Katie Dill: Quality Control

Katie Dill: Quality Control

From First of Kind by @soleio

February 25, 2026 · 42 min · Season 2 · Episode 3

About this episode

Katie Dill discusses how her experiences in aviation and architecture influence her approach to software design at Stripe.

What can flying teach us about software design? Katie Dill has built world-class teams at three iconic companies—Stripe, Lyft and Airbnb—proving that thoughtful design can shape quality at industrial scale. In this conversation with Soleio, Katie describes her winding path into technology and how fields as disparate as architecture and aviation shape her approach to leading design at Stripe. 00:00 – Intro: It's All About Mileage 02:18 – What Flying Teaches You About Design 07:01 – From History to Design School 10:30 – The IDEO Moment 18:01 – Saying Yes to the Scary Thing 19:46 – The Chair Pullback 21:16 – The Gray Room at Airbnb 25:47 – Breaking Down the Ivory Tower 30:05 – Put In the Mileage 33:35 – Beauty Builds Trust 36:53 – Steam Gauges and Simple Systems 38:53 – The Best Checkout in the World Katie Dill: Quality Control First of Kind, S2:E3 Hosted by Soleio and produced by Room 3: room3nyc.com First of Kind is powered by our sponsors: Framer — framer.com Cursor — cursor.com Vercel — vercel.com Profound — tryprofound.com Website: www.firstofkind.com 𝕏: x.com/firstofkind_ Threads: threads.com/firstofkind_ Instagram: instagram.com/firstofkind_ Hashtag: #FirstofKind

People in this episode

Host: Soleio

Guest: Katie Dill

Topics covered

  • software design
  • team building
  • technology
  • aviation
  • architecture
  • quality control

Keywords

  • software design
  • quality control
  • team building
  • aviation
  • architecture
  • technology

Sponsors

Framer, Cursor, Vercel, Profound

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Stripe, Lyft, Airbnb, IDEO

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