Growthmates

In this episode of Growthmates — The Creator’s Path, Kate Syuma sits down with Ioana Teleanu for a deeply honest conversation about identity, burnout, and creating in a world shaped by AI. Ioana shares what happened after years working at UiPath and Miro, building award-winning AI products, teaching AI design, and speaking on global stages — when her professional identity suddenly stopped making sense. — 👉 Partners who support Growthmates • Mobbin — the largest UX & UI reference library for real product inspiration: https://mobbin.com/ • Obi by Cor — AI-powered onboarding voice assistant for modern product teams: https://bit.ly/3NaMzyF — 👉 Explore Growthmates & work with Kate Syuma: • Explore collaboration with Growthmates.club: https://growthmates.club/ • User-centric PLG in the AI Era (join the waitlist and get 100$ off): https://maven.com/growthmates/user-centric-product-led-growth?promoCode=growthmates — 👉 Subscribe and listen to Growthmates Podcast on:• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXzSwsz9ekOViWxynZb80Sw• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/20kuLErtRnlKhe4HU8LGYH• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/growthmates-create-and-grow-meaningful-products-careers/id1678168180 — Welcome to Growthmates with Kate Syuma — Growth Advisor, ex-Miro. This season, The Creator’s Path, explores unconventional journeys of designers, founders, and builders redefining what it means to create — especially in the age of AI. Growthmates is where top product and growth leaders share real strategies and insights to help you turn ideas into successful products. Learn from experts at Dropbox, Adobe, Amplitude, Canva, and more in deep dive interviews with Kate Syuma, ex-Miro Head of Growth Design and founder of Growthmates. 🔗 Find more insights on growthmates.club and follow on your favorite platforms for more episodes. — Key highlights from this episode 👇 Losing the Label as a Starting Point: Why not knowing who you are anymore can open the door to a more honest path. Identity Crisis in the AI Era: How creators and technologists are outgrowing traditional roles — and why uncertainty is becoming the new norm. Optimizing for Humanity, Not Speed: Why productivity-first thinking fails — and when it’s time to question what we’re really building for. From Design Answers to Artistic Questions: How art helps challenge sameness and reframe technology’s role in the world. Connection Over Performance: Why reaching one person can matter more than metrics, virality, or visibility. — Follow Growthmates updates on: Growthmates website with “The Holistic Growth Playbook”: https://growthmates.club Substack Newsletter (for instant inbox delivery): https://www.growthmates.news/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/growthmates-podcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growthmates/ X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/kate_syuma Where to find Kate Syuma: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekaterina-syuma/ Newsletter: https://www.growthmates.news/ Where to find Ioana Teleanu: Instagram (UX Goodies): https://instagram.com/uxgoodies Instagram (Personal): https://instagram.com/ioana.teleanu Instagram (Art Account - Soft Machines): https://instagram.com/softmachines.art LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ioanateleanu AI for Designers Course (Interaction Design Foundation):https://interaction-design.org — What we covered: (00:00) Introduction and the identity crisis in creative careers (02:12) From UiPath to Miro: becoming a patent holder and AI educator (08:00) Burnout as a catalyst for transformation and reinvention (13:00) Why artists are making the most impact in technology (18:00) Not optimizing for money and making more as a result (26:00) Finding joy in Midjourney and AI-assisted art creation (31:37) Seven years of building UX Goodies and staying authentic (38:00) Dealing with criticism and building genuine connections online (48:00) Balancing motherhood, business ownership, and creative work (58:27) The future of creators and converging roles in tech — Thank you for listening! Subscribe to the show on growthmates.club and get the free playbook with frameworks and insights. If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love for you to leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Your support helps us reach more listeners like you 💜 For sponsorship and other inquiries, reach out to hello@growthmates.club Let’s keep growing together!Get full access to Growthmates with Kate Syuma at www.growthmates.news/subscribe Get full access to Growthmates with Kate Syuma at www.growthmates.news/subscribe