From Miro Head of Growth Design to Time Freedom: Escape the 9-5
Kate Syuma's Journey From Corporate Burnout to Entrepreneurial Liberation
Watch Time: 49 mins
Ever wondered what it really costs to escape the 9-5?
You’ve never heard a conversation like this with Kate Syuma. The former Head of Growth Design at Miro, reveals how she "bought back her time" by leaving corporate to found Growth Mates - and why her living costs actually decreased in the process. She gets raw about the psychological preparation needed for the leap, the hidden maintenance costs of corporate life, and how she puts "what's good for users is good for business" into practice. Whether you're a product designer feeling trapped or a founder questioning your path, Kate's journey offers both inspiration and tactical wisdom for building an authentic career on your own terms.
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“I wanted to express myself authentically…the company did not support that. My choice was to do something beyond that role and to lead through empathy. This desire to bring my true self accumulated until I needed to get back my time. This gave me back my intention on who I want to serve."
— Kate Syuma
Sera’s Notes ✏️
Leaving Behind a 9-5 Job
Kate paid her full-time salary's worth to "buy back her time" - a powerful reframe for viewing career transitions as investments rather than losses.
The desire to create something authentic can accumulate over time until the cost of staying becomes greater than the cost of leaving.
As Kate comes to a career crossroads, she find that it always returns her to her passion for art. She says her soul belongs to art more than it does to the business world.
Redefining Success & Enough
Corporate life often requires expensive "maintenance costs" - frequent travel for escape, constant dining out, treatments, clothes to fit in.
After leaving corporate, Kate's daily living costs actually decreased while her life satisfaction increased.
Learning to distinguish between what you truly want versus what others (or society) have programmed you to want is crucial for authentic decision-making.
Sustainable Work Practices
The growth mindset can be misinterpreted as "just work harder" - true growth mindset is about treating everything as hypothesis, experiment, iteration.
Kate found accepting burnout very difficult because it made her realize she couldn’t keep doing what she had been. It’s accumulated debt that you'll pay for later. Kate and I are unlearning hustle culture.
Setting boundaries with time becomes essential when you realize the true hourly value of your work.
Growth Design Philosophy
Kate doesn’t like it when people say product design and growth design are two totally separate things. (I agree 😉)
Growth design requires 5 key elements:
solid product design foundation,
data analysis,
user research,
impact prioritization, and
speed of iteration.
Growth Designers are power connectors. They are able to communicate business value to get buy-in from stakeholders.
Avoid companies that only focus on revenue outcomes without considering user value and product quality.
Ethical growth means not “hacking” users but understanding what’s good for them.
Conscious Living
Step back from information noise regularly - everything you consume becomes input for your mind. Learn how to avoid or filter info.
Kate says her new lifestyle as an entrepreneur allows her to enjoy simplicity more. She’s detoxing from dopamine and feels more free.
Regular retreats or periods of silence help her distinguish between authentic desires and external programming.
Kate like the idea of potentially starting an app with her husband on evaluating your dreams with AI. I also journal dreams every morning.
Read my highlights below to get a quick overview and listen to the full episode on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple.
Do me a favor and review the podcast on Apple or Spotify if you enjoy this. ☺️
Chapters 📖
[00:00:00] Introduction: Kate's Journey from Miro Head of Growth Design to Founder
[00:02:42] From Art School to Product Design: Finding Your Creative Path in Tech
[00:05:44] The Evolution of Growth Design: When Business Meets Creativity
[00:08:32] Building Growth Communities: From Internal Practice to Public Platform
[00:10:24] The Growth Mindset: Essential Skills for Modern Product Designers
[00:12:05] Making the Leap: Corporate Stability vs Entrepreneurial “Risk”
[00:14:03] Buying Back Your Time: The True Cost of Career Transitions
[00:16:11] Setting Boundaries: Valuing Time as a Freelancer and Consultant
[00:18:08] Recognizing Burnout: When Ambition Becomes Self-Punishment
[00:20:17] Redefining Enough: Breaking Free from Consumer Culture
[00:23:19] Simplicity Over Status: Learning to Appreciate Less
[00:26:42] Conscious Content Consumption: Filtering Information for Mental Health
[00:29:23] Japanese Yaki Onigiri Break
[00:32:21] What is Growth Design? The Five Essential Elements Explained
[00:37:24] Articulating Impact: Communicating Growth Strategy to Stakeholders
[00:39:12] Born vs Made: Can Entrepreneurship Be Learned?
[00:41:16] Authentic Expression: Why Kate Left Corporate to Build GrowthMates
[00:44:05] User-Centric vs Revenue-Focused: Choosing Your Business Philosophy
[00:46:49] Side Projects and Product Dreams: Building Apps for Behavioral Change
[00:47:52] Ethical Growth Design: Making Tech More Conscious and Human
Where to find Kate Syuma 🔎
Growthmates Newsletter: https://www.growthmates.news/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekaterina-syuma/
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