When David Drazil finished his master’s in architecture, he thought he was prepared. Instead, he landed in Copenhagen and entered the job market at a difficult time. He sent out more than 100 applications and received more than 100 rejections.
I remember that same sense of futility after school. You pour years into a degree, imagining you’ll spend your days designing, building models and being creative. The reality looks more like endless detailing, chasing jobs, or being told you don’t have “enough experience.” I’ve heard this story from so many design professionals, talented people frustrated by the reality of practice.
“Every time my mom called to ask if I got a job, it was heartbreaking to say, no, not yet.”
David did what few of us have the courage to do in those moments. Instead of continuing to knock on doors. He built one of his own.
Discovering a Different Path
While studying in Denmark, he noticed that his many of his peers hadn’t ever been formally taught to sketch. The difference was obvious in crits and team meetings. Where some of his classmates’ presentations came alive, others stumbled to explain their ideas. He realized a skill he presumed to be a prerequisite for professional training — sketching with confidence — was lacking in most.
That gap became the seed of his business, Sketch Like an Architect.
I can relate. When I began creating standards, SOPs and templates for my own practice, I was just solving my own problems. Sharing these online publicly, I received the same requests David did, “Where can I download this?” Over time, I realized just how few of those things which I took for granted as basic essential of practice were available to my peers.
The “MVP” (Minimum viable product)
Instead of being intimated by the thought of building a full-fleshed out business from the start, David began with a small experiment. He shared a mock up for a short course he was developing on architectural sketching on Instagram. He immediately started hearing from his followers asking: “Where can I buy it?”
That question was the turning point for him.
His plan was to include the eBook with the course, but the question made him reconsider launching the eBook as a stand alone MVP (minimum viable product). For the first three days, he set the price to, “pay what you want”. In the first 24-hours, he had hundreds of followers download it. Most chose to pay $0, but some paid $5 or $10 and two even paid $100 (!) for the same exact eBook. He ended that first day with $500 in revenue.
“The first day the ebook did about five hundred dollars. Two people paid a $100 for the same PDF most got for free.”
That moment is familiar. I remember the first time someone bought one of my products, it felt surreal that something I’d made late at night at my desk could be worth something to someone else. Those tiny proofs can help to shift your entire outlook on what’s possible.
Designing His Career
From 2017 to 2019 David balanced a dream job at a 60-person firm with his side project. The leap to full-time came when he and his wife were expecting their first child. They wanted to raise their family in Prague.
That’s a decision many of us face at some point: do we keep following the profession as handed down to us, or do we design a practice that actually fits the life we want?
Since 2019, Sketch Like an Architect has grown into a multi–six figure business with 70–80% profit margins. It runs lean: a VA, a video editor for events, and David. No ads. No big team. Just continued, small, focused experiments, built around his email list rather than social media algorithms.
He’s published numerous books + courses all centered around teaching others how to sketch. Building a product ladder from low-ticket offers to high-ticket coaching he promotes on Instagram and moves new followers over to his email list where 80-90% of his revenue is generated.
Beyond Products
He’s now started hosting two online teaching events: the iPad for Architects & Designers summit that teaches how to use the iPad for sketching, 3D modeling, and project management. He also hosts an annual Sketching Retreat, which last year drew more than 25,000 attendees to learn from 50 expert instructors.
I’ve watched this pattern across many design professionals — frustration with practice becomes fuel to build something more aligned with their vision and what they enjoy doing. For some it’s products. For others it’s teaching. Sometimes it’s simply a studio that chooses to take on fewer clients to build more freedom into their lives.
The details differ, but the impulse is the same: stop waiting for the profession to deliver the career you imagined and start designing it for yourself.
Lessons you can take away:
1. Validate before you build.
In the video, you’ll hear about David’s first course launch and how it fell flat because he created it in isolation. No pre-launch, no waiting list, no warm-up. By contrast, his eBook began as a question from his audience: “Where can I buy this?” The comments on his IG post reassured him there was demand. And creating an MVP was a low-stakes way to test the idea with limited time investment.
