Publication

The Design VC

@the-design-vc

AN Andy Budd · The Design VC

Why Hiring Ex-FAANG Employees Might Be a Mistake for Early-Stage Startups

For many early-stage founders, hiring team members from FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) companies feels like a shortcut to…

Jan 03, 2025 · 5 min read · 30 claps #startup-recruiting #startup-hiring #startup-teams

AN Andy Budd · The Design VC

A quick search for “startup books” will surface the usual classics: The Lean Startup, Crossing the Chasm, Blitzscaling, The Hard Thing…

Jan 08, 2026 · 7 min read · 23 claps #growthbook #startup-books #startup-guide

ECO

AN Andy Budd · The Design VC

There’s a familiar libertarian story about Europe: too much bureaucracy, too many regulations, too many worker protections, too much…

Apr 25, 2026 · 15 min read · 6 claps #european-tech #european-startups #europe-vs-us

AI DSN

AN Andy Budd · The Design VC

Most software today is concieved by humans. Even when it contains variations like different checkout flows by country, onboarding paths by…

Jun 19, 2026 · 12 min read · 4 claps paywalled #adaptive-software #adaptive-design #agentic-design

AN Andy Budd · The Design VC

Artificial intelligence is quietly reshaping the relationship between founders and venture capital. On the surface, the AI boom still looks…

Feb 24, 2026 · 4 min read · 3 claps #fundraising #series-a #startup

ECO

AN Andy Budd · The Design VC

Coming from an agency background, I’ve always had a soft spot for the idea of the venture studio.

Mar 17, 2026 · 3 min read · 1 claps #venture-studio #startup-investing #the-design-vc

ECO MDA

AN Andy Budd · The Design VC

One of the quiet failures of most startup books is that they assume founders have time to read them.

Mar 13, 2026 · 3 min read · 0 claps paywalled #startup-books #startup-growth #startup-audiobooks