I’ve noticed that a lot of people are following my story, which incentivizes me to write.

Currently, I am doing design work for a start-up I believe in, while also juggling recruiting and business development.

I am working 10 to 12 hour days and most weekends. It’s not sustainable, but I have the energy. My theory is that if I set up a solid base from the start, I will profit from it later.

Some days I have 8 to 12 different calls. Today was different. I actually had a block of 7,5 hours of solid design work.

I am doing focused work for a specific startup because this project I am doing is an excellent example of what I want to do with Obra: to help startups get to the next design level.

The deliverables so far include a brand guide, a website, a web application design, a web application prototype, and help with the pitch deck. The company is ramping up to get funded. If the funding lands, it’s the ultimate proof that I did my part.

I came up with a simple but effective tagline for Obra: design partner for startups.

I’ve been helping a junior designer find his path. I really considered taking him on as my apprentice, but I don’t wish him remote work at this stage of his career. Ideally, I can find someone to mentor in Mexico City. I also want to get a bigger insight on the median wages here and find talented freelance designers and developers.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to combine AI with design work. I have blogged about it in some posts on this website (1, 2). If there is some interest to teach this at your company, let me know. There is a very good chance I might be preparing a workshop about this, because the methods are just too good not to share.

I’ve been thinking a lot about individual work and consulting.

Some of the individual consulting at a high enough rate would help me to have an income while I focus on getting the bigger projects and setting up the company. On the other hand, too much time spent on consulting will not help Obra forward as a studio.

I’ve been talking about business with a great collaborator. We set up a business development pipeline and are checking out the market. There are some promising leads and a good sales pipeline so far. Nothing really big has landed yet. That’s actually good, because I first need the right team.

One of the main topics has been clear pricing packages for our target audience – startups. There are clear things we can help them with, and for some things, there is definitely a fixed price that gives clarity.

At the moment, I don’t have a convincing website. It contains the intro that I’m starting. It has the 6 job descriptions I am hiring for.

There is no team page yet. I need to get to hiring as soon as possible; but on the other hand, hiring the wrong persons can also mean a bad start for the studio.

Negotiations with potential business partners are well underway*, portfolios are being shared, and the various job-related talks are being had. I hope to present my team to the world soon, but realistically, it will probably take some time.

There is no portfolio yet. I think I have enough references from the past (1, 2), and I would rather show something meaningful than just quickly put the first few projects that we did with Obra on there. It might be a few months until there is an actual portfolio.

I’m working with a recruiter and even signed up myself for LinkedIn Recruiter to sift through all the profiles. I’ve been making Number files with wage calculations and thinking about the market in Belgium. What I am looking at now is a pipeline of potential candidates for Obra. I need to figure out the great freelancer, the great payroll candidate, and the business partner as a first priority.

-Saludos,
Johan

(*Don’t hesitate to still reach out!)