Sharing risk: how to build a people-first design business
Learn 7 real-life steps from Abb-d Taiyo, co-founder of Driftime.
Sharing risk can strengthen partnerships, empower your team, and lead to long-term success. Abb-d Taiyo, co-founder of Driftime, shared this insight at Design Layers, a conference investigating the intersection of creativity, ethics and business goals, hosted by Readymag. His advice is here to help you build a lasting, people-first design business.
Build trust by giving first
One of the most powerful ways to form strong partnerships is to give before you get. Instead of pushing for large contracts from the beginning, start small. This can mean offering valuable advice, running a low-risk pilot project, or providing tools that benefit the client without a hefty price tag.
“We define rich as becoming rich by giving. This doesn’t mean doing work for free, but it’s more about being smart and generous in ways that build trust and long-term relationships.”—Abb-d Taiyo
Example from Driftime's experience: they once offered a low-commitment partnership to a sustainability client. This small step eventually led to a large-scale collaboration that helped raise $7 million in the last year alone to empower environmental campaigns.
Define value together
To truly share risk, it's essential to understand what both sides bring to the table. When you collaborate with your clients to define value together, it ensures that everyone is working toward the same goal.
“The value is also what you bring to the table, and the confidence of knowing what you can do to inch closer to that impact goal.”—Abb-d Taiyo
Example from Driftime's experience: they partnered with a logistics company to reduce emissions. The company’s short-term need was credibility, while their long-term goal was cutting harmful emissions. By collaboratively defining these goals, Driftime helped the company achieve a 75% reduction in emissions, growing their revenue to $7.8 million in the first year without any outside funding.
Lower barriers with small steps
When you offer a noncommittal—something small but meaningful—you create a safe space for clients to take a step without a full commitment. It could be a reduced-fee project or a trial phase, but it removes the pressure and opens the door for trust to grow.
Example from Driftime's experience: they offered a client a low-risk strategy session, which resulted in a partnership that helped their clients campaign get 3.4 million actions supporting crucial environmental decisions.
Share risk, share reward
When you share risk with your clients, you align your interests. If they succeed, you succeed. By taking on part of the risk, you show commitment to the project’s outcome, which builds a deeper sense of trust and partnership.
“You can never be a true partner unless you have some skin in the game.”—Abb-d Taiyo
Example from Driftime's experience: they supported a start-up without demanding full payment upfront, sharing the risk by offering continued work based on future success. As the client won significant funding and partnerships, Driftime’s trust paid off through long-term collaboration and growth.
Empower your team with freedom
Sharing risk also applies to your team. Driftime operates with complete autonomy, offering team members flexible working hours and unlimited paid holidays. When you take away restrictions, the team feels trusted and free to take creative risks.
“When we think about this in terms of our culture, by making a four-day workweek mandatory, we’ve so far claimed 265 Fridays back for time in nature, time with friends and family, or time for those all-important Netflix binges.”—Abb-d Taiyo
A recent staff survey revealed a 98% happiness and retention rate, showing that everyone on the team is fully invested in their work and goes above and beyond their roles.
Allow room for failure within your team
It's in those “failures” that the biggest learning and growth happens. Leaders should guide but not micromanage, allowing their teams to take ownership and learn from their mistakes.
“As a leader, our job is to guide and empower, let them fail, learn, and ultimately shine.”—Abb-d Taiyo
This was one of the factors that helped Driftime earn the title of Remote Team of the Year for 2024 and get shortlisted as one of the best small agencies to work for by the UK Company Culture Awards, among other key efforts.
Assume you’re wrong
This mindset keeps you humble and open to new possibilities. Even with years of experience, always approach each project with a beginner’s mindset. This means being willing to question assumptions and stay open to unexpected solutions.
“It’s the question of ‘What if?’ that can lead to many other doors opening and unexpected results, rather than a narrow, predetermined path.”—Abb-d Taiyo
Example from Driftime's experience: In 2021, they earned a B Corp accreditation with a score of 91. After improving how they share risk, they resubmitted this year with a higher tentative score of 133. Driftime was also recognized by “If You Could” and “It’s Nice That” as a Top Creative Company of 2024 for their strong team culture and leadership, showing how staying open to new possibilities can really pay off.
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