Ben Blumenfeld is a co-director at Designer Fund. In our 21st episode, he explains how designers can become successful founders, how to best develop a learning mindset, and what makes for an effective pitch to the investors at Designer Fund.

Designers don’t have to be stuck using only pixels and pencils. Blumenfeld explains how, with the right skillset and curiosity, any designer can become a founder. That said, if you’re expecting to become a design founder, Blumenfeld says to remember that there’s a lot of non-design work to be done.

One of the most vital skills any designer can have is the ability and willingness to question everything. Blumenfeld says that by expanding your talent sphere and learning to understand what is and isn’t of interest to you, you can better understand what role you should be playing in a company and where your own strengths/weaknesses are. “Don’t go too deep into design and pigeonhole yourself.”

Jared Erondu and Bobby Ghoshal are the hosts of High Resolution. This post and episode notes were put together by freelance writer, Gannon Burgett. Watch for High Resolution episodes to drop every Monday on TechCrunch at 8 a.m. PT. You can also listen on iTunes and Overcast.