Karri Saarinen (@karrisaarinen), co-founder and CEO of Linear, was the first designer at Coinbase and a lead designer at Airbnb. On Design Review with YC's @aaron_epstein, he 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. 02:00 – Lessons learned from YC, Coinbase, and Airbnb 06:00 – Building trust through brand and design 08:24 – Linear’s brand: craft, quality, and authenticity 10:40 – Why sales is part of the brand experience 13:10 – Shipping fast without losing quality 17:18 – Hiring for product taste and judgment 19:28 – Superpowers of designers as founders 21:12 – Advice for designers considering founding a startup 23:26 – Why founders should care about design from day one 25:24 – Tips for creating products that stand out 28:24 – Balancing creative freedom with shipping timelines 28:56 – How AI is changing design and product work 30:44 – Why AI won’t replace designers (and what shifts to expect) 32:44 – The future of product and design teams with AI