# Why Sierra built a design partnership program on “hard mode”

[The Hard Way Pays Off: Inside Sierra’s Design Partner Strategy](https://review.firstround.com/sierra-design-partnership/ "The Hard Way Pays Off: Inside Sierra’s Design Partner Strategy")  
Instead of chasing low-friction pilots, Sierra asked design partners to pay, commit time and co-build — converting 100% of these partners into...  
September 23, 2025

[The Unsung Ingredient in Stripe, Square and Linear’s Success: Taste](https://review.firstround.com/stripe-square-linear-product-taste/ "The Unsung Ingredient in Stripe, Square and Linear’s Success: Taste")  
Tactical advice for weaving craft into your product and operationalizing taste.  
May 07, 2025

[Gong’s Path to Product-Market Fit — Why This $7B Company Still Works With Design Partners](https://review.firstround.com/gongs-path-to-product-market-fit/ "Gong’s Path to Product-Market Fit — Why This $7B Company Still Works With Design Partners")  
Gong co-founder and CPO Eilon Reshef sits down with First Round partner Todd Jackson to unpack how he turned an early bet on AI into a multi-billion...  
August 22, 2024

[Ready, Set, Hypergrowth: How Duo's Product Design Lead Primed Her Team for Momentum](https://review.firstround.com/ready-set-hypergrowth-how-duos-product-design-lead-primed-her-team-for-momentum/ "Ready, Set, Hypergrowth: How Duo's Product Design Lead Primed Her Team for Momentum")  
Sally Carson joined Duo as its first product design leader, just as the security startup was ratcheting into hypergrowth. Carson shares her roadmap...  
September 16, 2019

[Build Products That Solve Real Problems With This Lightweight JTBD Framework](https://review.firstround.com/build-products-that-solve-real-problems-with-this-lightweight-jtbd-framework/ "Build Products That Solve Real Problems With This Lightweight JTBD Framework")  
Drawing on her experiences building products at Lumosity, Oculus, and Facebook's New Product Experimentation group, Sunita Mohanty shares a...  
January 14, 2021

[So You Want to Hire a Forward Deployed Engineer: How to Know If You Need One and How to Get the Role Right](https://review.firstround.com/so-you-want-to-hire-a-forward-deployed-engineer/ "So You Want to Hire a Forward Deployed Engineer: How to Know If You Need One and How to Get the Role Right")  
Founders and operators who’ve successfully built forward deployed engineering teams share the nuances that make this idiosyncratic role work, along...  
February 24, 2026

[Positioning Your Startup is Vital — Here’s How to Nail It](https://review.firstround.com/positioning-your-startup-is-vital-heres-how-to-do-it-right/ "Positioning Your Startup is Vital — Here’s How to Nail It")  
Arielle Jackson has experience crafting marketing campaigns at Google, Facebook and Square. This is her messaging toolbox.  
January 28, 2015

[Our 6 Must Reads for Onboarding Tactics That Help New Hires Succeed (and Stay)](https://review.firstround.com/our-6-must-reads-for-onboarding-tactics-that-help-new-hires-succeed-and-stay/ "Our 6 Must Reads for Onboarding Tactics That Help New Hires Succeed (and Stay)")  
Onboarding is so much more than the standard-issue IT set-up: It's the foundation for how new hires settle into their roles and their future at the...  
June 11, 2019