Designing the Future: How Etch Built a Practice That Embraces AI + Autonomy

A Welcome to Practice Disrupted, a podcast where we find ways to create new solutions to current challenges while elevating the value of architects. I'm your host, Evelyn Lee, an architect who spans tech as an angel investor, startup advisor, and founder of Practice of Architecture. Whether you're a seasoned architect or just starting in the field, this podcast is your gateway to think differently about the role architects play within our global community. Foreigners. Welcome to this week's episode of Practice Disrupted. Today we're diving into a conversation at the intersection of design, entrepreneurship, and the rapidly evolving world of an AI powered practice. I'm joined by two dynamic leaders reshaping what's possible in interior design. Jessica Nelson and Stephanie Lindsay, the co founders of Etch Design Group and the powerhouse duo behind AI for Interiors.

A Jessica and Stephanie built Edge from the ground up into a celebrated Austin based studio known for thoughtful, deeply personal spaces. And they did it while defining a culture centered on autonomy, trust, and the kind of work life rhythm most firms aspire to but rarely achieve. But they didn't stop there. As a momentum around AI accelerated, they followed their curiosity and built AI for Interiors, a platform helping designers, architects, and industry partners integrate artificial intelligence into their creative and business workflows. Through speaking workshops and hands on coaching, they're demystifying AI and empowering design teams to reclaim time, strengthen processes, and unlock new layers of creativity. In this episode, we talk about what it takes to grow a firm with intention, the misconceptions holding designers back from adopting new tools, the importance of community over competition, and how these two are navigating the future of practice with ambition, humor, and a lot of heart. Hello, Stephanie. Hi, Jessica.

A Welcome to Practice Disrupted.

B Hi, thanks for having us.

A Yeah, I'm excited to bring you on. Before we jump into it, why don't you tell us a little bit about Etch Design group. You turned 10 this year, is that correct?

C Yeah.

A And the story of how the two of you came together and the vision that you had when you founded the group way back in 2015.

C Okay, so Etch Design Group started in 2015. We are a design firm based out of Austin, Texas and we specialize in residential and boutique commercial projects. Jessica and I met at another design firm in Austin and quickly realized that we were yin and yang and just couldn't live without each other. And our. Our boss also saw that and started pairing us up on projects and we just really meshed well from the very beginning and worked well together, but also filled in with where the other person had gaps. Whether it be a knowledge or experience or just Comfort. And so about a year and a half, two years in, we realized, okay, we. Our lives are kind of leading us into other directions.

C And I was struggling with fertility at the time, needing to go through treatments. Jessica was building a house with her husband and had lots of things going on. So personally, we had things pulling us in different directions, and we decided, hey, we should just start a business together. It would give us the work life balance that we want. And little did we know we would work harder on it than anything we've ever worked on before. So the work life balance was a little unique there, no?

A I see Jessica nodding her head at that a lot. And I think that's a common. I don't know if it's a common misconception, but I do feel like I hear a lot of especially young firm owners or solo entrepreneurs or solo firm owners, solo practitioners start or have a desire to start a firm because they want more work life balance. But now then, they are wearing all of the hats. So I don't know. Jessica, did you want to illuminate on that anymore?

B Yeah, I do feel like it's a tough role. Like It's a catch 22 because it doesn't always feel like work. In fact, it rarely feel like. Feels like work. And so it's very easy to get sucked in because you love it so much and because you're so, you know, involved in every part of the business and you want it all to be perfect. And so there's this, you know, kind of balance between, like, I love it so much and I really want to do it, but I also have family and I also have other things that I need to do as well. And so, you know, it's like this push and pull of life and this work life, and we love what we do. Like, it's never really felt, you know, there's days it feels like a job, obviously, but for the most part, it just, it feels like you're having fun with your best friend, like doing something that you love.

B And I think that's why, you know, we've been able to sustain this business and continue to grow it and continue to do other things as well. So.

A But you guys have been very entrepreneurial beyond just Etch Design Group. Tell us about AI for Interiors. And that's something that you just launched recently, right? Within the last year?

