logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2025
35m 49s

How To Design Products That Truly Stand ...

Y Combinator
About this episode

Karri Saarinen is the co-founder and CEO of Linear, the issue tracking tool used by thousands of high-growth companies. Before Linear, he was the first designer at Coinbase and later a lead designer at Airbnb.On Design Review with YC's Aaron Epstein, Karri shares how his design background shaped Linear’s product philosophy, why quality and craft matter from day one, what founders should look for when hiring, and how AI is changing the way teams build. It’s a deep dive into building products that truly stand out.

Up next
Aug 13
Chelsea Finn: This is the State of the Art in Robotics
Robots can already fold laundry, make espresso, clean kitchens, and assemble things. The harder problem is getting them to do those tasks reliably, for long periods of time, without a human babysitting them.At Startup School 2026, Physical Intelligence cofounder Chelsea Finn expl ... Show More
58m 17s
Aug 11
Peter Steinberger: "Fun Is Velocity"
Last November, Peter Steinberger was annoyed that there was no good way to talk to his coding agents from his phone, so he built one himself. A few months later, OpenClaw had exploded into one of the biggest open source AI projects in the world, with nearly 3,000 contributors and ... Show More
41m 52s
Aug 10
Max Hodak: How Startups Build Speed
Science is building a retinal implant that restores vision to people who have gone blind. One patient has already used it to read a 300-page novel.Building a company like that requires a lot more than getting the technology right. At Startup School 2026, Science CEO Max Hodak exp ... Show More
57m 2s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2023
Inside Linear: Building with taste, craft, and focus | Karri Saarinen (co-founder, designer, CEO)
<p><strong>Karri Saarinen</strong> is the co-founder and CEO of Linear, an issue-tracking tool that has quickly become the fastest-growing and most beloved in the world. Before Linear, Karri was the principal designer and co-creator of design systems at Airbnb and the founding de ... Show More
1h 39m
Oct 2024
20VC: Linear's Karri Saarinen How to be Grow Capital Efficiently in a World of BS Growth | How to Fundraise with Leverage | How to Select Investors and How to Give Them Homework in the Raise Process & Growth Lessons from Airbnb and Coinbase
<p dir="ltr">Karri Saarinen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Linear. The company has raised from some of the best in the business including Sequoia and Accel. Before founding Linear, Karri was the principal designer at Airbnb and the founding designer at Coinbase. </p> <p dir="ltr">< ... Show More
47m 30s
Sep 2024
The tool product managers love and is disrupting Jira | Karri Saarinen, CEO at Linear | E234
<p>In this episode of the Product Podcast we chat with Karri Saarinen, the CEO at Linear. It&apos;s the fastest-growing and most beloved project management tool in the world. The company is valued at $400 million, and has raised $52 million in funding from Accel, Sequoia, and som ... Show More
31m 29s
Apr 2025
Tuhin Kumar - From Airbnb to Apple to designing with AI
Tuhin Kumar has designed at some of the most prolific companies in the world (early Facebook, Airbnb and Apple).But everything’s changing in his new role…Because now he’s the Head of Design at Luma AI which is one of the companies leading the charge on generative AI.So this episo ... Show More
1h 5m
Jan 2024
How Design Thinking Drives Innovation
Design-led companies such as Apple, Starbucks, and Airbnb outperform the S&P 500 index by 219%. The question is why? Today’s guest Paul Stonick -- VP of SCADpro, the Savannah College of Art and Design’s in-house design studio -- says he has the answer. Paul says this human-center ... Show More
33m 27s
Jul 2015
50: An Inside Look Into Foundr's EPIC Design with Karan Jain Behind The Scenes with Foundr Magazine's Art Director
In this episode we go behind the curtain and shine the spotlight on someone part of the Foundr Magazine team that is an absolute superstar designer, entrepreneur and ruckas maker.   Enter Karan Jain.   You wouldn't probably know this, but Foundr Magazine wouldn't be where it is t ... Show More
1h 11m
Dec 2024
Thinking like an engineer is a super power for designers 💡
Being able to think like an engineer helps you collaborate with developers more effectively, design UIs that make sense, and empowers you to build your ideas with AI tools like v0, Claude, etc.So this video is going to break down a few traits of designers who I believe are alread ... Show More
10m 46s
Jul 2023
LinkedIn’s product evolution and the art of building complex systems | Hari Srinivasan (LinkedIn)
<p>Brought to you by <strong>Miro</strong>—A collaborative visual platform where your best work comes to life | <strong>Brave Search API</strong>—An independent, global search index you can use to power your search or AI app | <strong>Eppo</strong>—Run reliable, impactful experim ... Show More
1h 4m
Oct 2023
Building beautiful products with Stripe’s Head of Design | Katie Dill (Stripe, Airbnb, Lyft)
<p><strong>Katie Dill</strong> is the Head of Design at Stripe. Previously, she was Head of Experience Design at Airbnb and Head of Design at Lyft. Katie has been named one of <em>Business Insider</em>’s 10 People Changing the Tech Industry as well as one of <em>Fast Company</em> ... Show More
1h 34m