Podcast Summary: Trade Tales – “Why Zoe Feldman Doesn't Believe in Complete Transparency” Host: Kaitlin Petersen, Editor-in-Chief, Business of Home
Guest: Zoe Feldman, Founder & Principal, Zoe Feldman Design
Original Airdate: 2023 (Rebroadcast: January 14, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Kaitlin Petersen interviews acclaimed Washington, D.C. designer Zoe Feldman about her creative journey, business growth, the evolution of her firm, and her unorthodox stance on transparency in the design business. Feldman discusses the continuous push-and-pull in building her practice: leaning into creativity, structuring her business for growth, experimenting with service models and billing, and keeping philanthropy at her firm's core. The episode is rich with practical wisdom for designers at all stages, emphasizing authenticity, adaptability, and the quest for personal and professional purpose.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Zoe’s Creative Roots and Entry into Design

• Artistic Upbringing: Zoe grew up surrounded by art, her mother having run a family art gallery.
  • [02:08] Zoe Feldman: “I grew up in a world surrounded by wonderful, exciting, provocative art around wonderful... artists. ...growing up in this very like, art forward, design forward world shaped who I am.”
• Non-linear Path: Initially studied journalism, then advertising (“a disastrous stint”), discovered design via Parsons and then an internship at Alexa Hampton’s firm.
• Early Self-Doubt and Validation: Getting affirmation from Alexa Hampton was a confidence breakthrough for Zoe.
  • [03:13] Zoe Feldman: “It was so pivotal to my growth... it gave me this shot of self-esteem. ...somebody let me know that I was good at something.”

2. Launching Her Own Firm

• Reluctant Beginnings: After a failed four-day stint with a Florida designer, Zoe started her own firm out of “naivete, arrogance, and youth.”
  • [04:23] “Going off my own was like this great combination of, like, naivete, arrogance, and, like, I don't know, youth, maybe.”
• Growing through Mistakes: Zoe emphasizes the importance of learning from mistakes, cataloging them so as not to repeat them.
  • [05:32] “I've always been somebody where I really look at my mistakes, I accept them, I take them head on... I don't want to make the same mistake twice.”

3. Strategies for Growth: Hiring and Scaling

• Smart Hiring: Hired an assistant who complemented her weaknesses.
  • [07:17] “I hired somebody who was stylish... but she also had an accounting background, and she was very organized, and I am not... this woman will help balance me.”
• Advice on Building a Team:
  • [07:53] “One of the last times I saw [Paul Devereaux]...he was like, hire people better than you. And so I've taken that with me, too.”
• Key Inflection Point: After marrying Matt, a CPA, he pushed her to expand staff, which allowed for greater service quality and growth.
  • [11:32] “You can't afford not to hire more people. ...You have way too much work and not enough staff.”

4. Business Model Innovation: Service Offerings

• Multiple Tiers:
  • Full Service: Zoe is deeply involved from visioning to installation.
  • “Design Anywhere”: Lighter, more virtual engagement for clients not seeking full service.
    • [14:11] “We have both a full service and something we call Design Anywhere which is a bit of like a lighter service, a lighter touch. ...for people who have, you know, a nice budget, but... are willing to get their hands dirty.”
  • “The Expert”: Hourly consults for targeted design help.
• E-commerce Initiatives: Began launching product lines and contemplating shoppable content.

5. Team Building and Workflow Structure

• Business Partner: Matt, her husband, now serves as CFO and President; freed Zoe to focus on creativity.
  • [15:20] “Matt did come on as my CFO and president. ...now he is the president and CFO of our company.”
• Time-Blocking: Carefully structured schedule to protect design “flow” and creative time.
  • [17:17] “Without [structure], I don't think there's a way to do it... The only way for this whole thing to actually work.”
  • Mondays/Wednesdays: Design development
  • Tuesdays/Thursdays: Marketing, clients
  • Fridays: Potential clients, overflow

6. The Editorial Team – Unusual in Design

• Wanted her studio to have a strong editorial, media, and storytelling voice.
  • [20:16] “I knew I wanted to lean into this sort of, like, editorial media world, and I'm not that. ...I wanted to have someone or people on my team who could elevate that.”
• Hires people with unconventional backgrounds (e.g., TV writer aspirations) to build a multi-faceted brand.

