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Forward Share Network
Product Design as a Strategic Capability – Faz Besharatian
Get Matched in 48 Hours →Product design that functions only as execution – translating PRDs into screens – is a tactical function. Product design that shapes what gets built, how customers experience value, and what makes the product defensible over time is a strategic capability. Faz Besharatian helps founding teams make the shift from the first to the second, embedding design thinking into the decisions that determine how the product grows.
How growth-stage companies underinvest in design as a strategic capability
The most common pattern: a company raises a Series A, doubles engineering headcount, and adds designers to keep pace with the engineering output. Design is measured by throughput – screens shipped, components added, features launched. Nobody measures whether customers find the product easier to use, whether adoption rates improve, or whether design quality is contributing to retention or expansion. Design is treated as a cost of production, not as a driver of outcomes. The gap becomes visible when a competitor with a more intentional design approach starts winning on user experience in head-to-head evaluations.
What it means to use design as a strategic capability – in practice
Strategic design means design is present at the point of roadmap prioritization – informing what to build based on user research and adoption data, not just after the decision is made. It means the design system is built to support the company's positioning (complex, professional products look different by design than consumer-simple products), not just to make development faster. It means designers are involved in customer conversations, not just in feature handoffs. Faz advises on how to restructure the design function to operate at this level – including how to hire designers with strategic capability rather than just execution speed.
When this advisory engagement is the right fit
Faz is most useful to founding teams that have a design function but are not sure whether it is working strategically, or that are scaling design for the first time and want to set it up correctly rather than correct course later. He is not a full-time design leader and is not the right fit for companies that need day-to-day design management. His advisory works best when the company has a head of design or a lead designer who is capable of execution – and the founding team needs outside perspective on how to position the design function to have maximum strategic impact.
A STAR case from the Forward Share Ventures network
Situation: A B2B analytics company at $8M ARR was losing competitive evaluations to a newer entrant whose product was described by prospects as "easier to use" despite having fewer features. Their internal design team was shipping regularly but had no involvement in roadmap decisions. User research had not been conducted in 18 months.
Result: Faz ran a design audit – user research with 12 existing customers and 6 churned accounts, a competitive UX analysis against the primary competitor, and an assessment of how the design team was structured and what decisions they influenced. His recommendations included: a monthly user research cadence with design-led insights shared in roadmap reviews, a design system consolidation (the product had four years of design debt that was slowing every new feature), and a redesign of the product's primary workflow. Twelve months after implementation, win rate in competitive evaluations increased from 34% to 51%.
"User research is not a design deliverable – it is a strategic input. When design teams only ship screens and never talk to users, the product accumulates assumptions. Those assumptions become the gaps a competitor steps into."
– Faz Besharatian, Product Design Expert Operator, Forward Share Ventures
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I request an introduction to this expert operator?
Submit a brief through the match form at Forward Share Network. The team reviews your situation, confirms the expert operator's availability, and arranges a 20-minute introductory call – typically within 48 hours of your submission. No commitment is required before the intro call.
What engagement formats are available?
Three main structures: a structured advisory seat (one 60-minute session per month plus async availability), a scoped consulting project (30, 60, or 90 days with defined deliverables), or a strategic advisory retainer for ongoing functional partnership. The right format depends on your situation and timeline.
How much time does a typical engagement require?
Advisory engagements run roughly 2–3 hours per month per company, including the structured session and async exchanges. Scoped projects are more intensive for the duration – scope and time commitment are defined at kickoff. Most expert operators carry 2–4 active engagements simultaneously.
Are there placement fees or exclusivity arrangements?
No placement fees. Forward Share Network operates on an engagement model, not a transactional staffing model. Expert operators are not exclusive to any company – they bring the perspective of working across multiple situations simultaneously, which is a core part of the value.
What if my situation changes mid-engagement?
Engagements are structured with defined check-in milestones – typically at 30-day intervals. If your situation shifts, scope can be renegotiated at the next milestone. For scoped projects, the team can also configure a scope amendment before the halfway point if circumstances change materially.
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How We Compare
The honest breakdown — what separates a Forward Share expert operator from your other options.
| Criteria | FSV Expert Operator | Staffing Agency | Full-Time Hire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to deploy | 48 hours | 3–6 weeks | 3–6 months |
| Commitment | Cancel anytime | Contract-locked | 12+ months |
| Track record | STAR-verified outcomes | Resume-screened | References only |
| Cost model | Engagement-based, no fee | 20–30% placement fee | Base + equity + benefits |
| Quality | Top 5% — curated from 400+ | Available candidates | Best hire at this stage |
| Risk | Low — no long-term lock-in | Medium — fee non-refundable | High — mis-hire is 1.5–2× salary |
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