State of Play

Ryo Lu, product designer and tool-maker who helped build Notion and created Rio OS, chats about building browser-based OS experiments and making runnable prototypes. He explores why designers should become tool makers. He talks about using AI and agents to parallelize thinking, escaping creative burnout, and building without asking permission.

Ben Huffman built a freelance platform with NO fees. Every investor told him it was the stupidest idea they’d ever heard.Now Contra has 1M users and a $120M run rate.We talk about living in the pain cave (the place your ideas live before anyone believes in them), building mission-driven companies, avoiding the “marketplace commodity problem,” and why community-led growth might be the future of creative work.Get the UX Tools Newsletter (written by me)https://uxtools.coCHAPTERS:00:00 – The “pain cave” explained01:12 – Investors called it the “worst idea ever”04:51 – Why rejection always feels personal07:32 – Building for the younger version of yourself10:47 – The humanity problem with commission fees13:41 – Early internet communities (Themeforest, torrent sites, Newegg)15:30 – Solving the marketplace commodity problem18:44 – Going “feed first” to foster authentic connections20:28 – Becoming an independent discovery engine24:08 – Partnering with creative tools like Framer27:26 – Why open networks might win over closed platforms30:28 – Building leverage as an independent creative33:53 – The “Hollywood model” for creative projects37:55 – Resumes are dead, project-based identity is the future40:39 – Small core teams + specialist networks43:17 – How indie communities share work and clients46:05 – Branding yourself to get discovered48:01 – The story of a 19-year-old making $50K/month from design50:31 – How Contra makes money without fees52:21 – Almost out of the pain caveLINKS:UX Tools Newsletter: https://uxtools.coFollow Ben: https://x.com/_BenHQTry Contra: https://contra.comFOLLOW ME:Instagram: https://instagram.com/itsdesignertomX / Twitter: https://x.com/designertomLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/tommygeoco