Figma
A collaborative design platform with design, whiteboarding, slides, dev handoff and AI prototyping tools.
Figma still shows up in AI-built workflows, but its role is shifting. Locked's teen founder scoped onboarding and main screens in Figma, then had Claude build the app and iterated, reaching about $14k a month. At Notion, designers use it less and prototype in code, though marketing still wants Figma rebuilds for video. Lesson: sketch the key screens, then move to code early.
- 1Design screens in FigmaOnboarding and main screens, finalized
- 2Feed designs into ClaudeFinalized designs plugged straight in
- 3Build a prototypeClaude builds the first version
- 4Iterate constantlyPlug in keys, fix bugs, improve UX
From Evan Yadegari, Locked co-founder
What was said about Figma
Locked's team scoped screens in Figma, then had Claude build the app. Evan Yadegari and his co-founder designed and finalized Locked's onboarding and main screens in Figma. They then fed those designs into Claude to build a prototype.
After the prototype, the work was constant iteration: plugging in keys, fixing bugs and improving UX and UI. A non-technical team shipped Locked this way. In Evan's words: "once we had everything finalized, we plugged it into Claude, we built out a prototype and from there it was just constant iteration".
Notion moved chat prototyping out of Figma into an LLM-friendly playground codebase. Notion built a small codebase that is very LLM friendly, using tools LLMs are good at, and moved all chat interface prototyping into it. Designers and PMs who had been making static images in Figma now prototype there.
The playground removes the fear of the terminal and the complexity of a decade-old main codebase, so people can one-shot things and just chat. As models improve, the same designers and PMs begin contributing to the production codebase.
Figma still has a role at Notion even as designers work in code. Notion designers use Figma less because they design in code. Marketing still asks for Figma rebuilds of code prototypes for video.
Max Schoening is not sure Figma use is actually declining, given Jevons paradox: cheaper design and prototyping may lead to more of it overall.
Figma’s CEO: Why AI makes design, craft, and quality the new moat for startups | Dylan Field
Took until summer 2017 to earn first revenue after starting in 2012. A Blockers team removed adoption obstacles and lifted activation and retention, and 4% of staff took the Detach severance offer after the Adobe deal collapsed. It is hiring across most roles despite AI. Ranked second from the top in a pairwise comparison study of AI outputs. Its first form, Make Design, was pulled after producing near copies of Apple's weather app, and it is meant as a starting point with design system support still early. Built in about six months as COVID spiked demand. A month before launch it felt boring, so a design sprint produced about 20 ideas in a day, including cursor chat, to make it fun. Came out of Maker Week, built by a group Mika gathered. It is one example of a workflow split from Figma Design. Launched right after the Adobe deal collapsed, and was pulled out of Figma Design as a job that grew heavy. Exists because brand teams want marketing to stay on brand while marketing wants bulk asset creation. Packing both into Figma Design would add complexity. Lets people publish a design they have finished, and came from a workflow already happening in Figma Design.
Locked's team scoped screens in Figma, then had Claude build the app. Evan Yadegari and his co-founder designed and finalized Locked's onboarding and main screens in Figma. They then fed those designs into Claude to build a prototype.
After the prototype, the work was constant iteration: plugging in keys, fixing bugs and improving UX and UI. A non-technical team shipped Locked this way. In Evan's words: "once we had everything finalized, we plugged it into Claude, we built out a prototype and from there it was just constant iteration".
Dylan Field live at Figma's Config: Intuition, simplicity, and the future of design
Took about three and a half years to launch and nearly five years to a first paying customer, which Dylan calls far too long. He says parts of it became too complex as a system, and Pages shipped despite his doubts because users demanded them. Shipped fast and drew feedback sooner than the original Figma. Dev Mode took at least three times as long to build as FigJam. Shipped quickly, which brought feedback sooner than the long first Figma launch. Looks simple but took at least three times as long as FigJam, needing repeated rebuilds. Some directions failed before the team understood the developer user and believed it added value. Critics say Make Design gives the most obvious thing in the most obvious form, and Dylan agrees. He says this shows why taste and craft still matter as AI floods the world with software.
Notion moved chat prototyping out of Figma into an LLM-friendly playground codebase. Notion built a small codebase that is very LLM friendly, using tools LLMs are good at, and moved all chat interface prototyping into it. Designers and PMs who had been making static images in Figma now prototype there.
The playground removes the fear of the terminal and the complexity of a decade-old main codebase, so people can one-shot things and just chat. As models improve, the same designers and PMs begin contributing to the production codebase.
Figma still has a role at Notion even as designers work in code. Notion designers use Figma less because they design in code. Marketing still asks for Figma rebuilds of code prototypes for video.
