Uploaded August 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
In this episode, we speak to Darshan Gajara. He is a Product Designer, Product Maker, and has remote working experience of more than 3 years. He is currently working as a Senior Product Designer at GraphCMS in Berlin and is the Founder of Product Disrupt. #founder #producthunt
🔔 Subscribe to Whiteboard.fm to stay updated with more interviews and clips: youtube.com/whiteboardfm?sub_confirmation=1
❓⏰ Questions:
Your story
0:00 Introduction
02:45 How did you get started in design?
Freelancing and Remote Work
05:34 How did you make the transition from full-time work to full time freelancing?
08:14 What are the key differences between being a freelancer, working remotely, and being a consultant?
13:00 What are the responsibilities when working as a consultant?
14:33 When should designers consider freelancing as a full-time option?
18:10 What do you feel about the current freelance space as compared to when you were starting off?
20:35 How do you feel Covid-19 is going to affect remote work?
Personal Branding
23:30 Do you feel that everyone should have a personal brand?
24:08 What is the purpose of a personal brand according to you?
25:48 What does a personal brand consist of?
27:02 What are the expectation vs realities of building a personal brand?
29:17 What was your approach in building your personal brand?
36:49 How can someone build their story and narrative?
40:47 Since “Mediums influence the message”, what kind of mediums do you feel are the best for aspirants to put worth their message?
Side Hustles
44:11 How was Product Disrupt created?
47:30 What are your criteria for featuring content on the Product Disrupt website and newsletters?
52:23 What methods did you use for scaling up your projects and getting more reach?
55:30 What are some of the difficulties you faced while building and sustaining Product Disrupt?
59:10 How do you decide between working on new side hustles vs scaling up existing ones?
01:02:26 How can beginners get over the fear of making their side projects public?
01:10:39 Can you tell us more about your book ‘How to crack the product design interview’ and when is it being made public?
Experiences and Learnings
01:17:12 In times when you’re feeling low, what do you do and what do you suggest your juniors should do?
01:20:32 What were your top 3 learnings from your design journey so far?
Sign off
01:24:29 What's something you wish you knew when you were starting off?
✈️ [Watch next] Differences between Freelancing and Consulting – youtu.be/uBzIv40ZYSQ
💲 [Watch next] How to become a full time freelancer – youtu.be/F1mSvhLmQio
😷 [Watch next] How Covid-19 will affect remote work and freelancing – youtu.be/oIVVidXRShE
😎 [Watch next] How to build a Personal Brand – youtu.be/1R9ME4N6YTA
🥵 [Watch next] How to overcome burnout – youtu.be/wRe4WyzZL04
Product Disrupt: productdisrupt.com
Darshan's website: darshangajara.com
Instagram: instagram.com/weirdowizard
Twitter: twitter.com/WeirdoWizard
This podcast is part of the #10kdesigners Network.
Home: 10kdesigners.com
Browse bite-sized learning in business, product, UI/UX design, freelancing and more: booklets.io
Get real design inspiration from the world's best-designed apps: uisources.com
Brought to you by your host, Mayank Khandelwal.
Instagram: instagram.com/mayankk98
Twitter: twitter.com/mayankk98
In this episode, we speak to Darshan Gajara. He is a Product Designer, Product Maker, and has remote working experience of more than 3 years. He is currently working as a Senior Product Designer at GraphCMS in Berlin and is the Founder of Product Disrupt. #founder #producthunt
🔔 Subscribe to Whiteboard.fm to stay updated with more interviews and clips: youtube.com/whiteboardfm?sub_confirmation=1
❓⏰ Questions:
Your story
0:00 Introduction
02:45 How did you get started in design?
Freelancing and Remote Work
05:34 How did you make the transition from full-time work to full time freelancing?
08:14 What are the key differences between being a freelancer, working remotely, and being a consultant?
13:00 What are the responsibilities when working as a consultant?
14:33 When should designers consider freelancing as a full-time option?
18:10 What do you feel about the current freelance space as compared to when you were starting off?
20:35 How do you feel Covid-19 is going to affect remote work?
Personal Branding
23:30 Do you feel that everyone should have a personal brand?
24:08 What is the purpose of a personal brand according to you?
25:48 What does a personal brand consist of?
27:02 What are the expectation vs realities of building a personal brand?
29:17 What was your approach in building your personal brand?
36:49 How can someone build their story and narrative?
40:47 Since “Mediums influence the message”, what kind of mediums do you feel are the best for aspirants to put worth their message?
Side Hustles
44:11 How was Product Disrupt created?
47:30 What are your criteria for featuring content on the Product Disrupt website and newsletters?
52:23 What methods did you use for scaling up your projects and getting more reach?
55:30 What are some of the difficulties you faced while building and sustaining Product Disrupt?
59:10 How do you decide between working on new side hustles vs scaling up existing ones?
01:02:26 How can beginners get over the fear of making their side projects public?
01:10:39 Can you tell us more about your book ‘How to crack the product design interview’ and when is it being made public?
Experiences and Learnings
01:17:12 In times when you’re feeling low, what do you do and what do you suggest your juniors should do?
01:20:32 What were your top 3 learnings from your design journey so far?
Sign off
01:24:29 What's something you wish you knew when you were starting off?
✈️ [Watch next] Differences between Freelancing and Consulting – youtu.be/uBzIv40ZYSQ
💲 [Watch next] How to become a full time freelancer – youtu.be/F1mSvhLmQio
😷 [Watch next] How Covid-19 will affect remote work and freelancing – youtu.be/oIVVidXRShE
😎 [Watch next] How to build a Personal Brand – youtu.be/1R9ME4N6YTA
🥵 [Watch next] How to overcome burnout – youtu.be/wRe4WyzZL04
Product Disrupt: productdisrupt.com
Darshan's website: darshangajara.com
Instagram: instagram.com/weirdowizard
Twitter: twitter.com/WeirdoWizard
This podcast is part of the #10kdesigners Network.
Home: 10kdesigners.com
Browse bite-sized learning in business, product, UI/UX design, freelancing and more: booklets.io
Get real design inspiration from the world's best-designed apps: uisources.com
Brought to you by your host, Mayank Khandelwal.
Instagram: instagram.com/mayankk98
Twitter: twitter.com/mayankk98
