BuildingIconic

How can design teams maintain their essential human edge while AI transforms every layer of product development?  Luke Wroblewski is a veteran product design leader who has shaped interface evolution across multiple technology shifts. He built early web experiences at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and developed AI-powered tools at Google before current AI capabilities existed...

How do you build a company around a vision so far ahead of its time that investors can't even grasp what you're talking about?  Aakanksha Upadhyay and Saurabh Palan are co-founders of Navii (parent company Neopolis), an AI platform that creates personalized career agents for professionals. Their platform has achieved 96-97% user onboard rates with 30-35 minute average session times, help...

David Hoang is VP of Design at Atlassian, where he leads applied AI initiatives across the company's product portfolio, including Rovo, Confluence, Jira, Loom, and Trello. Previously, he served as VP of Design and Marketing at Replit and spent four years at Webflow during its scaling phase, giving him unique insights into AI strategy across different company stages.  In this episode of Buildi...

Lena Kul is a design recruitment expert who helps designers and researchers navigate career transitions and positioning. She works with companies ranging from early-stage startups to public organizations, making high-quality talent introductions and coaching designers on how to build their personal brands in an evolving market.  In this episode of Building Iconic, Lena explains how designers can l...

What happens to the value of creativity when everyone has access to unlimited intelligence?  Kiser Barns has built his career following curiosity – from Photoshopping himself into Nike ads as a teenager to leading creative strategy at Publicis across brands like Crocs, Delta, Walmart, and LVMH. Now at Red Antler, he helps brands go from zero to iconic; building identities from the ground up for st...

What can founders learn from the hardest environment in the world to innovate – the government?  Robyn Scott has spent the last decade helping governments transform through technology. As CEO of Apolitical, she works with over half a million public servants across 160+ countries, helping them adopt AI and build smarter institutions. In this episode of Building Iconic, Robyn explains why most AI tr...

What if the smartest move isn't chasing venture capital but winning grants for credibility and cash first?  Kat Weaver is a serial entrepreneur and exited founder who built Locker Lifestyle from her college dorm room into a nationally recognized brand featured on Good Morning America before selling it in 2022. Through Power to Pitch, she has helped founders secure over $70 million in grants a...

What does it really mean to “have it all”? In this deeply honest conversation, Olivia sits down with longtime mentor and design leader Andrei Herasimchuk to unpack the realities of career growth, motherhood, and intentional tradeoffs. They revisit advice given years earlier, reflect on how it landed differently before and after kids, and explore how modern tools, entrepreneurship, and AI are resha...

In this episode of Building Iconic, Olivia sits down with designer, entrepreneur, author, and Second Harvest co-founder Richard Banfield for a deeply human conversation about identity, reinvention, and the courageous work of becoming yourself again after life-changing events.  Richard shares how grief, community, creative expression, and design thinking shaped his newest chapter, and why he believ...

In this episode, Olivia sits down with Gabriella Hachem, co-founder of Dessn, the platform redefining how product teams build by anchoring design directly inside production. They explore what it really means to build something iconic-and why solving foundational problems requires deep conviction, thoughtful craft, and the willingness to be a little delusional. Gabriella explains how Dessn eliminat...

Alison Rand has shaped some of the most respected design cultures in tech—from Frog and Hot Studio to SAP—before turning her focus to the intersection of design, humanity, and midlife. Her new book, Finding Sense and Purpose in Design Leadership (MIT Press), explores how personal history, emotion, and cultural systems shape the way we build and lead. She’s also the co-founder of 40|50 , a platform...

In this powerful conversation, Olivia sits down with Olympian and coach Mechelle Freeman —three-time Olympic gold medalist and founder of MF 100 —to unpack the mindset, faith, and systems that have defined her journey from athlete to visionary leader. Mechelle shares how she turned moments of setback into full-circle triumphs, from dropping the baton in Beijing to leading Team USA’s women’s relays...

In this episode of Building Iconic , Olivia sits down with Josh Lowman , founder and CEO of Gold Front , a San Francisco–based category design studio behind some of the world’s most forward-thinking brands. Josh shares how he turned fear into action—launching Gold Front in his forties after years of hesitation—and why the agency’s hybrid approach to strategy and creativity has made it one of the m...

Olivia sits down with Ahana, founder and CEO of Clear, a YC-backed beauty tech company that tells you which skincare products actually do something instead of just draining your wallet. Ahana went from physics student to accidental entrepreneur after years of acne, useless prescriptions, and too many doctors who didn’t talk to each other. Armed with spreadsheets, photos of her own face, and a heal...