As more design firms partner with startups and accept equity in exchange for their skills, it’s time for a closer look at the pitfalls and the payoffs of that arrangement.
Clients don’t buy products; they buy outcomes. So Mall, the founder of SuperFriendly, recommends controlling as much of the outcome as you can. "If your client writes a bad brief, then write a better one," says Mall. "That’s one of the first things I do in a project. Then I get them to ratify that. If we are agreed at that point, then we can keep moving forward."