B Yeah, yeah, we launched it last year. AI for Interiors. It honestly started because. Well, there's lots of backstory here. I feel like Stephanie and I, I feel like, are just innately those people that are always kind of expanding and we don't like to sit still. But I'll say that to start off with, we don't like to sit still. And so Stephanie and I have a lot of ambitions and a lot of goals and a lot of things that we want to do both personally and professionally. And so prior to going into interior design, I actually had worked in technology for about 10 years.

B And I love technology. And even like, as a kid, like, I can look back and think about like all of the things technologically that just really drove me as a person. And so I've always had a real love for that. And it was kind of at that point in our careers where we were doing less and less design and more and more business focus day to day. And so I was needing kind of that fulfillment again in finding some kind of passion, some kind of something that just drove me day to day. And when, you know, all of this talk about AI was happening, we actually attended this session at KBIZ early last year and it just like really sparked this fire inside of me. And I walked away from that session with just this kind of drive to go find what was out there and how it could help us at Etch. And that little like weekend bender that I went on and YouTube videos and you name it, turned into this thing that I just really couldn't stop talking about.

B And I had gone to Stephanie and I said, I feel like this is it. I feel like this is what I've kind of been needing to like, reignite some passion. And I said, what do you think about this? Like, I just, I really want to teach people, I want to help people. And I think that I can do that through teaching about AI and talking about AI. And that's really how it was born. And it's gone through, you know, some different paths, I guess, since we started it. You know, originally it was like we had some speaking things and then it went into some courses that we were offering online. And then now I'm doing a lot of in person sessions where I'm actually onboarding teams kind of throughout the country and yeah, and still a lot more speaking sessions as well.

B And obviously AI is evolving very quickly. There's so much happening and it's kind of like a wildfire that you're like, there's no putting it out. So you're just like trying to learn as much about it and be as on top of it as you can for the design firms that obviously we're working with and we're helping. And I think what I love about it so much is just this idea that I can help people through AI. Like, I like solving problems. I've always, I've always really liked solving problems. And there's just something I really get a kick out of of like meeting with the design firm and being like, what are your pain points? Like where are your challenges and where do you need the most help? And like, I just get really like sucked into that. And I'm like, oh, okay.

B And it's like my creative brain goes off and I'm like, okay, I know this AI tool can help you. I don't have one here, but I'm going to find one. And then, you know, like just kind of going down this whole rabbit hole of ways that I can help them and then like through even automations and things like that. Like there's just so many untapped tools that most design firms don't even know are available to them. And I love being able to walk away, especially from like onboarding these, these design firms walk away from that experience with them and they're just like blown away. And they're like, I am so excited and I can't wait to start implementing these things. And I can already see like I'm going to get so much time back and like, like that's what I live for now. And it's just so exciting.

B So that's the backstory.

A Covering both Etch and AI for interiors. So let's, let's go back a little bit to Etch and talk to us about how big it is now and how you guys are continuing to grow that and then maybe even some of the values or the culture that you were hoping to bring to Etch that you guys didn't necessarily experience before or were hoping to see more of.

C You know, really with values. We started out on this path of work life balance. So that's really important to us for our team. There's 10 of us, so. So we have six full time designers and honestly everyone is in Austin. Our projects are in Austin. So we had big visions of growing outside of that and we do take on projects outside of Austin. But it's just so happened that the work just keeps coming in Austin.

C So it's all stayed there. I work remotely in Utah, which is another part of the story. But our team of six designers have the work life balance that they need. But they also have full autonomy that's really important to us, that they can make decisions without us and they know we trust them. They choose when they come in in the Morning. And when they leave, they, you know, as long as those deadlines are being met, we, we give them a lot of trust and autonomy and they work with every client from the start to the finish. So although Jessica and I are the principals of the firm, our design team is the one that's actually managing not only the design, but the process, the client meetings, the installs. They get to see and experience it throughout the entire entire way.

A Talk to us a little bit about your working remotely as one of the principals and how you manage from a different state.

