founder friendly design

Our studio is built to help bring founders bring new products to market — from the composition of our design team and dev partners to the methodology behind our operating model and our approach to working. Many of our most fun and fulfilling design challenges come from our work with early stage founders — often at seed stage, or even earlier.

makers & doers

Partnering with passionate makers and doers — those who have a big idea, are building something ambitious or a little daunting, and have the potential for real world impact — that’s our sweet spot.

Working fast, wearing many hats, and relentlessly trying to create something valuable — it takes a special mentality to make a start-up work. We’re wired the same way.

"Studio Rodrigo partnered with OpenSpace from our first site launch through our Series C. They are a perfect design partner for start-ups scaling quickly."

jeevan kalanithi, CEO, openspace

big ideas, big impact

We love founders working with new technology and/or in complex, dynamic markets. Think: AI/ML, blockchain, deep science/tech applied to health care, finance, and infrastructure.

"An incredible partner to technical founders. SR got right into a complex space and figured out how to build an elevated brand and digital design system."

shaan varia, head of product, aera & gauntlet networks

execution, execution, execution

There’s an art to building early stage products. You’re figuring out the right things to build for your customers, in the right sequence, doing it well, and not letting perfect be the enemy of the good. It’s about speed of thinking and quality of execution.

We partner equally well with non-technical founders trying to crack a complex problem in health care, finance, or the creator economy — or highly technical founders looking for the right design partner. What we do exceptionally well is bring an execution-oriented approach and a flexible mindset to help deliver what you need, but roll with the reality of building a young company — which involves processing information at a fast speed, adapting to quickly shifting realities, and making smart investments and decisions daily.

"The SR team was super flexible in working with us, from brand to product to marketing. They are a dream team for early stage founders."

Alessandra henderson, CEO, elektra health

the right relationship at the right price

At the end of the day, you need to take your best shot, and you have X dollars and Y runway. You want a team that gets it, that can be that “true partner” and execute well.

We do that. With an understanding that it has to happen at the right price, with the right working relationship, in the right structure.

The thing about us — if we’re into what you are doing, we’ll find a way to do it.

ready to rock?

Drop us a line, we’re always happy to chat.