Meet Claudio Angrigiani — Product Designer at MainStreet

Please introduce yourself, what do you do at MainStreet, and what were you doing before this?

Hi! I’m Claudio, a Product Designer currently working on MainStreet’s Government Credits and Incentives product and leading work on our design system. Before Mainstreet, I studied a Master’s program in Product Design at the University of Pennsylvania, and before that, I founded a couple of venture-backed startups, ran a software development agency in Argentina, and led the first in-house design team of Banco Galicia, Argentina’s second-largest commercial bank.

Where have you lived and which place has been your favorite so far?

Buenos Aires, Argentina → Stockholm, Sweden → Mexico City, Mexico → Philadelphia, PA. and Washington, DC, US. I loved all these places, and each has a unique flavor; however, Buenos Aires will always be my favorite. It is where I was born and grew up, so most of my friends and family are there.

What led you to being a Product Designer?

My background is in Engineering, but I never felt it was my thing. I always had a natural interest in Design and Entrepreneurship, something not very common among my Engineering friends. It all started to make sense when I took a Product Design class in which I studied the Bauhaus — I instantly felt represented by their approach to design, art, and engineering. I understood how these things I once thought were isolated practices intersected very elegantly.

Later on, I got my first Mac. Until then, I was pretty afraid of computers, and I assumed that software design and development was just not for me; I was one of those people who saw a Windows alert and just rebooted the computer instantly. But Apple’s approach to technology changed that for me: for the first time, I started to understand how things worked under the hood and that it was bad design preventing me from diving further into technology. This was tremendously empowering to me. I learned how vital Design was to facilitate access to technology and knowledge. I started to study how these great technologists approached software design and allowed computers to be “bicycles for the mind.”

From then on, I became amazed with the power technology has on society’s most important issues. From helping people transact and work from countries with challenging financial circumstances, like my home country, to allowing information flow and free speech in catastrophic events like the one the world is currently facing. I feel design has a crucial role in making these benefits work for everyone, not just the technologists.

Why did you choose to join MainStreet?

I’m profoundly interested in the Fintech world, and I instantly resonated with the problem MainStreet was trying to solve. Legacy banks are simply too big to keep up with the speed of technology, and their services, especially for small businesses, fell behind. There’s an urgent need for better and more efficient financial services for small businesses, and I wanted to be part of the solution.

When I was interviewing for the role, I could feel that MainStreet was a company with great values and potential that was moving super fast to solve a genuine problem. Finally (and perhaps most importantly), the design team was super diverse from the very beginning: 2 out of 4 people at that time were immigrants, including my manager, so I felt that I would be understood and included from the start. All these things are not easy to find in the tech world.

Do you have any pets and if so can we see pictures?

Of course! This is Berta! She’s a rescue dog from Argentina. We got her five years ago; she was meanly abandoned with her siblings in a dumpster. She lived with us for two years, and when we moved to the US, we left her with my parents. Fortunately, we could find a way for her to meet us last year, so she’s now part of the large DC dog community.

Pen or Pencil?

Crayon. I don't like to take things too seriously.

Aside from product design, what else are you interested in?

I recently got into learning React, Three.js, and Next.js. As a digital designer, it is essential to understand the canvas that you’re working with. Also, knowing that you could at least create a basic first version of an idea and put it in front of strangers on the web feels very empowering.

I’m also very into snowboarding, getting into nature, and of course, soccer. I get super stressed every weekend when my team plays, and I know that spending so much time watching other people play makes no sense, but I cannot avoid it.

What’s one meal you can’t stop thinking about?

Asado (Argentinian bbq). And I cannot get it here, so every time I visit friends and family is all I’d eat from the moment the plane touches Argentinian ground.

What is your favorite of the 5 senses? Why?

Taste! I’m definitely a food enthusiast.

What’s one fact about you that tends to surprise others?

My country has had an inflation rate of 50% for the last ~10 years. So it’s kind of fun to see people’s reactions when I explain how we learned to manage our finances in that context.

A movie and/or tv series you’d recommend without hesitation to anyone?

It’s probably Euphoria. It’s pretty raw and dark, so maybe it’s not a good fit for everyone, but if that’s your vibe, give it a watch.

Favorite thing about working at MainStreet?

The people. It’s great to feel that people care about each other. We have a very healthy work environment, and everyone is super conscious and respectful of other people’s needs and time. Also, you’re given ownership and flexibility to do your best work, which I really appreciate from our culture.

At MainStreet, we aim to save startup founders and small business owners time, money, and peace of mind. Our Design team is a multi-disciplinary group of product designers, researchers, and brand designers.