S2.E5. Designing Your Life with Dan Mall

On this episode of Low-Key Legends Dan Mall shares his journey as an entrepreneur and the challenges he faced in building and closing his agency, SuperFriendly. He emphasizes the importance of culture, margin, and taking care of people in building a successful business. Dan discusses the factors that led him to shut down his agency after 10 years, including the desire to spend more time with his family, the lack of a clear goal for the agency, and the changing industry landscape. We dive deep into the importance of mindset and the skills needed for success in the design industry. Dan shares a contrarian view that not everyone should be paid for their work, especially if the work is not valuable. He believes that compensation should be tied to the value of the work being done. He also emphasizes the importance of learning and teaching as forms of compensation. Britt and Dan discuss the challenges of running a freelancer-based business and the need for transparency and empathy in the industry. Find Dan on Social: → Dan's Site → Design Systems University → Newsletter → Twitter → Linkedin