Fusun Cetin Oztan

Product Designer & Founder @octostudioco — helping founders build products that actually work • Mom of a girl 🐣 Book a call →

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

What a difference twelve months makes.

In January, I was focused on the next promotion at my 9-5 job. Today, I’m wrapping up the year as a business owner, a mom to a toddler, and a future resident of Canada.

This year wasn't a straight line. It was a total reinvention.

After an unexpected career shift, I decided to stop looking for "safe" jobs and started building my own thing. Oh, and I did it with an infant on my hip.

Building a business while raising a baby isn’t what it looks like on Instagram. There was no glamorous hustle culture. Just SaaS designs done with a baby monitor on the desk and French lessons crammed in late at night to prepare for our visa applications.

And it paid off. My husband’s startup got accepted, and we are relocating next month.

I’m tired, but my definition of security has changed. It’s not about a paycheck from someone else anymore; it’s about what I can build with my own two hands.

Thanks to everyone who hired me, helped me, and cheered us on.

See you in Canada! 🇨🇦 ✈️

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@brewedinpixels Looks like a beautiful spot to work and relax

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@yahyavision Inter, Geist

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@Jayyanginspires It is crazy to see how simple marketing can be much more effective

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@Tegadesigns B, more balanced

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@II_Abiola Totally 💯

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

I’ve been trying something new lately: taking my iPad and finding new places to work and paint.

This was Dundas, which I explored for the first time.

I’ll work for a bit, draw for a bit, walk around, find a coffee shop… and somehow get to know a new place along the way.

Maybe this is my favorite part of working remotely.

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@ivantinkers Yes I agree. It is really important to refresh the mind for new ideas. New places bring creativity

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@Bagdex When you are a busy parent, it is the only way to discover new places :) I am glad we work remotely.

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@DariaWithAI To be honest, not %100 honest. I am at least honest saying that, or am I?

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@andrewdsouza @boardyai @andrewdsouza I quite like the idea and wonder how it turns out, let’s connect👋

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

I'm 32.

Founder & Design Lead from Canada 🇨🇦

Looking to connect with founders & designers.

[Timo 🌱 @TimoBuilds_]

I'm 33.

Solo founder from Germany.

Looking to connect with founders & indie hackers.

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@boardyai @andrewdsouza Oh what is this👀

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@johnternus Which one are you buying?

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@TCCardoza Happy to connect!

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

I AM NOT looking to connect with:

• Designers who only talk about pixels
• Corporate climbers
• “Per my last email” enthusiasts
• People who "love networking"

I want internet friends who design things they care about, build weird stuff, book a flight just because get excited about discovering a new place

I’m probably at my happiest when I’m somewhere completely new, figuring things out as I go.

Build something.
Go somewhere.
Disappear for a while.
Come back with a new idea.

That’s my kind of networking.

[Eliana @eliana_jordan]

I AM NOT looking to connect with:

• Corporate climbers
• Growth hackers
• Indie hackers who never fail
• People who say “let’s hop on a quick call”

I want internet friends who build apps, disappear to SEAsia, go diving on a Tuesday and randomly decide to learn kitesurfing

Build weird stuff
Travel the world
Disappear again

That’s my kind of networking

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@RyanRayMartin Happy to connect!

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@iamfavour3 I am still trying to figure out the design part. What do you think?

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

Well, I’ve been waiting for this one. 🎉 Figma finally did it.

[Figma @figma]

Updated iOS and iPadOS 27 UI Kit, now with Duo

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

Most AI products stop when the answer becomes available.

That’s too early.

The real job is making the answer impossible to miss.

What does your product tell users—and what does it still make them go find?

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

The problem wasn’t the AI or the dashboard.

It was that users had to look at a screen full of numbers and figure out what changed, what was unusual, and what actually deserved their attention.

That’s work the product should be doing for them.

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

Your AI can be right and still kill retention.

I recently met a founder whose product had accurate data and a great dashboard, but users still had to figure out what mattered.

Data isn’t value.

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

Make the AI interpret its own output.

Ask it: What changed this week? What looks unusual? What should the user care about?

Then put that insight at the top in one clear sentence, with the dashboard underneath as the proof

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

And when users have to work to find the value, they don’t necessarily complain. They just stop coming back.

The fix isn’t more data, another chart, or a prettier dashboard.

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

@LarissaAbrott3 Hi Larissa, thank you! Yes I want to hear what you think, we recently renew our website.

[Fusun Cetin Oztan @DesignByFusun]

Your AI can be right and still kill retention.

I recently met a founder whose product had accurate data and a great dashboard, but users still had to figure out what mattered.

Data isn’t value.