Daniel Scrivner has an inspirational tech startup story to share. His journey took him from college dropout to Head of Design at Square to CEO of Flow. The simple project management software is used by teams at Apple, Shopify, TED, and Harvard to manage projects and tasks, collaborate and stay productive.

Daniel's path to success has been anything but typical. He's now considered a leader in his field, with numerous design awards and accolades under his belt and a client roster that includes household names like Nike and Disney. So I invited him onto the podcast to learn more about his story.

While the brightest minds in Silicon Valley are working to get us addicted to likes, retweets, and notification badges, I learn how Daniel views this as the "anti-metric". He explains why he believes the path forward for Flow lies in building a tool that gets more powerful the less you need to use it.

When it comes to setting your brand apart from the pack in an increasingly crowded space, companies must stand out to survive. Brands that understand what they are, what they're not, and what they stand for come across as singular and authentic in an ocean of me-too mediocrity. Daniel also explains how thoughtful design imbues meaning, expresses values, and sparks connection.

Great designers know that what you cut is as important as what you keep. So while the competition rushes to add new bells and whistles, Daniel has been pruning Flow's feature set to perfection. Daniel also reveals more about his peculiar hobby — studying centuries-old companies operated by the same family for generations.

Fascinated by their ability to stand the test of time, Daniel shares the wisdom he's gleaned from their rich history and how the lessons of the past still apply today.