C So I'm not sure exactly how I manage it, but I honestly, the autonomy is a big portion of it because the team knows that they can make decisions without us. And so really on the back end, I'm not designing. I'm working on accounting things, running payroll, putting processes in place, marketing, adding blog posts. So it's not super pretty or glamorous, but. But the marketing side I really enjoy and, and just building relationships. I feel like that's one of my biggest priorities. Even though I'm not in Austin, we have a podcast so we can interview architects and builders and industry partners and, and that has been a big blessing. So really, the team doesn't need us day to day.

C We. We have different roles and we all know exactly doing and what we're responsible for. And setting up those clear guidelines has kind of set the foundation for me to work remotely.

A So my next question is also the conundrum, right? I feel like another reason why people want to start their own firms is because they want to design, right? We go into school to learn about designing and then we come out and we have this misconception about our role in the process. And as an entry level individual, you're not necessarily doing as much of the design as you had been thought to believe you would be doing in school. So now that you've stepped into leadership and you find yourself pulled away from design, which honestly happens at a firm of even Your size at 6, do you miss any of that?

C I personally don't. Jess, to you, there are things I.

B Miss about it, but I think because of the way that we've grown, it's given us the opportunities to be able to design in other ways. And like, even, like, personally, like, I do a lot of projects with my husband personally. And so like, those personal projects end up being kind of like my babies and like the things that I get to wrap my hands around. And so it's less client facing, which is honestly kind of nice. But, you know, it's. I'M okay with it. Like, I'm okay with the path that it's taken us down and the fact that we do get to have other avenues to be able to give us that those, like, creative outlets is really beneficial. And I think it's something that we.

B We both need. So you find it in different ways.

C Yeah. Well, with AI for interiors, we get to talk to a lot of designers across the country and hear their stories. And so one thing that I've learned is that our path isn't everyone's path. There are designers who have run their firm for decades, and they are still the main point person for every project. And that's okay. That's what they decided that they really want. And so for some of those designers, they really still want to have a hand in the design for every project. And that's okay.

C If that's what you feel really passionate about, that's really what you want, then. Then that's exactly what you should do. For us, we saw a different path and. And it took quite a while for us to transition to that point. It wasn't just overnight, but for us personally, it's been a good thing because we still get design fulfillment through, like Jess said, personal projects and other avenues and not necessarily working with a client one on one.

A Also, you know, I want to have a conversation about the fact that you are teaching other interior design firms, because I think there's a historical context around architecture and design firms that I would like to believe is going away right where we are more in competition with one another rather than collectively raising one another up. Was that ever a consideration for you all?

B Not for us, but I. I think some people probably look at us like we're a little crazy. Like, why are you. Why are you doing this? Like, why are you giving other people the tools to basically, you know, move, move ahead? In my mind, I don't look at other design firms as competition. Like, even the word competition, I don't really like. From the time we started Etch, we were both. Steph and I started actually by being leaders on the local ASID community board. And we had, you know, grown and done lots of things there.

B And then we. I was the chair. Steph was the co chair for the Austin design community. And our goal was always to bring designers in and help them. And, like, if there was something that we could do or offer them from our knowledge bank or anything that we had to offer, like, we were going to do that. And that's just always been our philosophy in how we work and how we operate now, I know that that's not every designer. And there are some designers that we meet that you can tell from the very get go. Like they are very closed off, they're very tight lipped, they don't want to talk about anything.

B That's just not who we are as people. And if I feel like I can help someone in some way, I want to do that. And Steph's the exact same way. And so do I feel like that's all firms. No, but for us, like it's fulfilling to us to be able to, to give back and to help other designers. And like, I mean, we even have designers that reach out to us and maybe they're just starting out in the field, they don't know where to go, what to do. Like, we're an open book. Like, call us, text us, if we can help you, we will.

