Chris Kalani is the CPO and co-founder of Phantom, a leading crypto wallet platform. Prior to this, he founded Wake, a design collaboration tool, and served as CEO until its acquisition in 2018. Chris then joined 0x Labs, where he was Director of Design and later General Manager of Matcha, their crypto trading platform. Earlier in his career, he worked as a designer at Facebook, focusing on growth, engagement, and products like Graph Search and Messenger.
Quotes by
Chris Kalani
From Facebook Designer to Two-Time Founder
Read Chris’ take on:
Finding the right co-founders and why it matters
Why Chris chose to be CPO instead of CEO the second time around
How designers can learn business fundamentals
Why you should validate your idea before quitting your job
Shifting your mindset from designer to founder
Read more on Designer Founders Substack
On the responsibility of a founder
“At a large tech company, even as a senior designer, you’re not always part of shaping the vision or strategy behind what you’re building. You might not have a clear view into the 'why' or the business objectives. But when you’re a founder, you’re responsible for all of it—you’re the one developing the vision and driving the strategy.” (from Designer Founders)
On showing, not telling
“Pixels talk. Mocks and prototypes speak much louder than words and can help you win or diffuse disagreements. Instead of arguing about my assumptions, I put in the extra time to show people what I believe to be right. When someone can see and feel a design or interaction you’re able to have a much more meaningful conversation.” (from Adobe)
On the value of hacking and shipping
“We really like people that hack and tinker, people that just want to build great things. Shipping is a social currency at Phantom.” (from The Generalist)
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