7. Purpose, Philanthropy, and Brand Values

• Finding Purpose: Zoe seeks professional greatness and personal meaning; she’s open to pivoting quickly if something doesn’t feel right.
  • [23:06] “You have to have a lot of blind faith. ...If there's a better path, you absolutely can [change direction].”
• Built-in Philanthropy:
  • Inspired by her surgeon father’s charity giving, Zoe set up client consultation fees as donations to environmental charities, then matches them if clients sign on.
  • [43:47] “I realized, oh, my God, the earth is burning and we're sitting inside of it... why don't I align with some charities that are helping the earth, and ... ask for money for everyone who wants to have a consultation... if they sign, we match whatever donation they gave.”
  • Firm also plants over 1,000 trees per completed project, and strives for sustainable design choices and circular economy practices.
• Client Response: Strong resonance; gives clients a sense of shared values, makes firm more attractive.

8. Transparent, But Not TOO Transparent: Zoe’s Controversial Stance

• On Fee/Markup Transparency: Zoe is steadfastly against full transparency on pricing markups, believing that most clients (and people) don’t actually want to know the “raw” numbers.
  • [34:10] “...I am a firm believer that people only think they want full transparency, but they don't actually, because it's gross... You're like, ‘oh, yay, great, to see you're making X percentage of this. Like, why don't you take 10% off?’ ...”
• Retail Analogy: Compares design pricing opacity to retail: no one expects a retailer to reveal their real costs; discounts and free shipping are just psychological tactics.
  • [34:54] “By the way, there's no such thing as free shipping. It's just embedded into the price. But nobody in the retail world shows you their overhead and how much they're making. Nobody. That's like, insane. And why we think that this is smart in our business is, like, crazy to me.”
• Client-Friendly Billing Practices: Embeds shipping costs into quoted product prices; avoids line-iteming shipping, which confuses clients. Moves away from hourly billing for design process except where truly collaborative, and now sends weekly work statements for transparency and to prevent “sticker shock.”
  • [37:36] “We send weekly statements for all hourly work... Now, a client can call me and say, oof, this is pretty heavy, or whatever. So by the time they get their monthly...we don't get any calls anymore.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Making Mistakes:
  • [06:23] “I have this sort of catalog of mistakes that I try never to do again... at our monthly meetings, we all do our highs and lows... to save other people from making similar mistakes.”
• On Delegating and Growth:
  • [07:53] “Hire people better than you.”
  • [11:32] “You can't afford not to hire more people.”
• On Transparency:
  • [00:02]/[34:10] “I am a firm believer that people only think they want full transparency. ...Nobody in the retail world shows you their overhead and how much they're making. Nobody. That's like insane.”
• On Purpose:
  • [46:39] “I think success looks like for me today the ability to take care of my family alongside my husband and also the people who generously work with me every day ...and ...to also be a mother and make sure that I give the time to my children that they require.”
• On Philanthropy:
  • [43:47] “Why don't I align with some charities that are helping the earth, and I will ask for money for everyone who wants to have a consultation with me. And then if they sign, we match whatever donation they gave.”
• On Iteration and Progress:
  • [18:05] “You're never going to be correct the first time. So just do it. Try it... Same with writing...give me something. It's probably going to be terrible. And that's OK... This is how you learn.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:08] – Zoe’s creative upbringing
• [03:13] – Life-changing validation at Alexa Hampton’s firm
• [05:32] – On cataloging mistakes and team learning
• [07:53] – “Hire people better than you”
• [11:32] – Husband Matt’s push for team and business scaling
• [14:11] – Explanation of various client service tiers
• [15:13] – Matt becomes CFO and President; operational changes
• [17:17] – Deep dive on structured scheduling and creativity
• [20:16] – Hiring writers and launching editorial/marketing branch
• [23:06] – Moments of doubt and changing direction
• [34:10] – Extended riff on transparency and pricing psychology
• [43:47] – The give-back program and integrating philanthropy
• [46:39] – Zoe’s definition of success today

Episode Takeaways

• Growth involves embracing vulnerability, mistakes, and ongoing self-awareness.
• Purpose for Feldman is multidimensional: creative, entrepreneurial, and philanthropic.
• Transparent practices, in her view, are best when they serve the client experience, not when they simply expose margin–thus, embed costs and offer clarity without over-disclosure.
• A strong, structured team and workflow protect creativity and enable scale.
• Philanthropic commitments are powerful both for the soul and for business reputation.

For anyone seeking inspiration and insight on reimagining their design business—and debating how transparent to be with clients—Zoe Feldman's candid, practical perspective offers a masterclass in leading with integrity, creativity, and confidence.