Aiolum Browse stories
All tools
Building the product · 17 of 252 stories

Figma

A collaborative design application: a team draws the screens of a website or app together in one shared file, and developers turn the designs into code.

What Figma is

Written from its maker's own pages, read on 28 October 2026.

Figma is a collaborative design platform made by the company Figma. Its main product, Figma Design, is an interface design tool: designers draw the screens of apps and websites on an infinite canvas with vector shapes, text and layout tools.

Several people work in the same file at the same time, comment on it and chat with their cursors. A design can be turned into a clickable prototype, a model of the product that users can try before it is built. Teams keep a design system, a shared library of styles, components and variables, so that all screens use the same colors, spacing and parts. Dev Mode helps developers translate designs into code, and the Figma MCP server gives AI coding tools the same design context. Other products are FigJam, a digital whiteboard, Figma Slides for presentations, Figma Make, which builds prototypes from a text prompt, and Figma Sites for publishing websites.

Figma is a hosted service with a free Starter plan; paid plans are billed per seat, monthly or yearly.

Made by
Figma
Price
From US$16 a month for one Full seat, billed annually (Professional plan) (read 28 October 2026)
Free plan
yes, limited

Who uses it, and for what

One row per story. The grade is for the claim that the business uses this tool, not for its revenue.

StoryWhat it does thereWhenCost statedGradeSource
Tweet HunterDesign tool, listed in the founder's Starter Story tool list.CStarter Story, 18 May 2023: How we built a $3.5M ARR LinkedIn tool that will be acquired for $10M-$15M
AudioPenDesign tool used for the first screens before the build.CStarter Story, 16 May 2024: The App I Built In 12 Hours Now Makes $15K/Mo
SiteGPTDesign tool in the founder's tool list on Starter Story.CStarter Story, 8 October 2023: How my AI side project grew to $15K MRR in just a few months
RytrDesign tool for the interface mock-ups made before the first version was built.CStarter Story, 28 November 2021: I Built A Simple AI Writing Tool That Makes $60K/Year
TalknotesDesign of the landing pages before they were coded.CNico Jeannen's blog diary, 30 August 2023 onwards: TalkNotes, From $0 to $200,000 in 1 year
UmaxDesign of the app screens, with other apps used as references.CStarter Story, 29 December 2024: He made $10M with 3 iPhone apps (video interview with transcript)
My AskAIListed by the founder as the design tool of the business.CStarter Story, 18 June 2024, interview with Mike Heap: I Built A $300K/Year AI Business For Less $50 Bucks
SoundBoost.aiHeld the designs of the product in January 2023, by the investor, who was looking for a front-end developer.CBerkan Cesur's X timeline, September 2021 to October 2026
aiCarouselsDesign tool that he lists for the business.CStarter Story, 28 November 2023: I Accidentally Built A SaaS in 10 Days & Quit My 9-5, interview with Fernando Pessagno
Vidon.aiDesign tool in which the team prototyped version 2, the document-style video editor.CStarter Story, 23 October 2022: How This AI Tool Hit $6K MRR In Just 5 Months
Imagined with AIDesign tool listed on the March 2024 Starter Story profile.CStarter Story, 6 March 2024: How We Expanded Our AI Image Generator Tools And Make $4.5K Per Month
MockeyDesign tool of the two designer founders; the company also publishes a Figma plugin and a free illustration set.CStartup Founder Stories, 26 June 2026: how Pranay Agarwal grew Mockey.ai to $12k a month by adding download limits
MonAiDesign tool for the app's interface, on the free plan. free planfreeCStarter Story, 6 April 2026, video interview by Pat Walls: This App Makes $35K/Month With One Influencer
ReziDesign tool, according to the founder's tool list on Starter Story.CStarter Story, 8 August 2024: I Created The Best Resume Builder In The World ($2.5M/Year)
Sway AIUsed to design a month of TikTok slideshows in one batch.CThe Superwall Podcast, 6 May 2026: Daniel Heintzma - I speedran a new app from 0 to $2m/year in 6 months (here's how)
Jetwriter AIDesign tool used by the team.CHacker News job post by jerrygoyal, 2 August 2024: ChatGPT Writer, React Dev
GymStreakUsed with Sketch for storyboards of the app's screens.CHampton blog, 5 July 2023: Bootstrapping a $2.5 Million Per Year Fitness App with Zero Employees

Grade A: the tool's maker or a payment processor confirms the use. Grade B: an independent report, or the tool is visible in public code. Grade C: the founder or the company says so.

Used in the same businesses

Other tools in the stories above, with the number of stories that share both.

Other tools for the same job

Building the product, with the number of stories that use each.

Back to all tools