WEBVTT - Figma CEO Dylan Field Talks Opening Trading at Nearly Triple Its IPO Price

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news to our world TV

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<v Speaker 1>and radio audiences. Hi, welcome you back to Bloomberg Tech

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<v Speaker 1>outside the New York Sock Exchange sat with the latest listing.

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<v Speaker 1>The CEO of Figma, Dylan Field, joins me now and

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<v Speaker 1>to your thirteen million users, to the thousands of global

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<v Speaker 1>employees worldwide, how's it feel about?

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<v Speaker 2>It feels surreal And just thank you for having me

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<v Speaker 2>and for being here with us today. It's just amazing

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<v Speaker 2>to see the community turn out and also just to

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<v Speaker 2>be with the team. The contributions of fig Mates past present,

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<v Speaker 2>and also just all the things we've learned and contin

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<v Speaker 2>to learn from our community. They all just kind of

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<v Speaker 2>show up today in physical manifestation and I can be

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<v Speaker 2>more grateful.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, the vibes, there's a like DJ. There's so

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<v Speaker 1>many of your employee base, as you say, your fig mates,

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<v Speaker 1>those who are batch you early.

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<v Speaker 3>Why this, why this?

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<v Speaker 1>What does that show about your community?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I mean what we really wanted to do is

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<v Speaker 2>involve the design community in this experience today that we're having,

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<v Speaker 2>because I think it's not just that Figma's going public today.

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<v Speaker 3>Design is going public today.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, And if you think back several decades, you know, back,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, twenty years ago, the sort of mindset was

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<v Speaker 2>that design was lipstick on a pig, This is how

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<v Speaker 2>you make it pretty, and maybe a decade ago it

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<v Speaker 2>was design is how it works. And then today, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty five, in a world where software accomplish is

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<v Speaker 2>increasing so much, it's easier than ever to create software. Yes,

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<v Speaker 2>I think we're now in a world where design is

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<v Speaker 2>the differentiator. That's been our thesis for ten years. We've

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<v Speaker 2>seen it play out, but it's even more clear now

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<v Speaker 2>the design craft point of view, that's what sets companies apart,

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<v Speaker 2>and so we're just trying to be this engine for product.

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<v Speaker 3>Sign and development.

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<v Speaker 2>And to be able to celebrate design today with all

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<v Speaker 2>of our friends and community is such a privilege.

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<v Speaker 1>What sets you apart to be able to enable design

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<v Speaker 1>versus the whole plethora of generative AI startups that is

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<v Speaker 1>suddenly here and on these seat and making things very

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<v Speaker 1>cheap to build.

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<v Speaker 2>To say, as you say, design, yeah, I think that

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<v Speaker 2>there's such an opportunity for us with Pigma Make to

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<v Speaker 2>be able to help people go from prompt all the

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<v Speaker 2>way to app and we're very focused on that and

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<v Speaker 2>improving that surface area.

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<v Speaker 3>We have so much more to come there.

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<v Speaker 2>But already you can not only do things through prompting,

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<v Speaker 2>but you can also copy and paste things in from

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<v Speaker 2>your Pigma design, your canvas into Figma make. And there

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<v Speaker 2>are times you want to edit via prompt there are

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<v Speaker 2>also times you want to edit in a more direct

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<v Speaker 2>manipulation way where you go in to the canvas and

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<v Speaker 2>you're able to see many different options in the option space.

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<v Speaker 2>We think both are important and both have to work

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<v Speaker 2>really well together, and so that's something we're excited to

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<v Speaker 2>uniquely enable. And I just think in general, we're kind

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<v Speaker 2>of in this ms dos era of AI and if

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<v Speaker 2>we're able to get to the point where we really

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<v Speaker 2>was true and if we're able to get to the

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<v Speaker 2>point I mean I used to say tellnet era and

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<v Speaker 2>people like, let's tell net so you know, stop for

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<v Speaker 2>that and went down as das. But if we're able

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<v Speaker 2>to get to this point where people can really explore

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<v Speaker 2>the latent space of these models and what we generated

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<v Speaker 2>and see the entire option space of what they can do,

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<v Speaker 2>then humans designers can add that craft yeah, and really

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<v Speaker 2>figure out how to differentiate and also the systems their head,

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<v Speaker 2>not just the design and the technology system, but also.

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<v Speaker 3>The business constraints.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's why it's important to over the floor ceiling

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<v Speaker 2>bring more people into the design process.

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<v Speaker 1>So that one point two billion dollars that you raise

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<v Speaker 1>through this process.

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<v Speaker 3>How does that go?

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<v Speaker 1>Where does that get allocated to ensure that you're building well.

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<v Speaker 2>So one thing that was unique by the transaction was

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<v Speaker 2>because of the cash balance we have at Pigma uh

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<v Speaker 2>you know, due to rounds we've raised but never really

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<v Speaker 2>used cash that we've generated, and also the breakup fee,

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<v Speaker 2>we had quite a cash balance. And so it's a

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<v Speaker 2>transaction that is a lot of secondary and then there's

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<v Speaker 2>some primary, but mostly for the release of ursus and

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<v Speaker 2>so it's more synthetic primary and the uh so, I

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<v Speaker 2>mean we already have quite the cash balance. It's more

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<v Speaker 2>or less what we're exiting the transaction with. And when

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<v Speaker 2>we think.

