We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Zhe Xiao a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Zhe thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. The first dollar you earn in a new endeavor is always special. We’d love to hear about how you got your first client that wasn’t a friend or family.

Recently, secured our first enterprise client, a leading company in the market. As an AI-driven marketing tool, our team has been actively optimizing data, restructuring infrastructure, and enhancing the overall user experience. For example, I have spearheaded improvements in UX design by creating and organizing data visualizations generated through natural language instructions. From tracking trends to gaining performance insights, users can now easily manage visuals with just a few simple steps.

Zhe, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Zhe Xiao is a Senior user experience designer based in Seattle who is passionate about design and brand identity. He has served at an advertising agency, where he gained invaluable experience in graphic design and marketing. Thereafter, he worked at one of the largest mobile phone companies, OPPO, where his primary responsibility was visual concept performance for mobile phone systems and producing key visuals for products. Meanwhile, He has assigned tasks to the various team members to ensure they’ve achieved their targets, which led to the prestigious award of ‘Best Project’ in the first quarter of 2014. Furthermore, He has worked as a Project Manager to devise ideas, produce concepts for key points featured in presentations, and establish/compile style guidelines. Subsequently, whilst at a startup company called MISFIT, he gained extensive experience as a member of a unicorn company in San Francisco. Then, he worked for HARMAN INTERNATIONAL(A SAMSUNG Company), where his main duties included coordinating the design and innovation process for various products. He is now collaborating with industry pioneers to embrace AI and create tools that help people enjoy their work and life more efficiently.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Navigating a High-Stakes Redesign with Tight Deadlines

One of the most challenging moments in my career was leading the redesign of a core feature for a global In-car software platform. The project was crucial, as it impacted millions of daily users, and stakeholders expected significant results. Instead of panicking, I took a step back and focused on a solution-oriented approach. Midway through the project, we encountered a major issue: The team is struggling with the complex flow involving OEMs and third-party developers. The inconsistent demands from multiple parties, along with the lack of prioritization and a clear roadmap, are causing challenges.

I partnered with my team to clearly communicate prioritized requirements and then worked closely with the engineering team to understand the limitations in detail. I quickly redefined the scope without compromising the user experience, proposed creative workarounds, and kept communication open with stakeholders, managing their expectations effectively.

During that period, I worked extra hours, focusing on finding ways to deliver a seamless experience despite the constraints. Ultimately, we launched on time, and the redesign was a success, receiving positive feedback from users for its ease of use and visual clarity. This experience taught me the importance of adaptability and resilience—how being flexible while keeping user needs at the forefront can lead to creative problem-solving, even under tight pressure.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Currently, in Aliveo AI, and about 6 months back, we believed we were building a fantastic marketing insights tool. But something didn’t sit right. Our users didn’t just need insights—they needed real help. So, we hit pause, listened, and made a big pivot. We turned Aliveo AI into a data copilot. As a designer, I came up with a new workflow that includes reporting, optimizations, analysis, and chat. To streamline the marketing team’s workflow, save over 20 weekly hours on monitoring and optimization tasks.

The result: Users ultimately proceeded with payment after the trial period. We won more clients and 4 times MRR.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.zhexiao.work/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zhe.xiao_design/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-zhexiao/
• Other: Behance: https://www.behance.net/zhexiao