"Intuition is like a hypothesis generator. You're constantly generating hypotheses, debating them, finding data to support or negate them, then winnowing down into your working hypothesis."
Intuition ≠ gut feeling; it's a structured process
Generate hypotheses from taste, customer feedback, observation
Test hypotheses against data and user evidence
Build on winning hypotheses; discard the rest
Building Product Taste
How Dylan Refines His Intuition
Constant input: Twitter/X, support channels, user feedback, industry trends
Deep questions: Ask "Why?" multiple times; understand root problems, not surface requests
Artifacts over abstraction: Request examples, concrete work, prototypes—debate those, not concepts
Trust before overruling: Build credibility with team so they follow your lead on uncertainty
3.5
years to ship Figma
~5
years to first paying customer
100%
of feedback worth reading
The taste signalDylan reads every mention of Figma across the internet and shares them in a Slack channel. This constant signal feeds intuition.
Simplification as Obsession
Why Simplicity Is the Hardest Problem
Irreducible complexity: 1+1 doesn't equal 2, it equals 1.5 when layers interact
Local vs. system: Every feature decision seems right, but together they compound into chaos
The simplicity paradox: Make simple things simple, make complex things possible
Top-down + bottom-up: Dylan frowns and insists there's something simpler. So does everyone else.
Why it's hard
The more you add, the harder it is to keep the whole system coherent. It's not about feature count—it's about cognitive load.
How he fights it
Constant vigilance. "Is this too complex as a system?" triggers a full re-architecture, not just tweaks.
Playbook
The PM as Framework Builder
Great PMs create frameworks that bring everyone along—with a strategy and point of view
Make sure everyone knows the destination AND how to get there
You're only great if the team is stoked, even if the outcome was achieved
Glue the organization together; without you, things work for 2–3 weeks, then crumble
Dylan's PM philosophyDon't lose yourself in process. Stay obsessed with the problems you're solving. Go talk to users. Have a point of view.
Contrarian
Dylan's Provocative Takes on Building
✗Ship when it's perfectINSTEAD →✓ Ship as fast as possible. Feedback faster than perfection. FigJam & Slides = proof.
✗Pages in Figma are elegantINSTEAD →✓ I'm still skeptical of Pages. The user data proved me wrong; the feature doesn't feel right.
✗Product management is about processINSTEAD →✓ Process supports outcomes. Strategy, taste, and point of view are what actually drive wins.
✗Design doesn't need to be about soulINSTEAD →✓ Design = art applied to problem-solving. Lose the art, you get pure utility with no soul.