Our first PD freelancer

Jacob Eriksson was one of the first Product Designers to join our freelance network. He has been working with TRIB for different assignments for some years now! He is a true talent and one of the best we’ve seen to come in and improve an exciting product or to get an energy injection to new concepts.

Story

Today Jacob successfully combine his startup Boxbollen with his consultancy life. He helps both larger corporations and scale-ups with their product design teams, processes, and designs. He is a multidisciplinary designer from interaction and UI design to high-level UX conceptualizing with and strong value-bringing and revenue-generating mindset!

The latest gig with TRIB was to be the UX lead for the integration of Menigas Cashback service with the Nordea mobile app. With an uptake of 200.000 users in a few months and great user feedback.

Jacob is a star that guided us to success with his great skills.

– Åsa Bengter, VP Rewards & Country Manager at Meniga Rewards

Three quick questions

What has been the most challenging parts combining running your own business with freelance gigs? What are the best things about it?
Challenging: To be at two different places at the same time. Some important meetings tend to be booked at the same time. Would be nice to be able to clone yourself sometimes 🙂

Best: For me, the best part is that you get a variety and creative energy from switching projects. Also the economic side of things: it’s allowed me to bootstrap our startup without having salaries to pay.

What are the pros of having a TRIB Agent and how have you experienced that?
I love having Moa as my agent. It makes me feel special and somewhat of a rockstar who can say things like “I just had lunch with my agent” Kidding aside, Moa has served as a great partner in everything from catching up on industry needs to landing gigs and helping with negotiation.

What is the key aspect, in your opinion, to build and maintain a successful freelance business?
To always give it your best and try to over-deliver. Put yourself in the shoes of your client and aim to make them the biggest winner in the collaboration. Also, a nice, clean, and updated portfolio helps. (I’m ashamed to say I haven’t updated mine since 2014).