I’ve made the same mistake: building things I thought people needed without checking first. And I’ve seen the opposite too: the most successful products I’ve released started as simple solutions to problems my audience asked me about repeatedly.
How you can use this? Don’t vanish for six months to build the “perfect” thing. Share a rough outline, mockup, or even just a question with your audience. If you presell it before it exists, you’ve validated the idea and will be paid to make it. If not, you’ve saved yourself months of wasted work and time.
2. Choose one channel and go deep.
For years, David concentrated on Instagram. It wasn’t flashy, but it built momentum and, more importantly, he directed his followers to sign up for his email list. Only later did he expand to YouTube, blogging and SEO.
I followed a similar path with YouTube. I wasn’t everywhere, and I didn’t need to be. That single channel brought clients, product sales, and speaking invitations. When people tell me they feel frustrated by the “need to be everywhere,” I reply by telling them that depth beats diluted effort to be on all the socials. I personally recommend YouTube because it’s the second largest search engine in the world and unlike IG your content has a long shelf life.
How to use this: Pick one platform where your people actually hang out. Post consistently for a year. Ignore the noise to “be everywhere.”
3. Profit is more important than revenue.
Sketch Like an Architect runs lean, with 70–80% margins. That’s why David can keep it simple and on his terms.
I’ve learned the same lesson. It’s tempting to chase “big” numbers, but a business that looks impressive on the outside can be hollow if margins are thin. Staying lean gives me the most freedom.
How to use this: Run your numbers. Would you rather have a $1M revenue business at 10% margin, or a $300k one at 70%? One makes you look good at dinner parties; the other gives you real options.
4. Honor the season you’re in.
David has two small kids. He doesn’t pretend to balance it all, he calls it an everyday battle. He works from home, gets distracted, but also sees his children grow day to day. The trade-offs are real, but they also change over time.
My season is different. My kids are grown and although I work from home, today my house is much quieter. I’d gladly trade some of this focus for the chaos of having them underfoot again. I told David as much in our conversation: don’t miss time shared with your family, you can never get it back! Today, work-life integration is what I seek but that’s not always possible, especially when you have a young family.
How to use this: Stop searching for “balance.” Set boundaries, accept trade-offs, and remind yourself that every season has its own rewards.
5. Design your career the way you approach your work.
David’s story isn’t unique. I’ve seen it again and again: design pros frustrated by the reality of practice who chose to design a new path for themselves. For me, it started with templates and guides I built for my own practice. For others, it’s coaching, writing, or focusing on a niche project type.
The through-line is the same: you don’t have to accept the profession as it is. You can design one that works for you.
How to use this: Treat your career like a design problem. What constraints do you want? What “program” fits your life? Start sketching out alternative options. It won’t be perfect, but over time you’ll iterate and find the right solution for you.
Interested in replicating David’s success? Here’s your shortcut.
Architect + Entrepreneur Startup toolkit
When I started 30X40 Design Workshop in 2013 I was focused on building a non-traditional studio. I wanted to design homes, but as a creative person with many interests, I wanted a business that would allow me to explore them all. I made a very simple shift in the way I practice and this toolkit explains how you can make that transition too. You’ll learn how to make the same creative white space David did so you can do more of the things you want to do.
It doesn't matter if you live in a city, a suburb or a remote island - like I do - when you apply the principles of entrepreneurship to reinvent a conventional practice model you'll earn more and have more time for the things you enjoy.
Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been at this a while and you’re not where you’d thought you’d be, you’ll find valuable lessons here. I share what saves me time and makes my business more money each month. The curriculum provides a framework and a set of actionable steps that will help you put in place the systems required to design a business that works for you. You’ll have the freedom to choose what you work on each day, a purpose driving you forward and the time to spend on the things in life that really matter: your personal relationships.
Without the freedom to chose what I work on each day, a purpose driving me forward and strong personal relationships I don't consider myself successful. How you judge success may be different. Maybe your metrics are financial, maybe you want to run an international team, or win the Pritzker or travel full-time. There are no right answers, only ones that are right for you. This toolkit give the foundation so you can work with intention, toward goals that matter.
