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While many startups fail in their first year, the actual risk of failure increases astronomically between years 2-5, when approximately 70% of surviving startups are far more likely to shut down within the following year. This period popularly referred to as the 'valley of death' is when scaling challenges and competitive pressures become most intense.
This is the stage where it becomes even more critical that startups balance the functional (getting products to work seamlessly at scale) with the aspirational (crafting a compelling brand experience that fosters loyalty).
Yet, in a market where brand trust is hard-won and product stickiness can determine survival, design leadership remains an underutilized growth enabler often sidelined as business leaders leave it out of the rooms where critical decisions are made.
The African market is maturing. Today, in any vertical, the competition is both global and local. This suggests that for the most ambitious startups, their position as market leaders is continuously under threat as the opportunities for differentiation shrink. Taking a cue from other matured economies, design leadership can become the superior advantage for retaining a seat at the top. Here’s how scaling startups can leverage design leadership effectively:
1. Embedding the design leader in the C-Suite
The key to unlocking the full potential of design leadership is for startups to establish it as a role that reports directly to the CEO or a department with strategic authority. This ensures that design isn’t just treated as an executional function but as a core value driver for the business and its stakeholders, helping startups spot new opportunities, build defensible positions, and stay ahead in ways competitors might overlook.
To fully embed design leadership as a value driver in scaling startups, it’s crucial to clearly define the design leader’s responsibilities within the C-suite or other high-level decision-making structures. Their role should be balanced with other top functions like product, customer experience, and marketing, ensuring they drive business impact rather than being confined to a narrow scope.
Startups must also position the design leader as a peer to other senior executives, integrating design thinking into top-level strategy. CEOs should establish clear KPIs—such as customer satisfaction and product performance—to measure impact while aligning incentives to foster collaboration and innovation in product development.
2. Selecting the right reporting structure
Design leadership often suffers when relegated to functional head roles, such as under marketing or customer experience, where their input may be limited to the confines of the superior’s mandate. Startups should avoid creating situations where design leaders are left out of strategic conversations, as this can result in missed opportunities to apply unique insights. Instead, by elevating design leaders to senior roles with cross-functional visibility and strategic authority, startups ensure they can meaningfully contribute to long-term growth and user satisfaction.
Choosing the right reporting structure for design leaders is crucial in a startup’s scaling process. Startups can adopt various archetypes, but direct CEO reporting or senior community leadership roles tend to be the most effective. These models enable design leaders to address broader organizational challenges with the authority and resources they need. Startups that place design leaders in positions with strategic input can allow the full business value of design by giving them a platform to influence the company's direction and product development.
3. Clarifying responsibilities
For design leadership to drive real business impact, it must go beyond aesthetics and user interfaces, it requires ownership over key levers of success. Design leaders should have explicit authority over budgets, team resources, and design standards, ensuring they can influence core business outcomes rather than operating in a silo.
Metrics like customer satisfaction, product adoption, retention, and speed to market are not just company-wide concerns; they are deeply tied to design decisions. Without clearly defined responsibilities and the necessary resources, design leaders become reactive rather than proactive, limiting their ability to move the needle in business outcomes.
4. Involvement in Team Building
Business success at any level is a team effort. To maximize the impact of a design leader within a scaling startup, having a talented design team is essential. Yet, many startups make the mistake of treating team building as solely an HR function, failing to integrate the design leader into the hiring process.
To avoid this, design leaders should play an active role in recruiting design talent. They have a deep understanding of great design, can recognize exceptional talent, and assess team synergy in ways others might overlook.
But hiring is only half the journey. The next step is empowering design leaders with the resources and support needed to shape the team’s culture and take ownership of their individual development.
Not an afterthought
Scaling startups face an uphill battle in the critical phase as they grow, where every decision moves them closer to either failure or survival. By integrating design leadership into vital functions of the organization, such as the C-suite and the recruitment of design talent, startups can unlock the full potential of design to build resilience in a competitive market. Design leadership provides a strategic advantage that goes beyond aesthetics, allowing startups to harness user insights, drive innovation, and create compelling brand experiences that foster loyalty.
In a market where brand trust is hard-won and product stickiness can determine survival, design leadership should not be an afterthought. It should be a core component of the startup's strategy, enabling them to navigate the 'valley of death' and emerge as market leaders. By embedding design leaders within the top management structure, selecting the right reporting structure, clarifying their responsibilities, and involving them in team building, startups can create a high-performing leadership team that works together to deliver exceptional user experiences and drive sustainable growth. Embracing design leadership is more than just a tactical move—it's a strategic imperative for scaling startups aiming to survive and thrive in these times.
