Learn from the Best

Founder Case Studies

Curated stories of how world-class companies used Design Thinking to solve real problems. Filter by industry or DT stage to find the most relevant examples for your learning.

Showing 8 case studies

🏠

Airbnb

(2009)
Hospitality
Empathize

Challenge: Hosts were getting very few bookings despite competitive prices.

🛒

IDEO

(1999)
Design Consultancy
Define

Challenge: Redesign the shopping cart for a TV special in just 5 days.

📱

Apple

(2007)
Technology
Ideate

Challenge: Create a revolutionary phone in a market dominated by BlackBerry and Nokia.

🎵

Spotify

(2015)
Music Streaming
Prototype

Challenge: Help users discover new music they would love but would never find on their own.

📦

Dropbox

(2007)
Cloud Storage
Test

Challenge: Validate demand for a file-syncing product before building the complex backend.

🎬

Netflix

(2007)
Entertainment
Test

Challenge: Transition from DVD rentals to streaming without losing customers.

💬

Slack

(2013)
Enterprise Software
Empathize

Challenge: Build a tool people would actually want to use (unlike most enterprise software).

Tesla

(2012)
Automotive
Prototype

Challenge: Prove that electric cars could be desirable, not just practical.

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