Merit

Justin Maxwell

Cofounder & CXO at Smith.aiPortola Valley, CA, USA Β· Management

Experience

Smith.ai
Apple
Theranos

Education

Pomona College
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πŸ““About me

I'm a designer-product-cofounder of Smith.ai, a successful SaaS platform (the leader in lead qualification) for SMB. Before that, I... - Was the first interaction design hire for apple.com, then went on to design for Pro Apps (2003-2007) - Was Mint's first "UX" hire, and concepted, pitched, designed & PM'ed Mint's mobile app strategy. - Stupidly was an early Theranos hire. - Smartly quit Theranos 6 months later. - Worked for a bunch of shitty startups and learned not all startups are Mint - Went back to Google and learned How To Be A Career Design Person At A Big Company - Quit to start my own company!

Management

Skilled in

⭐️Why I mentor

Give back to the communityMeet PeopleOther

As a designer-founder I’m often heads down and have lost a lot of the feedback loop vital to our industry. Mentoring and coaching is of bidirectional benefit.

Talk to me about

πŸ‘€ Dealing with imposter syndrome

πŸš€ Launching products and measuring success

🎭 Being the only designer

πŸ’» Managing remotely

πŸ”­ Product vision and strategy

πŸ’° Negotiating a promotion/offer

πŸ’« Managing up, down and around

🎭 Mock interviewing

πŸ–Œ Resume and portfolio review

🏘️ Surviving a merger or acquisition

πŸ‘¨β€πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘¦β€πŸ‘¦ Having a family in tech

🧠 UX and UI design

πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘¦β€πŸ‘¦ Team happiness & productivity

🐣 Becoming a people manager

πŸ’¨ Changing roles

😰 Managing burnout

πŸ’¬ Giving and receiving feedback

🌟 Preparing for the next level

πŸƒ Getting the most out of my internship

Recommendations

Here’s what Merit users have said about Justin

Justin asked thoughtful questions that helped to unblock my thinking. He shared insightful anecdotes to emphasize his advice which really resonated with me. He was an incredible listener as well. I'm grateful for his time and insights.

Jolie Adam
?

Minerva

Jul 18th 2023

Justin is an amazing guy! It was truly a privilege to have a moment to talk to him and get some real guidance. If you guys are looking for someone honest and down to earth Justin is your guy!

Gerson Gonzalez
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ChiroPath Spine and Posture Center

Rehabilitation Assistant

Jul 18th 2023
Aida (Aydan) LENGERLI
?

Senior Product Manager

Jul 21st 2023
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