Design Jam

The supportive, virtual mini-hivemind you need to solve your biggest challenges.

We've all reached the limit at one point or another.

That place where you know beyond a reasonable doubt that this is figure-out-able and you have absolutely no ability or capacity to even start.

You’ve done the “journaling to get past your blocks” exercises.
You've called upon your peers for feedback.
Heck, you even considered joining an over-priced mastermind (or four).

And all the while, your business is stalled because you’re mired in indecision.

Despite your better efforts, you know it’s time to call in the reinforcements. You just don’t know what reinforcements to call in.

The image shows a black and white cutout of a person sitting on a blue couch. In the background, there are assorted plants and household items. The overall scene has a blue-toned, moody atmosphere.

A person holding a boom box down by their knees on a street in front of a property with the building and tree in the background. The overall image has a high-contrast, black and white aesthetic with a background toned green.

Enter: Design Jam

For the founders, entrepreneurs, and small business owners desperately seeking momentum.

Over the course of four short weeks, you’ll move from stuck in the mire to clear sailing with the help of a small cohort and two facilitators (hey, that's us!). We know that might sound crazy, but we’ve seen it happen countless times.

Most of our participants report experiencing:

Clarity - hallelujah!
Forward momentum - like you haven’t felt in months
Support - from everyone and the safe space we create
Synchronistic opportunities - hello random job offer from a person you met months ago

It's time for a Design Jam!

Join us for our next round. We'll meet on Tuesdays from 5:30-7:30pm (Pacific) from January 28th to February 18th.

Registration opens soon.

A stacked collection of cassette tapes depicted in abstract line art style.

A virtual meeting you'll actually like attending

A group of four people collaborating around a laptop in a brightly lit office, with notebooks on the table, showing teamwork and brainstorming. The overall image has a high-contrast, black and white aesthetic with a background toned red.

Design Jam combines the power of a small cohort (just *4* people), two strategic facilitators (that’s us!), and design thinking strategies to help you answer the big question that's kept you stuck spinning your wheels.

Here's how it works:

The group meets virtually 4 times over the course of 4 weeks. Each meeting is 2 hours long and we spend most of the time in Figjam, a digital whiteboard.

What it will help you do:

Identify your true business challenge. Often, it’s not what you think it is.
Generate new ideas for solutions. Like dozens of them that you won’t find alone.
Evaluate the solutions. Gut checks, future thinking, validation, we do it all!
Create a clear path forward in the form of an actionable, group-assessed roadmap.

And you’ll do it all in a supportive, welcoming cohort that offers different perspectives that will spark innovative solutions.

When you finish Design Jam, you’ll have clarity around your challenge, forward momentum, and a new group of business besties.

Need the nitty gritty? We get it - here’s what each week looks like:

Week 1: Define and discover

We can't solve a challenge before we properly define it. That's why we start with interviews to help you see the actual shape of your situation, the impact it's having on your business, and the restrictions that may or may not be in your way. We’ll write up a problem statement for each participant as a group and it will become your guiding light for the whole workshop.

Week 2: Ideation

Now we can get into the fun stuff! As a group we'll come up with dozens of ideas for each participant, moving quickly and thinking creatively. You’ll then move all of the ideas onto an impact/effort matrix to help you decide which ideas are the best ones to pursue. You'll leave with your brain buzzing.

Week 3: Evaluation

We'll look at your chosen idea from all angles, figuring out what your solution needs to include to help you reach your goal. This is where the group's different business and life experiences help you think from a variety of viewpoints. This is also where you consider positive and negative outcomes that could come from pursuing a particular idea.

Week 4: Road mapping

It's great to have lots of ideas and plans, but if you don't map out your steps, you'll never actually start moving forward. As a group, we'll help each participant plan out a roadmap to reach your end goal. We'll organize our plans around effort levels to make sure you can actually complete your plan and reach your goal.

Testimonials

"I have more clarity about potential solutions that are beyond what I would have thought of on my own."

Ashlan Glazier-Anderson, Ashbean PDX

"It made me realize that I can make my work exciting AND prosperous again, not just tolerable and prosperous."

Jenny Foss, Job Jenny

"It was amazing how much it helped having totally fresh eyes on my problem. I got some strong validation because these people do not have anything to do with my world and they understood the vision. I got some very creative suggestions and ideas that have helped me move forward on new pathways."

Mary Williams, Sensible Woo

"Working with a group helped me with seeing a different perspective to my problem. It also helps me feel less alone and reminds me there are other people who can help or empathize with my situation. I'm looking forward to solving the problem now instead of feeling scared of having a problem."

Sophia Miller, brand marketing manager

"But how will it work for me" you might be asking

You know that vision of success you have for your business?
‍
Adding a retreat component to your business that brings in $100k?
‍
Launching a podcast that goes viral?
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Simply getting over your fear of making big money?

Design Jam helps you build and start, no matter what the big problem is.

When you go through Design Jam, you’ll get dozens of ideas from others which helps you get out of your head. You’ll have a supportive group helping you audit and validate your ideas as well as the steps to achieving your goal (which means you won’t struggle to execute the vision alone!). And, best of all, you’ll leave with a detailed and actionable roadmap to ensure your success after we part ways.

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We should probably introduce ourselves

Hi! We’re Megan and Jeffrey, the duo behind Fat Cap. We’ve worked together for nearly a decade and worn ALL the hats over the years. We’ve used dozens of design thinking strategies to solve our own challenges and picked our favorites for this course. We’re also proud neurodivergents, so we encourage you to come as you are.

Megan Eckman

Customer experience designer, brand strategist

Megan is all about big, crazy ideas and connecting people. She loves asking, “Why not?” and pushes people to think beyond their limiting beliefs. She’s a huge proponent of minimum viable products/services and iteration.

Jeffrey Opp

Designer, futurist

Jeffrey is all about strategy. He loves frameworks and has a special talent for seeing the true problems people dance around. He’s famous for asking the hard questions. He currently works at the University of Oregon as the graphic designer for Advancement and the Alumni Association

FAQs

Do I need to be on camera?

If you’re not comfortable being on camera, you are welcome to turn your camera off. Most of our meetings will be spent looking at Figma, so you’re welcome to have your camera off for those portions as well.

Is there homework?

Nope. Everything will be completed during the call. But you’re welcome to work on your ideas outside of the calls.

I'm neurodivergent. Will I be supported in this?

Absolutely! Over half of our past Design Jammers (we totally just made that word up) have been neurodivergent. And since we're both neurodivergent ourselves (hello dyslexia and ADHD), we've structured the workshops to support the way minds of all types work. If you feel like you need more accommodations at any time, please don't hesitate to ask. We want you to feel supported every step of the way.

Is Design Jam a good fit for my very specific problem?

We know everyone has unique challenges so please feel free to contact us to chat. We’re always honest about whether Design Jam is the best fit.

Have a question we didn't answer above? Reach out on our contact page.