B And I think that that narrative, like just honestly needs to go away. And it bothers me whenever designers just think that other designers are like a threat to them because I'm like, we're all like, there's plenty of business out there, there are plenty of clients. This is a big world, this is a big city. And I just am a firm believer that like, your kindness and your generosity will always come back to you. And I find it very fulfilling to be give back to the design community. So I, it's almost like I know this is very long winded, but that narrative for people, I don't, I don't think is benefiting them in any way.

C I also think for the overall client experience, the more that design firms are improving and the more that they're growing with their internal processes or efficiencies or anything that the whole industry does better because the client then if they're interviewing three firms and they go, wow, all of these firms are really amazing. Like their, their documentation is amazing, they've got consistency, they're so on and so forth that I think it paints a better picture of the industry as a whole.

A What are some of the surprises or challenges that you guys had? Let's start with first the Etch Design group that if you were to do a panel and then close out the panel and say, like, if I could have done these things differently or if we could have not done this, what, what are some.

C Few.

A What are some of the few things?

B How much time do we have?

C You know, it's funny, I don't think anyone's ever asked us that quite like that. And there are definitely standout moments of things. I wish we had done differently, but I also think that helped us know and learn. If we hadn't had those experiences, then we. I don't know that we would have learned them elsewhere, but I wish we had invested in marketing earlier on. We really bootstrapped it. And while the penny pincher and me really appreciated that, I. I wish that we had known more about how to get Google business listing up and running and what to do with that and how to, you know, just those sorts of things to just make sure that the backbone was there.

C Because as long as clients are coming in the door, you can figure everything else out. But there's no process is great if there's no client in the door, you know, So I wish we had focused on that at the very, very beginning. There's some standout memories of things we. Ways we handled employee relationships or circumstances, things like that, that I wish had gone a little bit smoother or we had known what we were doing a little bit more. But I don't know. Jess. Any other.

B Yeah, I think outside of, like, marketing, because I think we. We both talk about that, like, looking back at early days of Etch, I think we probably would have invested in a business coach maybe earlier on, too. We didn't do that until probably, what, year? Five or six, so maybe doing that earlier on as well. I do think that that was very beneficial.

C And.

B And then the. The other thing I would say is I'm a big believer in, like, trusting your gut instinct and always going with what you feel in your. In your soul. And your gut is like, you know, leading you. And anytime we've ever strayed away from that, it has always bit us in the butt. And in even listening to, like, say in. At times, we've listened to our business coach, and we're like, is that really the best thing? Like, in our gut, it was saying one thing, but they're saying something else. And we're like, oh, they're our business coach.

B Like, we should. We should follow that guidance. And I think it's always great to have a sounding board and to be able to, you know, get a different perspective on. But at the end of the day, I think you still have to follow your gut instincts. And when you derail from that, like, that's when challenges. I feel like the worst challenges that we've faced have arised. And so I would probably go back and tell myself, like, are you sure that's the right decision? Because your gut's telling you one thing even though someone else is telling you something else. So My guts never failed me, I would say.

A Stephanie, to your point, I just had a conversation this morning about how leadership changes over time and how I, as a leader have changed over time. There's definitely not having run a business with employees like you have, but I can definitely reflect and say back, like, I would have approached things differently knowing what I know now. So I think it's the human part of us growing as well. So how are you all setting up Etch versus AI for interiors? Is there ever a need, I guess, for one to support the other? Is it two different profit and revenue silos? Like, how are you managing the distinction between the two? Does that make sense from, like, a money matters type of thing and how you decided to set that all up?

C Yeah, they're very separate, mostly because we felt like the audiences were different. With Edge Design Group, we're. We're marketing to clients, residential or commercial, but with AI for interiors, we're marketing to other designers or industry partners, architects, builders, with teaching AI. And so we just set up a different LLC and kept them completely separate.

A Is there ever a moment? Because I often talk about multiple revenue streams to support the overall ecosystem of what I'm building. So, I mean, if there were ever a moment, would you leverage one for the other, or do you all ever think of that way?

C I look at AI and other things as a. As other revenue streams. Even though they're separate businesses, Jess and I still are the owners of all of them. So I still lump them all kind of into the same bucket mentally as diversifying, but they still have their own place.

