Ideas is something designer's don't struggle with.
The struggle is (almost) always the lack of shipping it.
Either it's tutorial limbo, waiting for the "perfect" thing, polishing forever, or whatever the excuse...
It happens to the best of us.
That's why I sat down with Nima Tahami and we dug into how designers go from designing screens to shipping products.
Nima's launched 16+ apps (5 by himself last year!), taught 18k+ students globally, helped a client land a $3M/year contract off a Figma prototype.
3 things worth stealing from our convo:
1. Finding ideas worth building
Don't stare at the ceiling waiting for inspiration.
Nima's filter is simple. Ideas fall into one of 3 places:
- Your daily problems
- Your passions
- Your circles (the people you already know + understand)
Love his 3rd filter: Build for a circle you're already in and you get distribution, user research, and motivation... all for free.
Everyone else has to pay for those.
This is also why most of my old side projects flopped (web3 platform, Notion tools, Agile education). UX Playbook worked because I was building for designers.
That's my tribe.
The idea doesn't matter as much as you think.
Netflix started as a DVD-by-mail rental service.
Slack was an internal tool for a video game.
Instagram was a check-in app.
Action > ideas.
2. Launching MVPs without overthinking
The MVP bar has moved.
What worked 10 years ago needs WAY more polish today. But "more polish" is not "perfect".
Nima ships at 70% his quality bar. He keeps a running list of 30 things he hates about his current app and refuses to fix them until users complain.
But core functionality has to work.
Loading states and empty states can wait.
His MVP operating principle: pick one platform, one core feature, launch within a month. Anything longer is deemed scope creep.
Nima advises we should go solo until you actually need someone.
I learned this at Antler. 10 weeks, 60 strangers, racing to find a co-founder, and pitch for funding. A year later, most teams had split. If you're bootstrapping, slow is fine. Al least you own your destiny.
3. Re-iterating + building what people want. .
Treat your launch as an experiment.
Nima says put it in front of 10-20 people in your circle before you touch Product Hunt. Give early access for free. Watch them use it. Note where they get stuck.
The gold is in what they mention by accident. "I wish something existed that did X." That's your next feature, sometimes it's your next product.
If it's silence for a few months, that's fine. Figma was in stealth mode for two years. Build something you're proud of first. Growth and marketing comes after.
Nima said something that stuck with me:
"Don't fall in love with the idea. Fall in love with what you build around it."
Products that win look nothing like the pitch deck they started with. Show up, ship something you're proud of, and let it mutate.
Nima is running a Maven workshop, From Figma To Live App In 1 Day, for designers wanting to ship their ideas. Now, you can do it in one day!
We also went deep on how Nima built CueClip using Figma + Cursor and why most "co-founder matching" doesn't work.
Watch the full livestream ↓
