In-house designer or design agency: what a crypto or AI startup should pick
Short answer: hire an in-house designer when design is daily, core work for years ahead and someone on your team can manage them. Choose a design agency when you have a clear problem with an end date, like onboarding or a KYC step where users drop off, and you need it fixed within weeks, for example before a launch or a round.
Most founders I talk to reach the same point. Users sign up, then get lost somewhere: at the ID check, the first deposit, or the first prompt. Everyone agrees the app needs a designer. Then the founder has to decide: hire one, or bring in an agency?
I have been on both sides. Before Sollas, I worked as an in-house designer at De.Fi when it was a small team. Now I run Sollas, a small product design studio for crypto, fintech and AI apps. So yes, I am biased. But there are cases where hiring is the right move, and I will start with those.
Contents
TL;DR
- Hire an in-house designer when design is daily, core work for years ahead, and someone on your team can manage them.
- Pick an agency when you have a clear problem with an end date, like an onboarding flow or a KYC step where people drop off.
- Hiring takes time and money before you see the first screen. For technical roles, the median is 76 days from opening the role to the first hire. If you use a recruiter, the fee is 15% to 25% of the first-year base salary.
- With an agency you skip hiring, and you do not manage the designers day to day. You get a team, a process and people who answer for the work.
- If a launch or a round is close, an agency can start in a week or two. A new hire would barely finish onboarding by then.
- You can do both: start with an agency, then hire when design becomes a full-time job.
When does an in-house designer make sense?
An in-house designer is the right call when design is a full-time job for years ahead. Usually that means the product already works, you have found your market, and there is a steady stream of new features to design every week.
A designer who sits next to your engineers learns the product well. They hear every customer call and see every bug report. Over time, that context is hard to replace.
It also makes sense when the team grows. In First Round Review, Teresa Man from Superhuman mentions a usual ratio of nine engineers to one product manager and one designer. With that many engineers, design becomes a full-time job.
One more condition: someone has to manage the designer. If that person is you, the founder, keep reading.
How long does it take to hire a product designer?
Hiring is slow. Ashby's recruiting data shows that technical roles take a median of 40 days from application to offer, and 76 days from opening the role to the first hire. SHRM's latest benchmark shows a median of 39 days to fill a non-executive role. And that is only until the offer. Then the person still has to finish at their old job and learn your product.
In between, there are many calls: screening, portfolio review, a test task, a final call with the founders. Each one takes your time, and your time is the most expensive thing in a startup.
And a good product designer for crypto or AI is hard to find. Many designers have never thought about seed phrases, gas fees or what happens when an AI answer is wrong. You learn whether they get it only after a few weeks of real work.
How much does it cost to hire a product designer?
If you use a recruiter, the usual fee is 15% to 25% of the designer's first-year base salary.
Salaries are high too. On Levels.fyi, the median total pay for a UX product designer in the US is $180,000 a year, with stock and bonus included. Startups often pay less, but even on a $120,000 base salary, a 20% fee is $24,000. You pay it before the designer opens Figma.
Now compare that with the problem you have. Very often it is one or two flows: sign up, the first deposit, the KYC step. That kind of work takes a few months. Paying a recruiter fee and a full-time salary to fix two flows makes little sense.
What if your launch or next round is close?
Most crypto and AI founders I talk to have a date: a launch, a token event or a round. Before a round, investors look at how many users sign up, come back and stay. If people drop off at sign up or at the first deposit, that is the number you want to fix first.
Now put the dates side by side. A hire takes a median of 76 days from opening the role. Then the designer needs time to learn your product. An agency can start in a week or two, and with us the first fixes are live in your product in week 2.
An agency has seen many apps like yours
One designer brings the experience of their past jobs. A studio that works with many crypto and fintech teams has seen the same problems again and again: seed phrase backup, a KYC step that stalls, a deposit that fails, an AI answer people do not trust.
At Sollas, we designed a self-custody wallet, Unhosted, and a Web3 learning app, Continuum, among others. So when we open your app, we often already know where people get stuck and why.
What happens when the design work is done?
