Bear Liu speaking at a conference

Think like a partner.
Execute fractionally.

I help early-stage teams make clear product design decisions and ship with momentum, without hiring a full-time designer.

Book your intro
🟢 Accepting 2 new partners in Q1

Backed by Experience, Trusted by Leaders.

I've worked on complex product and growth-related design at Xero, spoken at UX New Zealand, and partnered with teams across different stages and industries.

Ex-Xero Product DesignerUX New Zealand SpeakerB2C & B2B Experience
Trusted byXeroUX New ZealandPartnerFisher & PaykelVodafoneLes Mills

If you're stuck here,
we should talk

Foundership is hard. I step in when you need more than a freelancer, but aren't ready for a full-time Design Lead.

Best for: pre-seed to Series A, 1–5 person teams
shipping weekly.

The Roadmap Fog

You have a vision, but your product roadmap is a list of features rather than a cohesive strategy.

Developer Friction

Your engineering team is slowed down by vague designs or constant back-and-forth on "how this should work."

The Design-Debt Trap

Your MVP was built fast, but now the UI is getting messy and it’s starting to hurt user trust.

Decision Fatigue

You’re a founder making every small design call yourself, and it’s pulling you away from high-level growth.

Pretty but Broken

Your product looks “okay,” but users aren’t moving through the core loops the way you expected.

A Seamless Extension of Your Team.

I integrate into your Slack and workflows, providing full transparency from roadmap to delivery.

Roadmap

Align direction and priorities

We turn goals, constraints, and trade-offs into a clear plan your team can align on and your developers can execute.

Product roadmap example
Slack collaboration example
Slack conversation detail

Slack + Office Hours

Unblock decisions fast

I work inside your day-to-day channel to clarify decisions, reduce back-and-forth, and prevent small issues turning into big rework.

Async delivery

Save meetings, keep clarity

Weekly design updates with short walkthrough videos, so you and your devs can review and move forward on your own time.

Loom video walkthrough preview

What you'll notice

Clearer decisions, smoother collaboration, steadier shipping, and less energy wasted on uncertainty.

Strategic Impact, Visualized.

MovesMethod App MVP screens
Fitness & health

MovesMethod App MVP

Turned a messy proof of concept into a premium, shippable app in 8 weeks.

Challenge

There was no real app yet. The "POC" was inconsistent, key flows weren't functional end to end, and there was no clear brand system.

Impact

Defined MVP scope fast, rebuilt the UX + design system, and shipped the first release in 2 months. Backed the roadmap with a four-digit community survey, and unlocked the next conversion win: stronger social proof (2,000+ Trustpilot reviews at 4.8).

Fintech, SaaS

Xero Guided Setup (Mobile)

Unified Xero's mobile onboarding across app + web to lift conversion and reduce early churn.

Challenge

Major drop after sign-up (94% not buying). Post-purchase onboarding was not getting users to first value.

Impact

Defined a measurable conversion and retention goal for mobile onboarding, mapped the end-to-end funnel, and redesigned the post-purchase setup so new users could reach "first value" faster. Delivered a cohesive app + web experience ready for build.

Xero Guided Setup mobile screens

Simple, Transparent Investment.

Most teams begin with a Product Audit or a monthly fractional partnership. Scope is defined around your stage and goals.

One-time

Product Audit

$600 USD

A fast external review to surface friction points and priorities, with clear recommendations on what to fix first.

A structured walkthrough of your product from a new-user perspective
Key friction points and priority fixes
A short action plan: what to change first and why

Best for: founders who want clarity before committing to ongoing work

ONGOING

Fractional Partnership

From $4,000 USD/month

Ongoing partner-style support across product decisions and execution, helping you run a real roadmap, design, and shipping cadence.

Roadmap and priority decisions with clear trade-offs
Design execution with developer-ready delivery
Slack collaboration + weekly office hours
A steady cadence that keeps shipping moving

Best for: teams who need a Design Lead mindset without hiring full-time

Book a 15-minute intro to see if it's worth it

Share your current stage and your bottleneck. I'll help you quickly assess what matters most and how we'd start.

Book a 15-minute intro