For all of the upsides of growth, there’s a side effect that doesn’t get talked about enough: how emotionally challenging it can be for the principal at the helm. Whether the change comes fast or slow, adding a new team member (or 20) indelibly changes a firm, and the person running it. Seven designers at different stages of staffing up share how they think about hiring, and how they’ve adjusted to their own changing role within the firm.

» The Dreamer

After years of compromising his vision by working for someone else, Nile Johnson set himself free and founded his Philadelphia-based firm. Now he’s embracing the idea that his dream needs a team.