Designers from On Deck

Chris Messina, known as Factory Joe, is a product leader and designer credited with inventing the hashtag (#) for use on Twitter, fundamentally reshaping how the world organizes online conversation. With over a decade of experience in social technologies, he has held notable roles at Google, Uber, and a range of early-stage startups. His work sits at the intersection of product strategy and human-centered design, with a consistent focus on building tools that shape digital culture.

Richard H. is a San Francisco-based product designer and design leader with a proven track record of taking ideas from zero to one, having shaped early-stage products at companies like VEED.IO, Descript, and Filmhub. With experience spanning media, audio, and creative tools, he brings a rare blend of technical craft and people-first leadership to every project. Richard is currently expanding his impact through the On Deck Fellowship, with his sights set on Staff or Head of Design roles where he can drive innovation and champion user-centered design at scale.

A seasoned design leader and entrepreneur, Aleks Faure co-founded Arcade and serves as its Head of Design, shaping the product's vision from the ground up. With a career spanning senior design roles at Upflow, Acolad Group, and TextMaster, she brings deep expertise across product and brand design. Beyond her day-to-day work, Aleks advises design-forward startups and invests in emerging talent through Source Ventures.

I'm the co-founder of SPACING, a design venture studio partnering with highly ambitious founders to incubate their visions into beautifully crafted product experiences. I bring taste, craft, and a strong point of view to help build products, brands, and experiences that stand apart. Alongside our studio work, I back early-stage founders building tech companies who place a high value on design.

With over 15 years of experience in product design and management, Sanja Zakovska has shaped some of the most ambitious B2B SaaS products across high-growth startups, scaleups, and unicorns. As the founding product member at Attio — the next-generation CRM backed by over $110M in funding — she leads AI products, core platform experience, and enterprise readiness. Beyond her day-to-day, she advises startups and mentors the next generation of product and design talent.