Max Schoening is not sure Figma use is actually declining, given Jevons paradox: cheaper design and prototyping may lead to more of it overall.
Vision, conviction, and hype: How to build 0 to 1 inside a company | Mihika Kapoor (Product, Figma)
Mihika leads new 0 to 1 products there, with many hits born at hackathons and Maker Weeks. Its "run with it" value, staging and dogfooding process, and rituals like Hot Seat and the Figgies support bottom-up bets. Its vision grew from one proof point, that brainstorms are democratic. Non-user interviews led to a placeholder experience for non-designers, and the first anniversary used an Easter egg hunt of birthday presents.
An inside look at Figma’s unique GTM motion | Claire Butler (first GTM hire)
Figma grew bottom-up by making designers love the editor, with no sales team and only self-serve credit card revenue for its first three years. It launched in late 2015 without multiplayer, moved its free tier to about three files with unlimited collaborators, and later added org and enterprise tiers.
An inside look at how Figma builds product | Yuhki Yamashita (CPO of Figma)
Grew through community-led growth: internal designers became champions, sales equips them with data and stories, and the Friends of Figma program runs fans in a Discord. Staff use it daily (PM decks, FigJam calibrations), though branching and merging saw low early adoption because Figma barely uses it internally. Now dominates how Figma's team works, used for calibrations, interview debriefs and product reviews. An alignment scale widget lets people click to show whether they feel aligned and quickly surfaces hot spots.
The 14-Year-Old Who Built a $14k/Month AI App
Evan and his co-founder scoped Locked's onboarding and main screens in Figma before handing the designs to Claude to build.
AI era skills: Why cultivating agency matters more than job titles | Max Schoening (Notion)
Notion designers use it less as they design in code, and marketing still asks for Figma rebuilds of code prototypes for video. Max isn't sure it is declining, given Jevons paradox.
Why AI is disrupting traditional product management | Tomer Cohen (LinkedIn CPO)
LinkedIn worked with Figma in alpha mode so the tool learns to work with its design system. Different teams gravitated to Figma, Subframe or Magic Patterns depending on function and prior know-how.
Inside Bolt: From near-death to one of the fastest-growing products in history | Eric Simons
Its bet on new browser capabilities inspired WebContainer. Bolt now covers much of the prototyping Figma did, and an Anima-powered integration turns any Figma URL into an app.
How International Expansion and Canva for Teams Propelled Canva’s Growth
Its team product was a reference for Canva's billing model. Figma used pay-as-you-grow billing early and did it well, and its real-time collaboration was a familiar model for users.
The ultimate guide to founder-led sales | Jen Abel (co-founder of JJELLYFISH)
Began with a technical insight and took far longer to find its market, a riskier route with more upside.
5 essential questions to craft a winning strategy | Roger Martin (author, advisor, speaker)
Used as a worked example: for FigJam, ask whether it creates a new category or beats weak players, who the customers are, and how to win via lower cost, AI shortcuts or workflow integration. Figma is mainly self-serve, so its channel is already chosen.
Geoffrey Moore on finding your beachhead, crossing the chasm, and dominating a market
Its team showed obsessive service, driving back an hour or two after a customer reported Krypton broken, then fixing trivial bugs to keep that team happy. A larger company would have said it would put them in a queue.
The ultimate guide to product-led sales | Elena Verna
Its use climbs from a designer gathering feedback to teams iterating faster to enterprise designs fitting business needs. Volume for its PQA is revisions per design.
An inside look at how Miro builds product | Varun Parmar (CPO of Miro)
When FigJam launched, many predicted Miro's end, but that did not happen. Miro's team-first, cross-functional design is hard for a tool that grew out of one role to copy.
The ultimate guide to adding a PLG motion | Hila Qu (Reforge, GitLab)
Spreads when users invite their team, so product-led acquisition pays off. It eventually added a sales team alongside its PLG motion.
An inside look at Mixpanel’s product journey | Vijay Iyengar
Adopting Figma gave Mixpanel's design team a seat at the table, with the goal of making design a key differentiator.
How to price your product | Naomi Ionita (Menlo Ventures)
Took a while to monetize, letting free individual use build community. Over half of users weren't designers once it spread in enterprises, and monetization grew exponentially after team and enterprise packages.
Founder-led sales | Pete Kazanjy (Founding Sales, Atrium)
A design tool startup should look at Figma sellers from two or three years ago, not a recent hire. Marissa Fuhrer of its enterprise team is the model head-of-sales profile.
How Notion leveraged community to build a $10B business | Camille Ricketts
Cited as a company where community grew around what members create and publish, like Notion's templates. It fits the freemium, shareable-creation model.
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