A How do you all continue to find the time to. To learn and improve? So you're. You're both doing a lot. You have two companies. I feel like you're both very ambitious. How do you make room for your own continuous improvement?

C The first thing that comes to mind is at the beginning of the year, Jess had this idea of putting together a vision plan for the year. And although other years we may have said, okay, here are our goals for the year, here's our word of the year, this one was much more detailed. And so it. For me, my personal vision plan for the year outlined personal goals and professional goals, which I hadn't ever, I don't think really taken a deep dive under personal development. And so for me, I mean, I know that's kind of off topic because you're talking about learning and improving, but personal exercise and making sure your body's getting what it needs, I hadn't really ever put that as a priority. And so that was something that I put on my list and my year has been so great because I've prioritized that. So, so for me and ChatGPT helped us put those together. We gave it this nice pretty prompt and it helped us create an Excel spreadsheet of all of our, our details for our vision plan.

C And, well, I think we'll continue doing that every year. So, you know, part of it is setting aside the time and making priorities, which some days are better than others. Some days my email and slack and phone calls and meetings run my life. And then other days I feel more in control and I say, okay, I'm going to do this CEU today and I'm going to read this book today or audiobook, you know, things like that. I'm also a big podcaster, so I love to listen to podcasts when I'm in the kitchen or elsewhere in the car. So for me, that's an easy way to continue learning and growing.

B I would say for me, I'm thinking like more professionally just because I feel like this has been a huge year of growth in the fact that because I am doing something completely different than what I've done for the last 10, 15 years, I'm literally learning something new, multiple new things every single day. And that's very exciting to me. So one of the cool parts about AI is it gives you the ability to really do anything and explore anything and do it in a much faster, easier scale than you've ever been able to do before. In the last 24 hours, I just built a new app that I had in my head that I was like, oh, this is a great idea, I should do this. I just vibe coded this new app and here I go. And so like, that's just something that, like, I. It's easy to teach yourself to do something like that, but like, not a lot of people know that that's even an option or even out there. And so exploring new tools and exploring new things has just been literally what my entire year, my last year has been.

B And it's very exciting to me. So on the personal front, I would say I'm failing on that side.

A When.

B It comes to doing more, you know, like the working out like Stephanie was talking about. I have failed on that front. But I'm, you know, I'll stay up till two o' clock in the morning learning new app. So I guess it's like it's a trade off. It doesn't still help me personally.

C Sure.

B I mean, I figured out a new AI program for My son last week to help him read. So that's exciting. But, you know, you take the good with the bad, I guess.

A Well. And as I've gotten older, honestly, and I am juggling being a part of the sandwich generation, where I'm having aging parents, but I also have these young elementary school kids at home, you know, I'm seeing the importance of taking care of myself, you know, as I see them struggle even with mobility as they age. So, Jessica, find some time to take some to help with his personal goals. What is next for you all? Is it growing? What's the next goal? What's your or your stretch goal? Now that you guys are here, I.

B Feel like what our answer is today could be completely different tomorrow. Stephanie and I are very much like, fly by the seat of your pants kind of people. Like, I don't want to say we don't ever have a plan, because there are plans. But, like, we're very much guided by what we feel is right in the moment and, like, where we're being led. And so, like, last year, it kind of led us into this AI front and like, that over the year has really transitioned a lot into other endeavors that I didn't really even see happening whenever we started the AI for interiors. So I think that Steph and I both have a passion to do something with, like, spec home building and some construction stuff and taking on some projects that aren't client related, but. But, you know, kind of putting them under the Etch umbrella. So that's definitely.

B I would say the next year goal would be to have at least one of those projects underway if not done, and then really continuing to build out, like, what this AI journey looks like, both for Etch and for AI for interiors as a company, and then really still giving our designers the tools and the ability to kind of explore their passions, too. Like, we have a whole other business about styling that one of our employees kind of runs and manages. And, like, we literally created that because she had a passion for that. And so, like, we're all for growth and development of our team by being able to give them tools and resources to do things that they might not be able to do otherwise. So I think it's just continuing to progress forward and whatever path that looks like. And like I said it every day looks a little different.

