 |
|
|
|||||
Since opening his eponymous studio in 2020, homeware designer Gustaf Westman has amassed a cult following for his delightfully chunky objects, his knack for color, and his playful eye for reimagining everyday items. His sought-after designs have always come with a higher-end price tagbut now Westman is partnering with Ikea to make his work accessible to the masses. The new collection, which debuts September 9 on Ikeas website, is part of the companys annual winter launch. It includes items like plates, candleholders, and a vase, all designed under the premise of reimagining the winter holidays for a younger generation. While a plate from Westmans brand retails for around $65 and a bowl is close to $330, the Ikea collection ranges from just $7 to $25. My stuff is very niche, and it’s not so affordable for people, Westman says. A very fun part of [this collaboration] is that I can reach a much bigger audience, and so many more people will be able to buy the stuff and take it home. [Photo: Ikea] A holiday collection for a new generation This is Westmans first time ever working with another companyand as someone from Sweden, he says, partnering with Ikea is a dream collaboration. Westman embraced the opportunity to design objects for a less traditional, more playful approach to the holidays. Thats perhaps most embodied by the “Vinterfint serving plate”: a long, tubular platter designed to hold Swedish meatballs. [Photo: Ikea] After the plate debuted as a teaser item, Westman says, some commenters were baffled by its form factorhe assures Fast Company that it can be used to serve other items, like sushi or pralines. More unexpected pieces in the collection include a spiraling pink vase and a series of candleholders with a funky four-pronged base. Other products take more direct inspiration from Westmans own Christmas memories. [Photo: Ikea] For example, we did this cup that has a big saucer, Westman says. The idea behind that cup is that my grandma always made a lot of different cookies, and it was basically a logistical problem, like, How am I gonna take these cookies? This cup is solving that problem. [Photo: Ikea] Striking the right balance According to Maria OBrian, the creative leader at Ikea of Sweden who tapped Westman to join the project, the main challenge in bringing the designers vision to life was the fact that his preference for chunky, bulbous shapes stands somewhat in opposition with Ikeas reputation for efficient flat-packing. [Photo: Ikea] There’s something so joyful about his form language and use of color, and I think it’s also quite far from the Ikea form language in terms of flat-packing, OBrian says. The playfulness that Gustaf brings is so bold, and we saw that it could challenge us in a positive direction by stretching what we do with shapes and expressions. Westmans personal favorite piece, the “Vinterfint plate,” is one of the items that embodies this push and pull. The plat features a squared edge with a raised circle in the center, and its low profile makes it easy to stack and store. [Photo: Ikea] The plate is very much a dream thing for me to doa very simple product for Ikea, but I make it special, Westman says. How I think about the plate is that its basically a flat square, and someone has dragged up the edges to create the plate. I remember sitting around doing that on paper by squeezing it up. [Photo: Ikea] The collection may be geared toward the holidays, but both Westman and OBrian say they didnt want it to scream Christmas. To strike a balance between the festive season and everyday use, they selected a color palette that includes the traditional forest green and bright red alongside a pastel pink and baby blue. Ultimately, the final product is a collection that balances Westmans unconventional approach to homeware with Ikeas penchant for utilitarian design. Westman says hes enjoyed the experience. Since Ive only been working alone, its like going back to school, he says. Meeting all these people, going on trips, going to Älmhult, the little Ikea townthat’s been probably the most rewarding.
