A conversation with ⁠Frank Guzzone⁠, Head of Design at Thrive Capital.

He grew up in Virginia, the son of an immigrant father. Frank and I are from the same hometown & college. Frank enrolled at UVA with the plan to become a doctor. He took the MCATs, spent two years as a scribe but a chance opportunity to design the cover of a textbook accompanied a change of course, he decided to pursue a masters degree at the VCU Brandcenter.

He interned at AKQA in San Francisco in the summer between grad school years, worked at Mother New York in advertising, moved to Google’s Creative Lab, and joined Oscar Health - Arriving at the Puck Building in 2015, where he would return years later…

From there: City Block Health and four years of freelancing, meanwhile, posting Cinema 4D animations on an Instagram account now approaching 100k followers.

Frank then arrived at Thrive already having worked with brands like Apple, Google, Adidas, plus touring musicians like John Mayer and Fatboy Slim. He is now Head of Design, helping portfolio founders design and name companies, designing Thrive’s merch and brand, commissioning the flags on the building, and running a design fellowship.

Frank is an amazing designer and an even better person. I hope you enjoy our chat: A glimpse into Frank’s life, past work, and the journey that led him to shaping one of venture’s great brands.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:57 Hospitality and Hard Work

00:03:06 Choosing UVA Over Art School

00:07:37 Early Creative Outlets

00:13:49 Oscar Health

00:23:02 Going Viral on Instagram

00:25:06 Freelancing for Apple, Rimowa, and More

00:31:32 Building Thrive’s design function

00:37:52 How to Name a Startup

00:42:12 Design as an expression of Thrive’s Values

00:47:20 Why Good Design is Invisible

00:48:48 Design Fellowship

00:57:08 Work-Life Balance

00:59:43 Adaptation is a Superpower

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