Figma CEO's path from college dropout and Thiel fellow to tech billionaire

Mark Zuckerberg whitethorn beryllium the astir celebrated college-dropout-turned-tech-billionaire. Dylan Field is the latest, aft his plan startup Figma soared successful its banal marketplace debut this week.

The 2 entrepreneurs person thing other successful common: adjacent ties to Peter Thiel.

Zuckerberg got his first extracurricular check for Facebook from Thiel successful 2004, soon earlier leaving Harvard University to physique his societal web successful Silicon Valley. Facebook went public successful 2012, the aforesaid twelvemonth that Field scored a Thiel Fellowship, which gives wealth "to young radical who privation to physique caller things alternatively of sitting successful a classroom." Over 300 radical person been selected since its inception successful 2011.

Field, present 33, was portion of the 2nd batch of Thiel fellows, a radical of 20 entrepreneurs who each took location $100,000. The programme doubled that sum earlier this year. Like Zuckerberg, Field came to Thiel from the Ivy League, having spent 2 and a fractional years astatine Brown University successful Providence, Rhode Island.

On Thursday, Figma's banal terms much than tripled successful its archetypal time of trading connected the New York Stock Exchange. It rose again connected Friday, wrapping up the week with a afloat diluted marketplace headdress supra $71 billion. Field's involvement is worthy astir $6.6 billion. Zuckerberg, meanwhile, is present the world's third-richest person, with a nett worthy of implicit $260 billion.

While the contours of Field's communicative whitethorn dependable familiar, he's a precise antithetic benignant of character.

"Dylan is, by far, the astir humble billionaire I've ever met," said Joshua Browder, CEO of ineligible services startup DoNotPay and a erstwhile Thiel fellow.

Mike Gibson, who utilized to assistance tally the fellows programme arsenic vice president for grants astatine the nonprofit Thiel Foundation, contrasts Field with different tech luminary.

"He's benignant of similar the anti-Steve Jobs," said Gibson, a co-founder of 1517 Fund, a task steadfast that prides itself connected investing successful dropouts. "When it comes to Jobs' fable arsenic this hard-charging a--hole, Dylan is the opposite."

The Apple co-founder, who dropped retired of college aft 1 semester, died of crab successful 2011, arsenic his institution was connected its mode to becoming the astir invaluable concern successful the world.

Field was poised to officially participate the billionaire ranks astir 3 years ago. With Figma having emerged arsenic a person successful web-based tools for designing apps and websites, Adobe agreed to drawback up its budding rival for $20 billion. But regulators successful the U.K. said the tie-up would've wounded competition, and the companies scrapped the transaction successful precocious 2023. Adobe payed Figma a $1 cardinal breakup fee.

Figma's IPO this week represented not lone a monolithic valuation markup for the institution but besides served arsenic a banner lawsuit for Silicon Valley, which has seen a dearth of high-profile IPOs since the marketplace cratered successful aboriginal 2022 owed to soaring ostentation and rising involvement rates.

"The astir important happening to punctual myself of, the squad of, is stock terms is simply a infinitesimal successful time," Field told CNBC's "Squawk Box" connected Thursday. "We're going to spot each sorts of behaviour astir apt today, implicit the weeks ahead."

Figma declined to marque Field disposable for an interrogation for this story.

Field's trek backmost to the Bay Area, wherever he'd grown up, began with a TechCrunch article astir the fellowship. He submitted his exertion 2 hours earlier the deadline, connected New Year's Eve of 2011, portion helium was a inferior astatine Brown. He near retired his SAT scores.

"It is my content that the SAT is simply a mediocre reflection of aptitude and tin easy beryllium gamed," helium wrote successful his application, which helium posted connected LinkedIn years later. In the effort section, helium was asked to connection a highly arguable take.

"Chocolate is repulsive," helium wrote. "Even the odor of it makes maine privation to vomit." 

In effect to a question astir however helium was going to alteration the world, Field said helium was going to physique amended bundle for drones, and that helium would "cofound a institution with the smartest programmer I cognize and enactment connected this problem."

That co-founder was Evan Wallace, who had been a teaching adjunct for immoderate of Field's courses astatine Brown. Wallace was technologically gifted, earning the nickname "computer Jesus," oregon CJ. But helium was already 20, meaning helium was excessively aged to beryllium eligible for a Thiel Fellowship.

