first follower

We build leading design teams

Design leadership and coaching for startups and scale-ups
to help you get the best out of your design team.

first follower

We build leading design teams

Design leadership and coaching for startups and scale-ups
to help you get the best out of your design team.

first follower

We build leading design teams

Design leadership and coaching for startups and scale-ups to help you get the best out of your design team.

How we can help

Establish a foundation for design

Understand what great design should do for you on a daily basis. Then break it down to understand what that means for your people, team and way of working.

Build from zero to one to many

Set clear role expectations for designers, researchers and writers. Then scale your team by cultivating a culture of excellence, experimentation and collaboration.

Grow towards high-performance

Foresee cultural and operational challenges as your team grows. Empower your team to take ownership, to lead in tough situations and grow autonomously.

How we can help

Establish a foundation for design

Understand what great design should do for you on a daily basis. Then break it down to understand what that means for your people, team and way of working.

Build from zero to one to many

Set clear role expectations for designers, researchers and writers. Then scale your team by cultivating a culture of excellence, experimentation and collaboration.

Grow towards high-performance

Foresee cultural and operational challenges as your team grows. Empower your team to take ownership, to lead in tough situations and grow autonomously.

How we can help

Establish a foundation for design

Understand what great design should do for you on a daily basis. Then break it down to understand what that means for your people, team and way of working.

Build from zero to one to many

Set clear role expectations for designers, researchers and writers. Then scale your team by cultivating a culture of excellence, experimentation and collaboration.

Grow towards high-performance

Foresee operational challenges as your team grows. Empower your team to take ownership, to lead in tough situations and to grow on their own terms.

How we work

Knowledge sharing

1 or 2 hour check-ins for advice

Focused on a specific problem

Perfect for product or design leaders

Available

Knowledge sharing

1 or 2 hour check-ins for advice

Focused on a specific problem

Perfect for product or design leaders

Available

Knowledge sharing

1 or 2 hour check-ins for advice

Focused on a specific problem

Perfect for product or design leaders

Available

Interim and in-house

Fixed time projects (e.g. 3 months)

Setting strategy and leading execution

Useful when starting from scratch

Limited availability

Interim and in-house

Fixed time projects (e.g. 3 months)

Setting strategy and leading execution

Useful when starting from scratch

Limited availability

Interim and in-house

Fixed time projects (e.g. 3 months)

Setting strategy and leading execution

Useful when starting from scratch

Limited availability

Leadership coaching

Recurring over a longer period of time

On leadership, culture and design

For leaders, team and individuals

Available

Leadership coaching

Recurring over a longer period of time

On leadership, culture and design

For leaders, team and individuals

Available

Leadership coaching

Recurring over a longer period of time

On leadership, culture and design

For leaders, team and individuals

Available

Companies we've worked with

Our mission

To help businesses grow happy, effective and leading design teams.

first follower

first follower

first follower

/fəːst ˈfɒləʊə/

/fəːst ˈfɒləʊə/

/fəːst ˈfɒləʊə/

The brave first one who accepts the leader and shows others how to follow. With her actions she empowers the individual to become a genuine leader.

The brave first one who accepts the leader and shows others how to follow. With her actions she empowers the individual to become a genuine leader.

The brave first one who accepts the leader and shows others how to follow. With her actions she empowers the individual to become a genuine leader.

Meet the founder

Jeroen Mulder

Founder of First Follower

Jeroen has over 15 years of experience leading design for companies such as Mollie, eBay / Marktplaats and funda. There he built design teams of over a dozen designers, researchers and writers. He has a special interest in leadership, culture and operational challenges in fast growing design teams and organisations.

Jeroen has over 15 years of experience leading design for companies such as Mollie, eBay / Marktplaats and funda. There he build design teams of over a dozen of designers, researchers and writers. He has a special interest in leadership, culture and operational challenges of fast growing teams and organisations.