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<v Speaker 3>About the future of how to deploy.

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<v Speaker 2>That, First of all, we want to be good schoo

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<v Speaker 2>stewards of capital always. But I did put my founder

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<v Speaker 2>letter in the s one. Yeah, expect us to make

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<v Speaker 2>old moves and I want people to know that in

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<v Speaker 2>investment the community, because we're going to invest in AI

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<v Speaker 2>we're going into an investment cycle here, and it's important

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<v Speaker 2>people are aware of that.

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<v Speaker 1>You all go to invest you're not going to be

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<v Speaker 1>focusing on profitability, You'll be focusing on growth.

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<v Speaker 2>We are focusing on growth, and we're focusing on all

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<v Speaker 2>the great things that we can do right now and

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<v Speaker 2>enable for our users. The value we can create for

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<v Speaker 2>our customers.

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<v Speaker 1>Using the public markets are going to give you that.

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<v Speaker 2>Bandwidth, Well, that's their choice. That's why I want to

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<v Speaker 2>make sure I call it out up front. Yeah, And

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<v Speaker 2>another thing that I think is important to note is

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<v Speaker 2>in terms of big swings, I can't say when or if,

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<v Speaker 2>but my intention is to do big swings when it

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<v Speaker 2>comes to scaled M and A and.

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<v Speaker 1>Well a lot of companies.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, when I.

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<v Speaker 2>Think about how we approach the process, we're always surveyed,

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<v Speaker 2>we're always trying to learn, and there's so much that

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<v Speaker 2>can be applicable of FIGMA when you think of the

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<v Speaker 2>breadth of product design and development and that entire process

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<v Speaker 2>which we're really trying to cover. And not all the

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<v Speaker 2>gaps we have will be filled with us building our

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<v Speaker 2>buy and a lot of them will be partnerships.

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<v Speaker 3>But I wanted to call it out because for.

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<v Speaker 2>Scaled M and A, as you you, that is often

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<v Speaker 2>misinterpreted by markets. It creates volatility, people get, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>sometimes they don't understand the really good stuff and obviously

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<v Speaker 2>will be prudent. You know, it has to be an

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<v Speaker 2>amazing team, an amazing asset has to be something that

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<v Speaker 2>we think that the team is culturally consistent the least,

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<v Speaker 2>but preferably culture ad Yeah, and they're going to create

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<v Speaker 2>new dimensionality to our culture that we didn't.

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<v Speaker 3>Have before and we're gonna learn from them Andy.

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<v Speaker 2>But third and most importantly, it has to be a

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<v Speaker 2>main priority going forward. That's the minimum, and we will

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<v Speaker 2>hold a high bar for what if, we if and

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<v Speaker 2>when we do that to.

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<v Speaker 1>Our TV and radio audiences. We're with Dylan Field, the

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<v Speaker 1>CEO of Pigma, which has just gone public, and if

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<v Speaker 1>we cast our minds back, the valuation that you're currently

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<v Speaker 1>at looks at about twenty million dollars and that was

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<v Speaker 1>the amount that Adobe wanted to pay to buy you

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<v Speaker 1>that didn't work out. So, just talking about M and A,

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<v Speaker 1>was this the right path to be independent?

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<v Speaker 3>How does that make you feel?

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, we've been so focused on this path for

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<v Speaker 2>years now and I'm just really excited to be here today.

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<v Speaker 2>The Adobe stuff kind of feels like so long ago now. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>and yeah, just as we look forward, I mean, there's

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<v Speaker 2>so much to build in, such a breadth of opportunity.

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<v Speaker 3>We have, like I gues said the funeral letter, more

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<v Speaker 3>ideas than ever.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, And it's all about prioritization, and it's all about

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<v Speaker 2>clarity for the team. And that's what we're trying to do,

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<v Speaker 2>is to create that clarity.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean talking about demand, you are forty times over

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<v Speaker 1>subscribed to those retail investors that want to get in

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<v Speaker 1>on this, what do you say the short term if

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<v Speaker 1>the shares popped?

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<v Speaker 2>The only message I can give you, if you're on

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<v Speaker 2>the retail side is understand what we do. We have

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<v Speaker 2>our s one out there. We've done our best to

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<v Speaker 2>present it in a really readable way of read the

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<v Speaker 2>document and look at our numbers. Understand where we're headed

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<v Speaker 2>and what we offer. Play with a product, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>become a designer. I think you know that's true for

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of people and a lot of companies. If

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<v Speaker 2>designs how you win or lose, you should be part

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<v Speaker 2>of the process too. But the more you can dive

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<v Speaker 2>in and the better you can understand it, the better

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<v Speaker 2>you can make a decision on things. And that's the

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<v Speaker 2>best advice I give anyone, whether they're joining Figma, trying

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<v Speaker 2>to invest in Figma, those are both investments of time

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<v Speaker 2>of money, and that's important.

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<v Speaker 3>Is so deeply understand it.

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<v Speaker 1>Dylan Fields, CEO of Figma, on the day of their

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<v Speaker 1>IPO from the New York Look Exchange