Field scored the $100,000 from Thiel, and shared it with Wallace, convincing him to permission his world pursuits. The brace moved into a tiny flat successful Palo Alto, California.

The drone bundle program had gone retired the window. Wallace wanted to make thing related to WebGL, a graphics rendering strategy for web browsers. A twelvemonth later, they were showing investors a slick browser-based demo that allowed for the question of a shot successful a excavation of water.

The evident competitory people was Adobe, which was ending development of Fireworks, an app plan merchandise that it acquired with the 2005 Macromedia purchase.

"We thought, 'Wait, possibly there's an accidental here,'" Field said connected a podcast earlier this year.

"What we're trying to bash is marque it truthful that anyone tin beryllium creative, by creating free, elemental originative tools successful the browser," Field said successful a 2012 interrogation for a CNBC peculiar connected the Thiel Fellowship.

In 2013, the founders started talking with investors astir raising a effect round. Field showed the excavation h2o demo to John Lilly of Greylock Partners astatine a Starbucks successful Palo Alto. Lilly had antecedently been CEO of Mozilla, wherever an technologist developed bundle that led to WebGL. He was impressed with what helium was seeing, but helium didn't deliberation it had overmuch economical potential.

Figma took connected effect backing from Index Ventures and different investors. The founders assembled a tiny radical of employees astatine an bureau successful Palo Alto. Progress was slow. Early versions of the merchandise failed to impressment imaginable users. Field was micromanaging.

When Figma would amusement the merchandise to companies successful the Bay Area, reception wasn't ever great. Stress was building. Lilly, who ended up starring Figma's Series A circular successful 2014, came to the company's San Francisco office the pursuing August arsenic struggles were mounting. Employees wanted changes.

"We some heard it," said Danny Rimer, the Index spouse who led the effect funding, referring to conversations helium and Lilly were having with staffers astir Field.

"We sat down with him and explained to him the situation," Rimer said. "We heard it and we benignant of said, 'Look, this is an impasse. You're going to person to accommodate and change.' And helium heard it and helium changed. I deliberation that's specified a large quality trait of Dylan, is to perceive the information, beryllium nonsubjective astir it, process it and judge it and enactment accordingly, if it makes sense."

Around that time, Sho Kuwamoto joined the company. Kuwamoto brought with him acquisition from Macromedia and Adobe. Four months later, Figma launched its debut merchandise successful a escaped preview.

Field got progressive with users. He replied to radical connected societal media who were posting astir Figma, telling them they were receiving entree to the preview. He besides sought retired salient designers.

Companies similar Coda and Uber became aboriginal adopters. Some designers were excited by the thought of sharing documents by copying and pasting a URL, alternatively of having to woody with versions, formats and updates. Figma operated successful the cloud, providing each the indispensable computing infrastructure, truthful users didn't request their ain almighty graphics cards.

It wasn't until September 2016 that Figma made the plan exertion disposable for escaped to the wide nationalist and made it imaginable for aggregate designers to marque changes successful a azygous record simultaneously. That became the slayer feature.

The bundle started gaining traction wrong Microsoft. But determination was an issue. Microsoft feared that Figma's deficiency of a wide concern exemplary mightiness pb to a burial successful the startup graveyard. Jon Friedman, a plan enforcement astatine the bundle giant, visited Figma's office to present the message, Field told CNBC successful 2022.

"Look, we're each disquieted you're going to dice arsenic a company," Field recalled Friedman telling him.

The pursuing year, Figma introduced its archetypal paid tier.

By the clip task stalwart Sequoia Capital came connected board successful 2019, Figma was a blistery commodity, raising its Series C circular astatine a $440 cardinal valuation. Sequoia spouse Andrew Reed said immoderate of his firm's portfolio companies had started migrating to Figma, and founders were utilizing it for transportation decks.

"Companies often volition amusement prototypes successful committee meetings of caller products they privation to build, and truthful the archetypal happening we saw a batch of Figma links for was that," Reed said successful an interrogation this week.

"It was a precise casual investment," Reed said. "We went done immoderate of our aged concern voting data. I deliberation Figma mightiness person been the highest ballot we ever had for an investment."

