Fail Faster

Join us on the "Fail Faster" podcast as we dive into the world of user experience design with Christie Lenneville, Vice President of User Experience at GitLab. In this episode, Christie shares her journey from a creative writer to a UX leader, navigating the ever-evolving landscape of user experience in the fast-paced world of software development. Discover how GitLab manages to maintain cohesiveness and deliver a constant stream of new features while ensuring a seamless user experience. Additionally, explore the concept of the "papercuts team" and how reactionary design plays a crucial role in the iterative process.

Martin Koltz - he is originally from Northern Illinois, and went to the University of Illinois initially to study engineering but ended up in Aviation Human Factors. He went on to get a Masters in Human Factors from Cal State Long Beach. While he was there, he had some incredible opportunities in the Aviation industry, including some time spent at SpaceX. After he graduated, his family moved from LA to Colorado, where he stumbled into the consumer products space and started working with Charter Communications as their first dedicated UX researcher. Over the course of 5 years, he helped scale the research team from 1 to 15. Currently, Martin is working as Director of UX research at Toptal, where he started as their first research hire and has since grown into a team of 5.

Nicholas Jackson is a Creative Director living in New York City. His work is concentrated in innovation, storytelling, interactive design, advertising, product development and branding. With a passion for building and scaling creative teams, pitching creative work, and seeing projects grow from strategy all the way through to production. Nicholas focuses on tech and innovation for clients in the healthcare, tech and media space, specifically for creative areas around augmented reality, AI, web-3 and design systems.

Ashutosh Kaushik is a UX design leader originally from Mumbai, India. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and a Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Starting his career as a User Experience Designer at Ford Motors, Ashu later joined Walmart.com/Walmartlabs as an Interaction Designer, where he led multiple successful projects, including Pharmacy and Search redesigns.

He then worked at Intuit Inc, where he played a significant role in growing the apps ecosystem for Quickbooks, followed by leading the redesign of Quickbooks.com into a successful e-commerce site. In 2020, he joined ServiceNow as a Senior Group Manager Design & Research, where he established the research team and created the design system from scratch.

Currently, Ashutosh is the Director of UX at Indeed.com, leading the growth and Monetization team and driving the evolution of the business model for the billion-dollar job website.

Nick Eberhardt is the current Director of UX for RAPP Chicago — where he leads a team of UX researchers, architects and designers on the US Army account. He spent his early career as a product designer and creative director until leaving the industry, altogether, to start an urban farm in Los Angeles in 2019. Farming reminded him of what he loved so much about design and the rest is history.

Join us on the "Fail Faster" podcast as we dive into the world of healthcare innovation with our guest, Pacssu, a VP of Design at a leading healthcare startup. In this episode, we explore the challenges and triumphs of designing for customer-centric healthcare solutions. Our guest shares their personal journey from studying linguistics to becoming a design leader in the healthcare industry. Discover how they overcame visa obstacles and proved their value as a designer while gaining a deeper understanding of business, growth, and technology. We delve into the importance of seeing patients as customers, revolutionizing healthcare experiences, and driving insights for personalized care. Get inspired by their insights and learn how design thinking is reshaping the healthcare landscape. Don't miss this engaging conversation filled with valuable tips and tricks for aspiring design leaders in the healthcare space.

Nick Sheppard, Director of UX Conversation Design at Fidelity Investments is a 6-year veteran of the CAI industry who has lead design engagements for companies such as Wells Fargo, CVS Health, and various IPsoft clients. Most recently he is one of two founders in a CAI stealth-startup focused on bringing the "AI Assistant Evolution" to every day folks, via a simple design interface, community-based marketplace, and a Quantum Conversational AI infrastructure that allows customers to model conversations, not just language.

Nick Is a Native Coloradan, and received a Bachelors of Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was an ESL teacher in South Korea, and received an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. Before getting into the Conversational AI space, Nick was a creative marketer and strategist for brands such as Icreon, eClerx, Dorot, and Todd Snyder. When he's not traveling or working, you might find him reading Camus in one of Brooklyn's local pubs, or scribbling in his unfinished novel.

Luke Zimbelman, Vice President Stratehy & Design at Citi is an accomplished Executive Marketing & Creative Director with a proven track record of driving business growth for Fortune 30, small businesses, and startups. He is known for his influential leadership, strategic creativity, and holistic achievement mindset that balances healthy people and high productivity. At Citi, Luke has delivered $MM revenue gains, driven GTM strategy, and redesigned flagship product lines. Luke holds a degree in Digital Media from Full Sail University and has founded and managed multiple successful digital product and service organizations. He has received honors such as SEMA 35 Under 35 for excellence in marketing production, creative direction, and strategic execution and is highly regarded by his colleagues for his creativity, empathy, and ability to build strong relationships.

We are joined by Vijay Chakravarthy, Practice Director, Service Design & Strategy at Philips, to uncover the power of service design in creating better outcomes for patients. Discover how service design goes beyond product development and empowers organizations to think holistically, drive strategic change, and enhance customer experiences. Gain insights into the challenges and successes of integrating service design concepts into established organizations and learn how personalized offerings and subscription services can transform traditional business models. Tune in for thought-provoking discussions on the intersection of design, strategy, and technology, and discover practical tips for implementing service design principles in your own organization.

Join Brianna Frank, Vice President of Product and Design at IBM Cloud, as she shares her journey and experiences in the tech industry on the Fail Faster podcast. In this episode, Brianna discusses her background, the importance of a beginner's mindset, and the challenges of product management in an era of countless ideas and limited resources. She dives into the success story of IBM Cloud satellite, a solution born out of customer feedback that led to innovations in combining cloud capabilities with on-premises workloads. Don't miss this engaging conversation packed with practical advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and product managers.