Hi, I'm Sam 👋

I'm an NYC-based designer and engineer helping startup founders build products as a fractional design lead.

I've also been a YC cofounder of a weather company, solo indie hacker, design leader, product manager, and design teacher at U. Mich.

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Sam Pierce Lolla

Design consulting for startups

I do zero-to-one product + UX design for Series-A software startups.

My niche is supporting founders of complex B2B apps through the design process from start to finish—from early concepts through execution, build, and hiring full-time designers.

I've built products in B2B SaaS, healthcare, agriculture, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, food systems, higher education, and many more.

Learn about my consulting work

Products

  • Spooky (coming soon) is a platform that helps you create professional brands and sales materials with AI.
  • Shuffleboard is a brainstorming tool for remote teams. I built my own startup and recorded the whole process on YouTube—read the article, or watch the videos .

Articles

Know your bias before you build 
Using design to make hard life choices 
What to do when you’re stuck on a design 
How to prioritize features on your product roadmap Coming soon
Four levels of founder sophistication Coming soon
Should I hire a full-time designer? Coming soon
The books I recommend to designers 
Design is mostly about emphasis Coming soon
Engineering concepts every designer should know Coming soon
Feedback 101 Coming soon
Good, bad, and horrible reasons to build a feature Coming soon
Hard-won lessons for junior designers Coming soon
How to spot raw design talent 
How to tell if a design is good Coming soon
I built a startup and filmed every minute on Youtube. Here’s what I learned. 
Managing startup employees made simple Coming soon
Obvious vs. fast Coming soon
Products vs tools Coming soon
Six stages of design teams Coming soon
How to run a simple usability test Coming soon
What design leaders do Coming soon
Why your company still has bad design Coming soon
Tips for working with founders Coming soon