Available on Spotify and YouTube.
Masoud Ardestani, Co-Founder & CEO of Rapha, joins us to discuss his unique path from a psychology major and amateur artist to design leader and founder. His platform, Rapha, tackles one of the biggest pain points in recruiting today: making the hiring process genuinely human and user-friendly.
With experience at companies like Meta and OKCoin, Masoud shares his journey and practical advice for designers who aspire to found companies. This episode is packed with insights into what it takes to switch from design-focused roles to building a scalable, user-centered business.
About Masoud Ardestani:
Masoud is the driving force behind Rapha, a recruiting platform that prioritizes candidate experience over generic algorithms. Previously, he held design roles at Meta and OKCoin, where he honed his skills in user experience, product strategy, and team leadership.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
How to translate design principles into business decisions
The pros and cons of launching a startup as a designer
Why empathy and customer focus should be at the center of every founder’s vision
Practical steps for balancing creative work with business requirements
Lessons from Masoud’s journey at OKCoin and Meta on scaling, iteration, and team dynamics
Key Takeaways and Insights:
1. Start with Empathy for Your Users
Masoud stresses that empathy is a critical asset for founders, especially those coming from a design background. Understanding user pain points is essential, but so is focusing on your customers’ deeper motivations and behaviors. “Humanizing” hiring means designing around people, not just efficiency.
2. Build, Test, and Iterate Quickly
One of Masoud’s core messages to aspiring founders is to launch quickly, even with a minimal version of your product. By getting a prototype into users’ hands, you’ll gain invaluable feedback to guide iterations. He believes that constant iteration and improvement are more valuable than aiming for a perfect launch.
3. Design Skills are Transferable to Business
Masoud explains how his design skills have made him a more effective founder, from storytelling to aligning product goals with user needs. Founders with design backgrounds bring a unique approach to product strategy, and this can be a major advantage, especially in early-stage startups.
4. The Importance of “Owning the Customer Experience”
Transitioning from focusing on user interfaces to the entire customer journey is key. At Rapha, Masoud’s team concentrates on refining every interaction, from sign-up through the hiring process, to ensure the product feels like a human-centered experience rather than a transaction.
5. Maintain a Strong Vision, but Adapt as You Go
Masoud shares his philosophy on staying open to change while remaining dedicated to his mission. For him, “humanizing hiring” isn’t just a tagline—it’s a commitment to creating a fundamentally different experience for candidates and hiring teams alike.
In this Episode, We Cover:
(00:00) Early design influences — Masoud’s journey from psychology major to passionate designer and founder.
(05:30) The designer’s role in founding a company — How Masoud applied design thinking to identify and solve critical pain points in hiring.
(10:15) Early projects and pivots — Including lessons from his first app, a college carpooling platform, and how it inspired his founder mindset.
(18:40) Going beyond design — Shifting from creating screens to developing an entire product and navigating the “business side” of a startup.
(23:25) Scaling Rapha and managing a growing team — How Rapha aims to improve hiring through empathy-driven design.
(30:45) Balancing family and startup life — Masoud’s perspective on making time for family and health while leading a fast-paced company.
Where to Find Masoud Ardestani:
LinkedIn: Masoud Ardestani
Resources Mentioned:
Open Design Docs: Subscribe for more episodes and design insights
Timestamps:
(00:00) Masoud’s background and first steps in design
(03:10) Founding his first company: a college carpooling app
(08:30) Lessons learned at OKCoin and Meta
(15:20) Building Rapha’s culture of empathy
(21:15) Switching from a design mindset to a business mindset
(27:45) Tips for aspiring founders from a designer’s perspective
(33:10) Balancing startup life with family and health
(40:00) Rapha’s impact on hiring: a mission-driven approach
This episode offers rich insights for designers, founders, and anyone intrigued by the intersection of design and business. Tune in to explore Masoud’s journey and learn how design can drive innovation, growth, and meaningful change.
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