Say you hired a designer, and after two months the main flows are fixed. What now?
Legally, you can often end it. In Germany, for example, the first six months can be probation with two weeks of notice. After that, a company with more than ten employees needs a legal reason to let someone go, and the notice period starts at four weeks (GTAI). In the US, most jobs are at will.
But you hired a person for a full-time job. Letting them go after a few months hurts trust in a small team and your name as an employer. And the money you spent on hiring is gone.
What usually happens instead: the team starts inventing tasks so the designer does not sit idle. I have seen this many times. A new illustration set, a second version of the settings screen, a redesign nobody asked for. It feels busy, but it does not move your numbers.
An agency works the other way. It comes in for a specific problem, fixes it and leaves. At Sollas, the scope always follows the request. If you need two flows fixed, we fix two flows. If you need more next quarter, we come back.
Who manages an in-house designer?
An in-house designer needs a manager. Someone has to set tasks, review the work, give feedback and make decisions. In early startups, that someone is the founder.
This takes more time than founders expect. One founder told me it was mostly "handholding, back and forth." He wanted the problem solved without managing anyone.
An agency handles that inside its own team. With us, it works like this: you share what you know about your users and the problem. We come back with ideas, the screens and the code. You approve or give short feedback. You do not need to explain every detail or chase anyone for updates.
Is one designer enough for a startup?
When you hire one designer, everything depends on one person. A vacation or a sick week stops the work. If they leave for another offer, you start hiring again from zero.
An agency gives you a small team with a process that already works. Usually there are a few designers, so someone can cover. One designer reviews another before anything reaches you. And an agency works under a contract, so it does not simply walk away in the middle of a project.
There is also accountability. An agency lives on referrals, public reviews and case studies. A bad project costs it the next client, so it has a strong reason to deliver.
Big design agency or small studio: which fits a startup?
If you choose an agency, choose one your size. We compared studios that work with crypto and fintech teams in our list of product design agencies for crypto and fintech apps. Large agencies often work best with large budgets, long contracts and many meetings. A seed-stage team that ships every week needs something faster.
Small studios fit startups better. At Sollas, I join the calls myself and work directly with your product manager and developers. We are lean because we come from startups. I know how much shipping matters when the next round depends on it. So we split big flows into small parts and ship two or three screens at a time. For Unhosted, a self-custody wallet, we made sign up shorter, and 75% more people created a wallet.
In-house designer vs design agency: side by side
| In-house designer | Design agency | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to start | Often 40 to 76 days to hire, plus notice and onboarding | Often within one or two weeks |
| Cost before the first screen | With a recruiter, 15% to 25% of the first-year base salary | No hiring fee |
| Commitment | A full-time job | Scope and length follow the problem |
| Who manages | You, the founder | The agency, you approve |
| Coverage | One person | A small team |
| Best for | Daily design work for years ahead | A clear problem with an end date |
Can you start with an agency and hire a designer later?
You do not have to choose once and for all. Many startups start with an agency to fix the urgent problems, then hire when design becomes a full-time job.
When you get there, we help. We can help you find a good designer and check their portfolio and test task. We also hand over everything we did: the Figma files, the design system, the code and the reasons behind each decision. Your new designer starts with full context.
FAQ
Should a crypto or AI startup hire a designer or a design agency?
If the problem has an end date, like a sign up flow or a KYC step where users drop off, an agency is faster and has no hiring cost. If design is daily work for years ahead, hire in-house.
When should a startup hire its first in-house designer?
Hire one when design is daily, core work for years ahead, and someone on the team can manage them. Another sign is a growing engineering team that ships every week.
Is a design agency cheaper than an in-house designer?
For a problem with an end date, often yes. You skip the recruiter fee, and you pay only for the months you need. For years of daily design work, a full-time hire usually costs less.
Can a design agency work with my in-house team?
Yes. A good agency works with your product manager and developers in the same tools and ships in small parts, so it fits your release cycle.
What happens when we decide to hire a designer later?
The agency should hand over the Figma files, the design system, the code and the reasons behind each decision. At Sollas, we also help you find and check the right person.
