Paul Mederos ⤬ designer & alchemist

*The way you can go isn't the real way. The name you can say isn't the real name.* — Lao Tzu (transl. Ursula K. Le Guin)

Paul Mederos

Hi, I'm Paul! 👋 I'm into longevity, design, entrepreneurship, engineering, gaming, coffee, chocolate, being a dad, and good vibes 🌈

Currently, I support emerging ventures at Quanata (goal: dramatically reduce auto accidents); angel invest through Adventure Fund; I'm doing discovery on a handful of early stage opportunities in healthcare; and I'm raising two wild, incredible, kind, and loving kids at home 🌱

Previously, I ran a product studio for wellness startups, brought personalized nutrition to life at Territory Foods, and kicked-off the global parkour & freerunning movement at American Parkour ☀️🥗🤸‍♀️

Work

Jul 2020 Case Study

Designing Fitt Insider for clarity of purpose

What started as a side project inside another business quickly outgrew the parent brand. Could we shift the brand—and it's collection of media properties—to stand on its own?
Jun 2020 Case Study

Building a personalized farmacy of the future

Could we help customers understand more about themselves + our product, so they'd be more likely to convert? Could we streamline the funnel to help scale eCom operations?
Jul 2018 Case Study

The 6-month Koso Retrospective

Could we find a product at the intersection of nutrition x coaching? Was the market ready to take telemedicine to the next level? Could we design + build a business we were excited to work on for the next decade?
Jun 2017 Case Study

Launching the Territory brand to accelerate growth

Could we help customers understand more about themselves + our product, so they'd be more likely to convert? Could we streamline the funnel to help scale eCom operations?
Feb 2016 Case Study

Scaling Power Supply to new markets across the country

Would the business model and product experience we developed in one market work in other markets across the country?
May 2015 Case Study

The first step towards personalized nutrition at Power Supply

If we gave folks more control over their meals, would we keep them around longer? Or would decision fatigue prove too frustrating?

Writing

Jan 2023

Woodworking: my beginner's notes

My guide to the basics of woodworking, covering tools, safety, materials, and tips picked up from artisan woodworkers in the shop.
Feb 2022

Building a company in public

Why I'm a fan of building in public, and how I make decisions about what to share. Opening the tent for others, accountability, and co-creation / community orientation lead the way.
Jul 2021

Personal wellbeing & longevity practices

A collection of practices in my routine. This guide is written for me, and I'm also making it public so it might help others.
Dec 2018

Guiding values (May '24)

Things I value: what they are, how I define them, and what they look like in action. They currently are: Love, Purpose, Health, Play, Creativity, Craft.
Aug 2018

The Remote Team Playbook

I’ve worked remote my entire career, and I absolutely love it. It's the future of work. But doing it is hard. It's different. And we're just scratching the surface.
Jun 2018

Journaling for product development

Learning quickly is essential to making great products. And making time for reflection is critical to learning.
May 2018

Clear async comms to improve mental health

Build trust on your distributed team, and save everyone from that shitty feeling of uncertainty by writing more clearly.
Apr 2018

And, not or

False dichotomies, and leaving space o open by changing a single word.
Mar 2018

New Years (2018) opportunity mapping

After leaving Territory Foods, I journaled a bit about my process to discover the next product I wanted to work on. Holistic nutrition, hiring via principles, space to refresh, mental-health-aaS, and personal finance were contenders.
Aug 2015

Crafting Your UX Portfolio

Brittany and I are launching a guide to help interaction designers put their best foot forward on their portfolios. Here's the story of how it came to be.
May 2015

Making the switch from graphic to UX/UI design

What I share with graphic designers looking to make the switch to UI/UX design. Where to start, how to practice, getting hands-on, and adjusting identity.
Sep 2013

Designing for the growth mindset

The power of mindsets (fixed vs growth), activating the growth mindset, and applying it in design practice.