Scaling a Profitable, Financially Independent UX & Design Unit

Executive summary

This case study describes my first executive-level leadership role as Head of UX & Design at NFQ Technologies, where I transitioned from an individual contributor into full ownership of a financially independent design unit.

Over a period of nearly three years:

This role combined people leadership, service strategy, sales support, and full P&L accountability, marking my first experience running a design organization as a standalone business within a service-based company.

Context & problem

When I stepped into the Head of UX & Design role, the design function at NFQ was small and under-leveraged from a business perspective.

At the starting point:

• The team consisted of 2 designers
• Annual revenue was approximately €125k
• Design was primarily positioned as a delivery support function
• Services focused mainly on web and app UI/UX execution
• Limited ownership existed over commercial strategy, utilization, or growth planning

At the same time, NFQ was scaling its engineering and consulting services, creating an opportunity to position design as a strategic, revenue-generating partner rather than a cost center.

Goals & objectives

My task was to transform UX & Design into a mature, scalable, and profitable business unit while maintaining high delivery quality and a strong team culture.

Key responsibilities included:

• Full P&L ownership for the design unit
• Scaling team capacity in line with revenue growth
• Defining a clear value proposition and service portfolio
• Ensuring high utilization without burnout
• Supporting new client acquisition and growing existing accounts
• Establishing career paths, processes, and leadership structures

This required a shift from a senior designer mindset to executive decision-making across finance, operations, sales, and people management.

Process & solution

I approached the transformation across four parallel dimensions: business, team, services, and operations.

Building a scalable team

• Grew the team from 2 to 10 designers across multiple seniority levels
• Introduced clear role definitions, growth paths, and performance expectations
• Established mentorship and regular feedback cycles
• Invested in team culture, psychological safety, and long-term retention
• Added a team lead layer to support scale and delegation

Owning financial and operational performance

• Took responsibility for budgeting, forecasting, pricing, and profitability
• Actively managed utilization, maintaining 85%+ efficiency
• Balanced delivery load with sales, presales, and internal initiatives
• Made hiring and staffing decisions based on pipeline and margin targets

Expanding services and value proposition

• Expanded services beyond web and app design
• User research and discovery
• Usability testing and validation
• UX audits and expert reviews
• E-commerce UX evaluations
• Design systems and long-term design partnerships
• Positioned design earlier in engagements to influence product strategy
• Shifted conversations from screens to outcomes, risk reduction, and business value

Driving growth through sales and partnerships

• Actively supported sales and presales activities
• Participated in client pitches and solution shaping
• Helped close new clients by demonstrating strategic UX value
• Grew revenue through upsell and long-term client retention
• Partnered closely with engineering and account teams to present unified solutions

Outcome & impact

By the end of my tenure, UX & Design had become one of NFQ’s strongest-performing support units from both a financial and strategic perspective.

Key results achieved:

• Revenue increased nearly 5x to approximately €0.5M annually
• Achieved record-high revenue for the design unit in NFQ’s history
• Sustained 85%+ utilization while scaling team size
• Design became a trusted contributor to client acquisition and account growth
• Established a resilient team structure capable of operating independently

Most importantly, this role marked my transition from senior practitioner to business leader, proving that design can operate with full commercial accountability while maintaining craft quality, team health, and long-term impact.