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
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.