Category:
E-Commerce
Every founder wants top-tier talent. But when your company is young, two obstacles loom. The first one is that no one knows you. The second one is that, likely, you cant afford a full-time senior hire. The irony is that this is when you most need experienced leadership, because without it, you risk mistakes that cost more than the salary you were aiming to save. Why startups should consider senior leaders part time Bringing in a seasoned executive on a fractional basis is often a better answer than stretching for a junior full-time hire. A senior leader working part time gives you sharper decision-making, clearer priorities, and fewer detours. You get the benefit of years of experience without locking yourself into a payroll commitment you cant sustain. For the right scope of work, five hours a week from someone who has scaled before is worth more than 50 hours from someone learning on the job. Especially lately, many senior professionals are open to this model. Some want flexibility for family or side projects. Others value variety and like to keep a portfolio of roles. And in a market still shaped by layoffs, part-time income streams feel safer than a single employer. Hence, this arrangement makes sense for both sides, as long as expectations are set early and respected. How to hire part-time senior talent The first step is clarity. A vague job description with slogans will not suffice to attract someone experienced. Spell out the outcomes you expect. Instead of help us drive growth, say design and oversee a three-month plan to test five paid acquisition channels. Define how decisions will be made, the reporting line, and what success looks like. This will help them feel the role as something achievable in the time you are offering. Next, design the role to be respectful of their level. Senior operators will not commit to open-ended advisory calls or endless Slack pings. Set specific projects with clear deliverables, and show them you have thought about how their time will be used and that you understand the value they bring. The more tangible you can make the assignment, the easier it is for them to picture success. Finally, make it easy to say yes. Offer a paid pilot so both sides can test the fit. Be transparent about budget and timelines. Pay on time, and share how their work will be applied. And, of course, acknowledge their contribution. These details signal professionalism, and when you are still unknown, this matters more than perks. How to work with fractional leaders once you have them Hiring is only the beginning. To get value from a fractional leader, you need to create an environment where they can contribute without friction. As Jim Collins once observed, Great people need great things to do, or they will take their creative energies elsewhere. Even part-time, seasoned professionals will disengage if the setup is chaotic or the work is poorly defined. That means giving them access to the information they need, assigning a clear decision-maker they can work with, and sticking to a predictable cadence of check-ins. Chaos burns trust quickly, even if the hours are limited. To avoid this, set super clear expectations on both sides. They should know how you prioritize, how experiments differ from commitments, and who owns which decisions. You should know how they prefer to communicate and how they measure success. When the rhythm is established, their time multiplies the impact of your whole team, and the fractional leader can quickly raise the standard of execution and help you move faster. The bottom line For an early-stage company, every hire carries risk. But trying to fill a senior role full time before you can afford it is often the bigger risk. A fractional leader can give you the judgment and experience you need to avoid expensive mistakes, while keeping your company nimble. Start clear, keep the scope focused, and follow through on your commitments. Do that, and you will find senior professionals willing to bet on you, long before the market knows your name.
Category:
E-Commerce
I think models will be better at interviewing than people, said Victor Lazarte, the founder of mobile games company Wildlife Studio, on venture capital podcast The Twenty Minute VC in April. You’d think that John Kim, the CEO of a San Francisco-based AI recruiting company, would wholeheartedly agree. But you’d be wrong. “There needs to be a human in the loop for recruiting,” says Kim, CEO of Paraform, which raised $20 million during its Series A funding in June. That’s good news for recruiters, job seekers, and the companies looking for talent. Businesses are leaning more on AI to reduce hiring, but also putting more focus on finding the best people for the jobs they are filling. Job applicants want to make sure they are getting the kind of treatment that puts them in the best possible position to get a great new role. And recruiters want to sort through the noise in this buyers’ market and do what they do best. In this piece, premium subscribers will learn: The best thing human recruiters can do for job seekers and employers that AI cant How many hours a day recruiters save using a platform like Paraform Why it’s vital for startups in particular to hire right the first time Solving startups biggest problem In 2023, John Kim and his cofounder, Jeffrey Li, surveyed their peers, other founders, and people in their coworking space, thinking up their next startup idea. They asked: whats the biggest problem youre trying to solve? Overwhelmingly, the answer was hiring. For startups, the first hires can be make or break: A 2023 study found if a startup lost an early employee within six years, headcount drops by 8% and revenue by 12% over the next five years. Ten years later, these companies were still behind their counterparts that retained their early teams. Initially, Kim and Li built a platform where people could refer their friends for jobs, but found there wasnt much activity, except for one group of users: recruiters. And they werent just any recruiters. They were external recruiters, such as freelancers and recruiters from boutique firms. When companies are flush in cash, they over-hire recruiters. But recruiters are usually the first to go when there are layoffs, says Kim. (During the tech layoffs that started in 2022 and that bled through 2023, HR and talent sourcing accounted for about 30% of laid-off