Sequoia's extended roster of winners implicit the decades includes Apple, Google, LinkedIn, Zoom and WhatsApp.

Financial analysts covering Adobe started asking astir Figma. Adobe, which had released the XD app for idiosyncratic acquisition design, responded, adding the startup to its authoritative database of competitors.

But Adobe's marketplace capitalization sat supra $170 billion, and Figma wasn't adjacent a "unicorn," a presumption reserved for startups worthy astatine slightest $1 billion. Field told Forbes that immoderate occupation candidates were hesitant to articulation due to the fact that of the humble valuation. In 2020, the institution raised a backing circular from Andreessen Horowitz astatine a $2 cardinal valuation.

Then came Covid. Offices closed. The satellite went distant overnight. Figma's collaboration capableness abruptly became captious to the mode galore much radical worked.

"We asked ourselves: however tin we assistance teams connect, person amusive and participate a travel authorities during the earliest stages of the plan process?" Field aboriginal wrote connected Twitter.

The effect was FigJam, a integer whiteboard that became Figma's 2nd product, and represented a cardinal measurement toward diversification.

The Adobe sound continued to get louder. In 2020, Field had discussions with Adobe enforcement Scott Belsky astir a concern oregon acquisition, but Field chose to enactment the course. Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen talked to Field astir a imaginable woody successful aboriginal 2021, but again the Figma CEO demurred, opting to rise a round astatine a $10 cardinal valuation.

"Our extremity is to beryllium Figma not Adobe," Field wrote successful a 2021 tweet.

The situation rapidly changed. By aboriginal 2022, with the Fed lifting involvement rates to combat inflation, investors were selling retired of high-growth tech and rotating into businesses with predictable profits. Sequoia was encouraging its startups to trim costs.

Belsky again approached Field successful April of that year, this clip alongside David Wadhwani, who was starring Adobe's integer media business.

"Mr. Field expressed openness to knowing the presumption of a imaginable acquisition of Figma by Adobe, and Mr. Field, Mr. Belsky and Mr. Wadhwani continued their treatment of the imaginable benefits of a operation the pursuing week," Adobe stated successful a regulatory filing.

Field was considering the implications of the emergence of artificial intelligence.

"Look, erstwhile we did the woody with Adobe successful the archetypal place, my caput abstraction successful 2022 was, "Oh my god, AI is coming. This is intelligibly exponential arsenic a technology. I don't cognize what this does to us. Is this one-tenth our market, is it 10x our market? What does it mean for creatives and designers?" Field said successful an interview with The Verge past year. "And I was like, it's amended to squad up successful this satellite with Adobe and to navigate this unneurotic and to fig this retired unneurotic than it is to spell it alone."

In September 2022, Adobe agreed to bargain Figma for astir $20 billion, announcing that Field would stay successful complaint of his portion of the concern and would study to Wadhwani.

"Adobe has a unsocial accidental to usher successful a satellite of collaborative creativity," Narayen told analysts connected a league telephone the time of the agreement. "In my conversations with Dylan astatine Figma, it became abundantly wide that unneurotic we could accelerate this caller vision, delivering large worth to our customers and shareholders."

That accidental ne'er came. An intensifying regulatory situation successful the U.S. and Europe had made sizable tech deals much burdensome. Adobe was abruptly successful the crosshairs, and the transaction was hitting repeated hurdles.

"We're disquieted this woody could stifle innovation and pb to higher costs for companies that trust connected Figma and Adobe's integer tools — arsenic they cease to vie to supply customers with caller and amended products," Sorcha O'Carroll, an authoritative astatine the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, said successful a press release successful mid-2023.

Around that time, Field announced different measurement toward merchandise diversification by introducing Dev Mode, which turns Figma designs into root codification that tin service arsenic a starting constituent for bundle developers. The reveal came astatine Figma's Config idiosyncratic league successful San Francisco, which attracted 8,000 attendees.

The U.K.'s probe dragged connected for months. Field was pulling treble work moving the institution and engaging with regulators. Adobe had said it expected to implicit the woody successful 2023, but clip was moving out. Regulators were proposing remedies that the parties didn't like.

"Even toward the last months, determination were these moments of, 'Oh, this is going to spell through,' and moments of, 'F---, what are we doing?'" Field told The Verge. "And evidently astatine the end, there's a communal knowing of,' This determination has been made for america and let's telephone it.'"

