#16 Andrew Hegarty — From skating to product design Dots | Podcast of Paul Syng

Andrew Hegarty has ten years of experience working in and advising startups in Toronto. He’s an active mentor to designers and product managers, sharing his experiences and lessons learned from growing an early-stage startup and design practice. He's passionate about mentorship, team empowerment, continually improving product development processes, and building strong organizational cultures.

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EPISODE LINKS

Spotify, Apple, Anchor & more: https://anchor.fm/PAULSYNG

Host, Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00:00 Getting started, our common friend

00:06:29 How Andrew got into design

00:14:23 Andrew's first paid client

00:17:35 Developing a problem-solving approach

00:19:35 Getting serious about a design career

00:21:06 Andrew's true passion

00:24:36 Skating helped Andrew step out of his comfort zone

00:28:20 Isolation parallel to remote work

00:31:56 Advice for people in 0-1 stage companies

00:39:47 Early career, education and first job

00:42:59 To defend the work or not is the question

00:53:49 Choice and signs of maturity

00:56:32 Windows vs Mac

00:58:33 A decade at Street Context

01:03:03 Killing your darlings

01:07:02 Throwing yourself into the deep end (beginner's mind)

01:13:45 From design to product

01:20:00 Design decisions based on where you are

01:25:23 Fintech rebrand, behind the scenes

01:37:22 Why Andrew moved into a product role

01:44:46 Shy kid in basement to talking to clients and loving it

01:52:23 3001 Questions All About Me

01:56:51 Be the dumbest person in the room

01:58:03 Closing remarks