employees, according to one study of over 1,100 LinkedIn profiles of workers who were laid off.) Working for only one company means a recruiters ability to place candidates is limitedsince youre only hiring for roles at a single place. However, while independent or boutique recruiters may have more job options for their candidates, they have to grind: They must spend hours sourcing both companies that are hiring and find candidates for those jobs by combing through LinkedIn and Indeed, or attending industry events. These jobs might be on different recruiting platforms, and its up to the recruiter to stay organized. Kim and Li saw the value in recruiters, particularly for startups, where founders may be short on hiring experience. They believed that hiring requires a human recruiter to understand what a candidate truly needs and whether a role is truly a good fit. We doubled down and decided to build something for them, says Kim. They launched Paraform in 2023. Today, Paraform is geared toward helping tech startups hire. Companies pay Paraform a fee to post their job openings, and then recruiters can apply to be matched with companies. Once a recruiter is matched to a company, they can then upload a candidates résumé and submit it. The recruiters get financial rewards for referring candidates, getting them to the interview stage, and of course, if the candidate is hired. Paraform removes half of the burden from a recruiters shouldersthey no longer have to source jobs. Paraform also has a suite of AI tools that make recruiters lives easier. First, theres a tool that transcribes recruiters phone calls with job candidates and provides summary notes. Theres also an AI tool that recommends other jobs on the platform that a candidate might be a good fit for. Kim said the AI increases placements by as much as 25%, and this number continues to grow. All of this saves me two to three hours a day, says Katelyn Ewe, founder of Brisk Talent, an agency specializing in engineering recruiting for tech startups. Ewe, who has been using Paraform since 2023, finds it easier to use than other AI tools for recruiters, and shes particularly appreciative of the opportunities Paraform gives her access to. Instead of me having to chase companies for job openings to work on, Paraform gives me instant access to their network of clientstop-tier companiesthat I would consider my dream clients,” she says. “This means I dont have to do any cold calls, or meetings for business development. In addition, Paraform provides a sort of concierge service to recruiters: Its operations team works directly with recruiters to onboard them, provides daily support, and helps the recruiters grow their businesses. Th Paraform team would work with me to recommend companies [with job postings] Id be a good fit for [to find candidates], as well as tips for best practices, says Ewe. Paraform claims they can help recruiters increase their earnings by three to five times, and place candidates 10 times faster compared to traditional methods. However, this begs the question: whos to say the AI service couldnt get better and better until it makes 100% of the matches . . . making recruiters unnecessary? The power of the human recruiting paradigm Kim is clear that he believes humans are essential for recruiting. “The recruiters are the ones who truly assess culture, fit interpersonal dynamics [and] develop trust with the candidates. We try to do as much as possible to make their lives easier, he says. That may sound overly optimistic in an age where AI truly is stealing peoples jobs. However, the recruiters using Paraform agree with Kims sentiment: despite the AI doing a lot of heavy lifting, humans bring a lot to the table. For example: Ewe explains that candidates will often say the right thing; yes, they are excited about the role, yes, they are willing to relocate. But there are thousands of small tells that give away their sincerity that AI could never catch. If a candidate sounds rehearsed, fumbles, pauses a little too long, or doesn’t want to elaborate, thats often a sign that they might not be interested. Or that they are just looking to get an offer that they can then leverage into a raise at their current job. Say a candidate mentions theyre willing to relocate, but doesnt have family and friends in the area, and doesnt sound particularly enthusiastic about the job. Ewe will then try to dig deeper to gauge the candidates sincerity. She might ask follow-ups: When are you looking to start your next role? Is that based on a lease expiring, or do you own a home? How hard would it be for you to move? She notes the point is to have a natural conversation, where she can learn about the candidates needs and ideal lifestyle. Maybe AI will be able to do that in the future. Who knows. But I dont think it can do that now, Ewe says. Taylor King, the CEO of Foundation Talent, a boutique recruiting firm that specializes in finding talent for tech startups in AI and crypto, agrees that its unlikely humans can be replaced by AI. Finding the right team for a place like a tech startup is a complex problem. If I need to hire a hundred cashiers at Walmart, mortgage loan officers, or entry-level sales people, thats a volume game. You could automate that, he says. But if youre chasing the top AI talentor an engineer who has a million options[candidates] want to talk to a human. He says the real differentiator is the relationship. Good recruiters arent just selling an opportunity, but showing up as a true market expert and trusted agent, who can walk [a candidate] through the next step in their career, King says. Currently, Paraform has north of 600 companies posting jobs, and about a thousand active recruiters on the platform. Recruiters get about 70% of the fee companies pay Paraform; going forward, Paraform is considering branching out into legal, medical, and financial services. Ewe and King both say they started using Paraform because they knew theyd be left behind if they didnt understand how to use AI. But Paraform may show the inverse also holds true: that companies who dont understand the values of humans will also be left behind. AI cant build genuine connections. And Kim hopes recruiters will keep having opportunities to do that. Were shifting the model [for recruiters] Kim says, to fundamentally make them better matchmakers.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||