How I Went From Jail to Building a Design Career.
A resilient journey from deportation to working at top tech companies.
The playbook newsletter is officially launching today and this post is deeply personal to me. This story shaped who I am and the path that brought me here.
Back in 2006-2007 (no old shaming please), the design industry was unrecognizable compared to today. Mostly boomer agencies, with the occasional web startup gig if you were lucky, especially in France.
I was stuck in a local company in my hometown, rotting away and wasting time.
What started as a one-month trip to New York to visit a close friend turned into me overstaying, working in restaurants to survive. I fell hard for the city—a literal spark. Learning a new language, hustling, figuring things out as I went.
I knew the risks but at this stage of my life, going back home wasn’t an option.
I started as a busboy. Two months later, I was managing the place. A restaurant near Union Square. That’s where I met my mentor Matias Corea, co-founder of Behance.
Through him and Scott Belsky, I found myself spending time at Behance, surrounded by creative energy and some of the most passionate minds I’d ever encountered. Those moments taught me more than any formal training ever could and I’m forever grateful for those.
At night and on weekends, I was back at the restaurant, working shifts to pay the bills. It was relentless, but I couldn’t get enough.
The OG iPhone had just launched. Rushed to the 5th Avenue Apple Store on Day 1 to get one. The App Store didn’t exist yet. I couldn’t afford one and was struggling to pay rent, but I was obsessed. Obsessed with what it meant for design, for the future—and for me.
Then, shit hit the fan.
I had personal issues that made me feel trapped. One night, I decided to leave New York and took a Greyhound bus to Montreal. At the Canadian border, I was denied entry. I got sent back to the US Customs.
Arrested. Mugshot. Embassy calls. Three weeks in a New York jail, waiting to be deported.
Back to France, underweight but with some serious poker skills learned in prison, I found myself back at my parents’ house in France with nothing but my iPhone, a MacBook (the black plastic one 🖤), and a few clothes that didn’t fit.
I went back to waiting tables during the day, but at night, I was designing. Entering design contests. Selling rejected designs as templates online under an alias. Copying designers I admired (and still admire) to understand how they did.
Anything to stay connected to the craft and earn a few bucks.
Momentum eventually came. App Store released in Summer 08’.
I started designing apps full-time, getting better with every project. I worked on side gigs with friends. This was pure joy—some of the best times and best learnings of my career (probably deserve an entire dedicated post on that one day).
At one point, Facebook, Dropbox, and Google were reaching out. Back then, it was every designer’s dream. But I couldn’t go.
I was banned from the US for 10 years.
HR departments didn’t want the hassle of dealing with my case. The doors were open, but I couldn’t step through.
So I focused on what I could do.
Freelancing relentlessly. Building a reputation. Working with amazing clients. One of them? Zenly. That freelance gig turned into something much bigger. It was a game-changer.
In the end, I did work for a US company—just from the other side of the Atlantic.
Cliché time. Here’s what I learned for real.
Do whatever it takes. Don’t give up. If the front door is locked, find the back door. Sometimes, it’s the only way in.
Some sacrifices are worth it if you are truly passionate.
Try hard but avoid prison though. 1★ would not recommend.
Would I do things differently? Yes, most likely. Do I regret? Nope.
I haven’t been back to the US since then.
I still have that iPhone from the launch.
Julien.
