Swurl Radio

Paul Lafata has spent his career building things that didn’t have a playbook—from early digital products and healthcare tools to Bird scooters, connected devices, AI, and design teams.

In this episode of Swurl Radio, Paul talks about growing up around fishing, the Navy, Atari, and Disney before finding his way into design. He breaks down what startups taught him about speed and experimentation, why being an outsider can actually be an advantage, how AI can accelerate research without replacing real human empathy, and what he really looks for when hiring designers.  

The conversation also gets into portfolio mistakes, salary and equity lessons, leading creative teams, career pivots, and why designers need to stop treating their process like something sacred.

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Malik has built a career around one idea: stories shape how we see ourselves and the world around us.

In this episode of Swurl Radio, Eric and Ayka sit down with the filmmaker, visual artist, and creative technologist behind the globally recognized Elder Series. Malik shares his journey from growing up in Nigeria and teaching himself filmmaking to using AI as a tool for cultural preservation, advocacy, and storytelling.

He also opens up about losing his mother, how grief ultimately inspired the Elder Series, why our obsession with youth distorts the way we see aging, and the responsibility creators have to make sure AI doesn’t erase or misrepresent culture.
The conversation goes beyond AI. It’s about grief, purpose, identity, family, aging, creativity, and leaving something meaningful behind for the next generation.

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What makes someone irreplaceable in the age of AI?

In this episode of Swurl Radio, Eric and Ayka sit down with Daria Tarawneh, VP of Design at SAP Build, to explore the human skills that technology can't replace. From growing up between Russian and Jordanian cultures to leading design teams at some of the world's top technology companies, Daria shares how resilience, curiosity, and problem solving shaped her career.

The conversation dives into identity, leadership, AI, ADHD, design thinking, entrepreneurship, and why rejection often becomes the foundation for future success. Daria also opens up about the lessons she learned from her family, the importance of creating environments where people can thrive, and why the best leaders aren't defined by titles, they're defined by the problems they solve.

Whether you're a designer, entrepreneur, leader, or someone navigating the future of work, this episode offers practical insights on building a meaningful career in an AI-driven world.

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Gabrielle Mérite grew up the second of five kids in a small French town, with doctor parents who told her she could always do art on the side, but if she gave up science that young, she'd never get it back. So she followed the science all the way to a master's in immunology, through a top school she compares to making foie gras: they pour information down your throat, you memorize it, and you regurgitate it.

In this episode, she takes us from making her first infographics at the French equivalent of the NIH, to a forced visa detour designing cosmetics and ghost kitchens, to the day the UN knocked on her door with a project and she almost refused the call because she didn't feel good enough. She called her mom to say she was quitting her job. Her mom said don't. She did it anyway.

We talk about what Pentagram taught her, why the chart is an output but not the goal, and the room full of climate philanthropists who went from screaming at each other to realizing they only disagreed on five percent, once someone finally mapped what they agreed on.
Her mission with Figures & Figures: make life-saving information land and stick. Because sense making, not chart making, is a responsibility.

And her advice for anyone stuck between the practical and the creative: you don't have to choose. There are millions of jobs that don't exist yet that will let you do both.

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Kristy Campbell didn’t set out to build a global creative agency. She started by posting her work online for 100 days while bored at her day job, and that simple habit snowballed into Pink Pony Creative.

In this episode, Kristy shares how growing up on a farm in New Zealand, competitive horse riding, and a willingness to put herself out there shaped her entrepreneurial journey. She opens up about hiring her first employees, handling difficult clients with grace, becoming a new mom while running a business, and why learning to market yourself is often more valuable than being the most talented designer.

If you're building a creative career or business, this conversation is full of practical lessons on resilience, storytelling, leadership, and confidence.

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 Swurl is building a new kind of networking platform focused on real connections, not self-promotion.  

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James Hsu spent years watching talented designers get ignored while less talented people moved ahead simply because they understood visibility, influence, and business.

In this episode, the Dark UX Academy founder breaks down the hidden side of design leadership: office politics, business acumen, negotiation, AI, and why “good work speaks for itself” is one of the biggest lies creatives believe.

This isn’t just a design conversation. It’s about power, communication, survival, and learning how to actually get a seat at the table.

⁠https://www.darkuxacademy.com

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 Swurl is building a new kind of networking platform focused on real connections, not self-promotion.  

"Music by Vlvt. If you are working on a podcast, get your Swurl Radio discount code and save 20% on anything at Vlvt.fm"

Dan Mall built SuperFriendly into a successful agency, working with brands like Google and scaling a network of 700+ freelancers. Then he walked away, not because it failed, but because it no longer aligned with the life he wanted.
This episode goes deeper than business. Dan opens up about leadership mistakes, letting people down, navigating tough decisions, identity, and what it really means to build and walk away from something meaningful.

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 Swurl is building a new kind of networking platform focused on real connections, not self-promotion.  

"Music by Vlvt. If you are working on a podcast, get your Swurl Radio discount code and save 20% on anything at Vlvt.fm"

Jonathan Stark didn’t start as a pricing expert—he started as a musician chasing a dream, then pivoted into software, and eventually rebuilt his entire career around one idea: hourly billing is broken.
In this episode, he shares the real journey behind that transformation—identity shifts, failed projects, career pivots, and the moment he realized businesses reward value, not effort. This is a conversation about unlearning, reinvention, and building a career that actually works.

Support Swurl
 Swurl is building a new kind of networking platform focused on real connections, not self-promotion.  

"Music by Vlvt. If you are working on a podcast, get your Swurl Radio discount code and save 20% on anything at Vlvt.fm"

Maestro Stevens, founder of Iconic Expressions, shares how he went from failed ventures to building a scalable business. This episode breaks down branding vs marketing, using AI to automate workflows, choosing the right clients, and the real sacrifices behind entrepreneurship.

Support Swurl
 Swurl is building a new kind of networking platform focused on real connections, not self-promotion.  

"Music by Vlvt. If you are working on a podcast, get your Swurl Radio discount code and save 20% on anything at Vlvt.fm"

Melody Beuzelin joins Swurl Radio to talk about building a career from scratch storytelling, startup lessons, burnout, and when a side hustle deserves your full attention. We get into identity, resilience, client boundaries, and why “failure” is just data.

Support Swurl
 Swurl is building a new kind of networking platform focused on real connections, not self-promotion.  

"Music by Vlvt. If you are working on a podcast, get your Swurl Radio discount code and save 20% on anything at Vlvt.fm"