On a Sunday successful December 2023, Field gathered committee members for a 10-minute call, informing them that the woody was off. The authoritative connection followed aboriginal connected Monday morning.

"It's frustrating and bittersweet that we're not capable to implicit this," Field told The New York Times.

Not everyone successful Field's orbit saw it that way. Grammarly CEO Shishir Mehrotra, a person of Field's and longtime Figma user, said the full ordeal was having an impact.

"You could spot it successful his face," Mehrotra said of Field, adding that helium was relieved erstwhile helium learned Figma would stay independent. "He was getting older close successful beforehand of us."

But Figma had immoderate concern concerns. Its nett dollar retention rate, a measurement of the company's quality to merchantability much to existing customers, slid from 159% successful the archetypal 4th of 2023 to 122% by the extremity of the year, according to Figma's IPO prospectus. Figma chalked it up to a pugnacious examination from the twelvemonth before, acknowledgment to the motorboat of FigJam, and economical uncertainty that caused immoderate clients to trim spot counts. The retention complaint bounced backmost to 132% successful the archetypal 4th of 2025.

During the 2023 wintertime holidays, Field considered ways to rally the workforce. After the caller year, helium announced internally that Figma would springiness other equity to employees who joined oregon received promotions pursuing the acquisition announcement, due to the fact that the valuation was going backmost down to $10 billion. He said immoderate employees who wished to permission would get 3 months of severance, with nary hard feelings.

Fewer than 5% of staffers took him up connected the offer.

As Figma pursues a go-it-alone strategy, it faces an existential question: Is the institution acceptable for a aboriginal dominated by AI?

In May, Field took the stage astatine Figma's idiosyncratic league earlier 8,500 attendees astatine San Francisco's Moscone Center, wearing a achromatic "Config 2025" T-shirt. He walked the assemblage done a slew of caller products, including Figma Make, which draws connected Claude 3.7 Sonnet, a ample connection exemplary from AI startup Anthropic.

"With Figma Make, you could instrumentality an existing plan and punctual your mode to a afloat coded prototype," Field said.

A merchandise manager, Holly Li, came up for a demo. At a laptop, she copied the plan for a euphony subordinate successful the Figma exertion and pasted it into a chat box, typing instructions to rotate the medium creation similar a grounds portion a opus is playing. She showed apps created with Figma Make, eliciting immoderate cheers, and returned to the demo.

"Okay. This time, the exemplary had a small spot of difficulty, but that's okay," she said. The cloudy inheritance representation from the archetypal plan was gone, and way names became hard to read. The assemblage was silent. She brought up a moving mentation successful a antithetic browser tab.

The diagnostic went unrecorded past week. Mehrotra said it's disconnected to a bully start.

Other products successful the marketplace were built with generative AI successful mind. They see Lovable, Miro's Uizard and Vercel's v0. Brent Stewart, an expert astatine Gartner, said that Figma is "utterly, utterly dominant" successful plan but that immoderate of the offerings from different companies look much impressive.

Andrew Chan, a erstwhile Figma bundle engineer, wrote successful a blog post past twelvemonth that "an absorbing and ongoing question is whether Figma tin repetition the occurrence it had successful plan with different products."

Nadia Eldeib, a erstwhile Lyft merchandise manager and CEO of startup CodeYam, tried Figma Make earlier the wide motorboat and enactment it up against Lovable and v0. Writing on Substack, she said it appeared to beryllium astatine an earlier stage.

It's the benignant of feedback that Field volition work and nonstop to his employees, known arsenic Figmates. He reads enactment tickets and mentions of Figma's sanction connected X, formerly Twitter. He took nary clip disconnected to code specified matters connected the precise time that his institution was conducting its IPO, yet pricing shares $1 supra the expected range.

Yianni Mathioudakis, a originative manager successful Maryland, tagged Figma successful a station connected Wednesday, asking if anyone had recovered a mode to instrumentality a Figma Make plan and bring it into the main plan editor.

"Hi Yianni, we are moving towards this and precise excited astir what it volition unlock!" Field replied. "Please support the Make feedback coming!"

WATCH: Figma much than triples successful NYSE debut