139 - How to start your own design agency — with Dan Mall

The Futur with Chris Do

When you think of a design agency you might imagine a large, bustling office, with an open floor plan, teaming with creative people.

And most of the time, reality would meet your expectations. But not all of the time.

Because that's not what Philadelphia based agency, Superfriendly, is. It’s not even close.

Superfriendly is a distributed design collaborative. Which means their team members reside all over the world. Like specialized creative agents, they are tapped to collaborate on projects that maximize both their skill and their personal experience.

Our guest in this episode—Dan Mall—is the founder and sole employee of Superfriendly.

Dan shares how and why he structured his agency the way he did and why having the right people in the room is how you win.

You will also hear how Dan reverse engineered his entire career. From entry level designer to agency strategist and the double-edged sword of youthful arrogance.

But the most compelling part of this conversation is how Dan and Chris discuss pricing.

You’re probably familiar with the various pricing models. Like hourly, value-based, cost plus, etc. But have you ever thought about the ethics involved in each?

Some may think value-based pricing is unethical. Others might argue that charging hourly is. Who’s right? And what’s the most important part of the equation?

We’ll let you decide, but we suggest you listen to this episode first.

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