18
June 25, 2018 // 29 minutes

Vas Natarajan: Operationalizing design for business success

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Featuring
Vas Natarajan

Vas Natarajan

Partner, Accel Partners
About The Episode

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to scaling design, but there are similarities between fast-growing companies primed for lasting success.

In this episode, Accel Partners’ Vas Natarajan talks about effective ways design leaders can operationalize hiring and scaling. He also discusses the hallmarks of a healthy team at any growth stage, what designers and developers can to do collaborate better, and why storytelling is key to growing a company.

Listen as Eli and Aarron chat with Vas about design’s role in making companies successful, the importance of balancing data with customer insights, and more. If you enjoy this episode, head over to iTunes to leave a review so other members of the design community can learn from Vas too.

Vas’s bio

Vas, a Georgia native and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, joined Accel Partners in 2010 to focus on companies in the data, developers tools, and enterprise software spaces.

Today, he’s on the board or actively involved in companies like InVision, Segment, Tune Analytics, Spoke, and more. In addition to his current work, Vas is active with Accel’s India practice, and helps to co-lead the firm’s Big Data and Tech Council initiatives.

Meet Your Hosts

Aarron Walter
VP of Design Education

As the VP of Design Education at InVision, Aarron Walter draws upon 15 years of experience running product teams and teaching design to help companies enact design best practices. Aarron founded the UX practice at MailChimp and helped grow the product from a few thousand users to more than 10 million.

He is the author of the best selling book Designing for Emotion from A Book Apart. You’ll find Aarron on Twitter and Medium sharing thoughts on design. Learn more at http://aarronwalter.com.

Eli Woolery
Director of Design Education

Eli is the Director of Design Education at InVision. His design career spans both physical and digital products, and he has worked with companies ranging from startups (his own and others) to Fortune 500 companies.

In addition to his background in product and industrial design, he has been a professional photographer and filmmaker. He teaches the senior capstone class Implementation to undergraduate Product Designers at Stanford University. You can find Eli on Twitter and Medium.

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