growth lever. Early in my career at Slideshare, I learned to connect design decisions directly to metrics and business outcomes. Even when moving fast, I’d set design principles that are non negotiables, ensuring we’re not shipping a confusing or clunky experience just to meet deadlines.

At Zoom, where product, design, and engineering operate as a triad, we agree upfront on the user/customer problem, then decide on the design details that are non-negotiable—like clear information hierarchy, simplicity, concise copy, and low latency.

Keeping a short checklist that includes items such as fewer words in the UI, solid typography, a logical information structure, helps maintain a high bar for design that moves the right user behavior without sacrificing speed.

Some practical steps include:

• Defining a set of “must-have” design principles that can be quickly validated against user behavior metrics.

• Involving designers and engineers in data analysis, so we know which details to obsess over and which to trim for this release.

• Speed and low-latency in the UI. Monitoring site performance closely, optimizing for speed and responsiveness, a skill I honed at SlideShare and LinkedIn to ensure better user engagement and retention.