I hear ya.
I’m a pretty good listener.
Any success I’ve had building great companies, great products, great teams, and great relationships all comes back to that.
I listen to the users. Listen to the engineers. The business folks. The product team. My team. Leaders. The market. The data.
Sure, I know some stuff. I’ll have a perspective. A feel. An opinion. I’ll listen to my gut. For sure.
But I’m a lot smarter when I use a bunch of brains, not just my own.
( FEATURED WORK )
Greenlight
In the fall of 2014 the founder of Greenlight asked me to start a company to help parents raise financially smart children. There were three of us. Zero dollars. No product.
By 2020 we’d built a company valued at $2.5 billion (a bit less these days :D). By 2022 we had 500 employees and 6M+ users (480k of whom rated the app 4.8 stars as of 2024).
I get by with a little help from my friends…
”I'm lucky to count Todd as one of the best mentors I have had over the course of my career. His selfless, service-based leadership approach has had a massive impact on how I do my job. He always puts his team first and in front of his own ambitions, which frankly, is a breath of fresh air in this day and age. First and foremost, Todd treats everyone on his team like human beings in a manner that inspires and helps them reach their full potential.”
Chris Blair (Senior Director of Product Design, Greenlight)
“Todd is one of the most incredible humans to work for. As a leader, Todd is inspiring, cheerful, passionate, and driven. He knows how to work with teams outside of design and is able to encourage strong working relationships with people on his team. He stands up for good UX and is able to persuade skeptics.”
Marissa Taylor (Design System Lead, Greenlight)
“Todd has a way of brightening every room he walks into (virtual or not). His compassion and kindness are palpable and I never left any of our meetings without a smile on my face. He was always the first to reach out with appreciation or support and always made sure we felt safe in the spaces we were in. Todd is a diehard advocate for the best experience possible. I haven’t met many other people as passionate about a good user experience as Todd.”
Hannah Maher (Senior Product Designer, Greenlight)
“When I first joined Greenlight, I quickly realized that I was working on a product that was initially designed by a sole Product Designer. Seeing such a complex and robust product that was originally designed by one designer was not only a testament to Todd's skills, but also to his ability to navigate all of the organizational nuances that come with that situation. Working with Todd Barlok was a masterclass in design thinking processes, magical Figma methods, and how to manage both upwards and downwards.
Todd isn't only great with his hard and soft design skills and interpersonal skills; He is a fantastic leader who cultivated one of the greatest teams I have ever been a part of. I always knew that Todd and my team mates would support me, stand up for me, and be able to have a good time together. I think the magic of Todd is the ability to gather the right people into the right place at the right time.”
Ben Wooten (Senior Product Designer, Greenlight)
“Todd was a huge reason why I joined Greenlight. Interacting with him in any capacity is a pleasure. His energy brightens the rooms he enters and the products he works on. But watching him evangelize the value of product design and create an incredibly skilled and balanced team was the true joy. My time working with Todd and the product design group he fostered has been nothing short of spectacular and any workplace would be better with him on board.”
Ben Cronin (Senior Product Designer, Greenlight)
“Todd has definitely been one of the most enjoyable people to work with in my career. His energy and light heartedness spread throughout our organization.
I had the pleasure of joining a design team that he a strong hand in forming. The talent was great, but the culture he created was one of acceptance, openness and growth. Todd played a key role in forming the relationship between the product design and product management teams where he continuously promoted the value of design and made space for us designers at the table.”
Jerry Scheller (Senior Product Designer, Greenlight)