10. Joshua Philippe – Fold: Foundational design thinking, cross-functional leadership, and bitcoin company evolution

<p>In this episode of the Studio Twentyone Show, Sahil walks through the hills of San Francisco with Joshua Philippe, Head of Design at Fold. Joshua shares his remarkable journey from aspiring oil painter to leading design at major Bitcoin companies like BitMEX, Strike, and now Fold. They discuss his unconventional path through poverty, agency life, the wild days at BitMEX, and how he's orchestrating complete rebuilds of both Strike and Fold's brands and products.</p><p>🔍 What you'll learn in this episode:</p><ul><li>Joshua's journey from art school dropout to head of design at major Bitcoin companies</li><li>How financial crisis and government seizure led him to Bitcoin sovereignty</li><li>The wild stories from BitMEX's money-printing heyday in Hong Kong</li><li>Building design systems and leading rebrands at Strike and Fold</li><li>The art of "orchestrating" cross-functional teams as a design leader</li><li>Why networking with VCs and business people beats networking with designers</li><li>How to rebuild entire products and brands from the ground up</li><li>The importance of taste development and exposure to great work</li></ul><p>🔗 <strong>Subscribe</strong> for more content on Bitcoin and product design from the <em>Studio Twentyone Show</em>!</p><p><strong>Connect with Joshua:</strong></p><ul><li>Twitter: <a href="https://x.com/shualippa" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://x.com/shualippa</a> </li><li>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaphilippe/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaphilippe/</a></li></ul><p><strong>Connect with Me:</strong></p><ul><li>Twitter: <a href="https://x.com/SahilC0" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://x.com/SahilC0</a></li><li>Nostr: <a href="https://www.notion.so/Sahil-to-give-final-branding-13ec28c8fa2581d68114d63d4f626d47?pvs=21" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">sahil@primal.net/sahil</a></li></ul><p>Background image credits: Jason Marder <a href="https://jtrain.studio/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://jtrain.studio/</a> </p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00 Introduction to the Studio Twentyone Show</p><p>01:00 Joshua's pivot from law to studio art</p><p>02:13 Early design struggles and Craigslist jobs</p><p>07:16 Agency life and brand strategy fundamentals</p><p>09:15 Eight Inc experience on Apple and Tiffany projects</p><p>11:18 Eames host-guest design philosophy</p><p>13:04 Government bank seizure and Bitcoin discovery</p><p>16:02 Transition from agency to crypto/tech</p><p>18:35 Learning React Native as a designer</p><p>25:26 Moving from BitMEX to Strike</p><p>27:21 Stepping into head of design role</p><p>29:31 Working with superior talent and team orchestration</p><p>32:09 Strike's turnaround and design efficiency</p><p>35:08 Joining Fold and complete product rebuild</p><p>39:52 Organizing 200+ scattered Figma files</p><p>41:37 Brand summit and strategic foundation work</p><p>43:06 Agency selection for Fold rebrand</p><p>45:35 Information architecture and product strategy</p><p>47:53 Brand as competitive differentiator</p><p>48:10 Networking advice for designers</p><p>50:30 Taste development and exposure to great work</p><p>53:22 Advice on patience with rebrands</p>