A few weeks ago I wrote a piece teasing about Offmarket. Fast forward a few weeks, it’s now out and official.
The idea of launching side projects that aren’t purely consumer apps but that is actually content, community and services “gravitating” in the design and startup space really excites me.
I’m not stepping out of design. I’m just nurturing new skills.
Why Offmarket
Hiring is broken.
The market is chaotic.
And right in the middle of it, we’re going through a massive technological shift.
Paradoxically, this is also the best moment in history to be a designer.
There’s never been more great companies hiring, building, and experimenting.
But finding each other, that’s the problem.
As a founder, it’s getting harder to navigate through the noise, to filter talent, and to make time for thoughtful hiring.
As a designer, it’s just as hard to find the right people, the right context, the right fit.
Over the years, countless friends have whispered that they were “open for new adventures.”
And on the other side, I’ve met founders, through advising, investing, mentoring, who struggled to find the right design partner.
I started quietly bridging those worlds. One intro at a time.
It worked. More than I expected.
That’s how Offmarket was born.
And yes, I could’ve folded this under The Playbook.
But I want The Playbook to stay personal, about stories, hot takes, and craft.
Offmarket will be its sister project: practical, educational, and actionable.
What’s Offmarket
In short:
Offmarket helps designers land dream jobs, and founders find great designers.
No job boards. No noise. Just high-signal intros between people who build things.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve met 60+ designers through short, intense Office Hours calls, 15 to 20 minutes each.
It’s been eye-opening. Direct, unfiltered, and high-impact.
I’ve also talked to 40+ founders and companies, from early-stage stealth startups to mature scale-ups.
Some of them are so good I wish I could take the job myself.
What I learned is clear: both sides are eager for a better system.
That’s what Offmarket is about. Two audiences, one shared mission:
Designers → to land better roles, negotiate stronger, or even start their own company.
Founders → to meet and hire design talent that actually fits their stage, culture, and ambition.
To make that happen, I’m building three layers:
The Offmarket Newsletter: a Substack publication with short, useful articles for the design and startup crowd. Expect practical advice, interviews, and curated signals from the market.
The Offmarket Club: a private Slack space with Office Hours and mentorship, accessible through a small Substack subscription. I’ll host sessions there, lives, Q&As, and soon bring in other mentors.
A Matching Service: direct, hand-picked intros between founders and designers. No listings, no algorithm. Just curated, human matches.
This is not a job board.
It’s a signal amplifier.
Think
by the awesome but exclusively for design.What’s next
I’m kicking off the first Offmarket batch today.
Four companies I’ve personally signed and believe in.
It was tempting to go big right away and onboard everyone interested.
But that would’ve meant sacrificing quality for quantity.
And that’s never been my playbook.
Each batch will be small, focused, and personal.
Once this first one wraps, I’ll open new slots.
More announcements about those companies soon. Both here and on Offmarket’s and personal’s LinkedIns.
In the meantime, here’s what’s next:
➡️ The first Offmarket articles drop next week.
➡️ The Offmarket Club opens right after.
➡️ And if you’re a designer looking for your next chapter, subscribe and reach out.
➡️ If you’re a founder looking for design talent, let’s talk.
The Playbook isn’t going anywhere and what will be what it’s always been: personal, opinionated, a bit raw.
Offmarket is a new side project, a bridge between everything I’ve built, learned, and wished existed when I was starting out.
Thanks for letting me announce it here.
See you in two weeks with the next Playbook issue.
Julien.
Congrats ! 👏👏👏💫
Great! Congratulations.