Dan Becker
Managing Partner at Ligature
San Francisco, California
Overview
Work Experience
Head of Design, Workspace Growth
2024 - Current
Leading UX for product-led growth and monetization of Google Workspace, including the integration of of Gemini in Workspace. Responsible for scaling the $XB Workspace business through: - Driving discovery, adoption, and monetization of GenAI offerings. - Driving SMB and consumer revenue growth. - Improving user adoption and retention across all Workspace apps.
Google is a multinational corporation that specializes in Internet-related services and organizes the world’s information.
Raised $26,100,000.00 from Angel Investors LP, Kleiner Perkins, Signatures Capital, Sequoia Capital, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Shaquille O'Neal, Henry Kissinger, Google and Tiger Woods.
Founder & Managing Partner
2020
Co-founded Ligature: an early-stage investment fund with Daniel Scrivner in 2018. We've invested in over 60 startups, including Bridge, ZIINA, Kick, Public.com, AtoB, Array, Opal, Reforge, and many others. We're focused on embedding design into a startup's DNA from inception. Contrarian by design.
Ligature VC is a venture capital firm.
Advisor
2019
Advising Fund II & Fund III on design and product guidance to portfolio companies, and evaluating potential investments through scouting and due diligence.
Head of Design
2023 - 2024
Executive design leader who built product, brand, and go-to-market experiences at a YC and Founders Fund-backed fintech/legal tech company, reporting directly to the CEO: - Developed strategies and guided execution for founder-friendly workflows and token cap tables. - Built and scaled world-class product and design teams. - Refined brand identity and go-to-market positioning to increase market share.
Pulley is a developer of cap table management, communications hub, and fundraising modeling platforms to manage equity for startups.
Raised $50,150,000.00 from Founders Fund, Jack Altman, Elad Gil, Stripe, La Famiglia, Avichal Garg and Sherwin Gandhi.
Head of Product Design, Content Ecosystems
2022 - 2023
Led teams building new product experiences focused on the future of content, including: - Trend discovery via recommendation-based experiences. - Creation experiences leveraging music and audio. - Strategic development and 0-1 execution for Instagram’s role in Horizons/Metaverse.
Head of Product Design, Creators & Discovery
2019 - 2022
Built and supported an org of teams focused on: - Creator ecosystems, growth, and creator monetization - Global Search and Discovery experiences for the $XB revenue generating Explore tab - Kickstarting and developing the flywheels for Reels video content to thrive on Instagram
Instagram is a free photo-sharing application that enables its users to take photos, apply filters, and share them on social networks.
Raised $57,500,000.00 from Greylock, Thrive Capital, Baseline Ventures, DST Global, Benchmark and Sequoia Capital.
Senior Manager, Experience Design
2016 - 2019
Led an org of design teams which built Airbnb's first sub-brand; a tiering and verification platform called Airbnb Plus: - Defined strategy, and drove execution for the end to end guest experience at launch. - Scaled Airbnb Plus host onboarding and growth from 20 to 200 international markets - Drove strategy and execution which accelerated the business from $0 to $XXXM within 3 years
Lake Swan Properties is a holiday home rental company.
Director, Head of Design
2015 - 2016
Co-Led the design team during hypergrowth, alongside Ryan Noonan, reporting directly to the CMO/CPO: - Scaled the Strava community from 8M to over 45M through rebuilding and improving core aspects of the product experience to serve more athletes. - Grew the subscriber base from 500k to 3M paid subscribers. - United product and brand teams to implement user-centric design processes, resulting in award-winning work that accelerated community growth and unlocked business revenue.
Strava is an online network where runners and cyclists can record their activities, compare performance, and compete with their community.
Raised $151,850,000.00 from TCV, Madrone Capital Partners, Dragoneer Investment Group, Sequoia Capital, Go4it Capital and Jackson Square Ventures.
UX Design Lead, R&D Products
2014 - 2015
Led UX Design for Airbnb’s R&D org (Home to Homes) under co-founder and CPO Joe Gebbia, focusing on piloting new products to complement Airbnb’s core business: - Launched innovative features such as Mobile Guidebooks, Experience Marketplace, Guest Trip Mementos, and Pocket Concierge. - Developed strategic frameworks for the Dynamic Trip Platform. - Advanced entrepreneurial products before the team was restructured to enhance core experiences.
Lake Swan Properties is a holiday home rental company.
Senior Product Designer
2013 - 2014
Contributed to multiple product teams within a small, agile design group of fewer than 15 members: - Conceived and launched Square’s inaugural SaaS products, Feedback and Receipts, transforming digital receipts into opportunities for customer engagement.  - Worked on initiatives including Order 2.0, Caviar, and Market, enhancing Square’s product offerings. - Played a key role in developing tools that enabled merchants to receive and respond to customer feedback directly through digital receipts, improving customer service interactions. 
Square is a software company that designs and develops omnichannel solutions.
Art Director (Contract)
2013 - 2013
Led design and art direction for digital mobile products, e-commerce platforms, and interactive experiences for clients including The Peninsula, Salesforce, Restoration Hardware, and TheFind: - Directed comprehensive 0-1 brand and product design for TheFind, contributing to its acquisition by Facebook. - Developed user-centric designs for The Peninsula’s digital mobile products, enhancing guest engagement. - Led e-commerce platform design for Restoration Hardware, improving user experience and increasing online sales by $XM