A Stephanie, did you want to add at all?

C No, I think Jess said it. Well, the. As she was talking, I went, yeah, okay, so really, if I look at the two separately, etches future right now, we really are trying to help Our team figure out what they want so that we can grow etch to be that. And AI is something that Jess and I think will be relevant for a really long time because we see things evolving and new apps all the time, and there's just constant learning for us, but also for all of those that we teach. And there's many big, lofty goals when it comes to that.

A I do want to talk a little bit about what are the biggest misconceptions when you go out and talk about AI that you are getting out there from other firm owners?

B I think one of the things that I hear quite frequently, especially even in the last few weeks, I've heard this at least four or five times about how AI takes the creativity out of design. That statement in itself just irks me because if you're using AI the right way, it actually gives you so much more freedom and so much more creativity than you ever thought possible, because it allows you to really dream bigger and think so much broader than you've ever been able to think before and play around with ideas and concepts that maybe you've had in your head that you've never been able to, like, verbalize visually and conceptualize from, you know, the standpoint of imagery or design. And, like, I don't see any problem with taking visions in your head and being able to show that to someone using AI tools. And I think of AI AI as like a toolkit. Like, every single AI program that I learn about is just another AI like tool in my toolkit. And the more that I have and the more knowledge that I. I gain in these apps and these tools that are out there and also be able to teach to other designers. It's.

B It's like giving them so much more creative freedom to be able to play around with these designs and, and be able to explore things in a much faster realm than they've ever been able to do before. And so I think it's a very closed mindset that designers have when they think about AI and they're like, oh, you're just being lazy and it's taking the creativity out and yada, yada, yada. And I'm like, well, you can think that and you can have that mindset, but you're only going to be like, putting your heels in the ground on something that is not going anywhere. And it's eventually going to be something that is so, so much part of our daily life that they can balk all they want, but it's just, it's happening. It's. It's inevitable. And I think that if people are open to it, about exploring the tools, seeing what's out there and actually testing them and, you know, giving them a test drive, I think they're going to be like, so shocked at what it can really do for them and their business and their time, like getting their time back. Like this.

B This is all we have in this life, right? Is our time. And so if, if you want to waste it writing an hour long email, then I guess that's on you. But, like, I'm not going to do that. I will spend two minutes on chat GPT and I don't care if it has EM dashes or not. You can, you can sue me, like, whatever, it doesn't matter. Like, I was on Instagram the other day and like, well, it just, it doesn't make it feel relevant. Whenever it's got M dashes in the email and I'm like, I don't care. I used M dashes long before ChatGPT came about.

B Like, ChatGPT took my em dashes, okay? And I'm not getting rid of them. I don't. Well, that.

A And just make a file in your project that says never use EM dash it out.

B Thank you. Exactly. So you know what? Just, I don't care. I'm using the EM dash. And you know what? It was funny because Steph, I sent her an email last week and she responded back. It was, it was actually a few weeks ago. She responded back. She goes, it sounds a little, it sounds a little too chat.

B And I was like, oh, well, that's funny because I actually wrote this one.

A It would be interesting if you guys created your own bots that talk to each other and see, like, how much.

C For sure.

B Can you tell? Is it me? I don't know.

A No, but really, if you could take that same energy and bottle up and have put your AI chat box against each other, like, who knows what ideas they would come up for what's next for us.

B I tell you what.

A You guys are just going to be managing agenda AI going forward. So looking ahead, what excites you about being a business owner? AI interiors. Obviously you are very passionate about the things that you're doing now, but what gets you most excited about the opportunities that lay ahead?

C I mean, honestly, for me personally, it's the stage of life I'm in. I just feel like we're at a good age where we don't really care what other people think anymore. And we, we have young kids and so we want to spend time with them. And just cherish that moment. And so it just excites me that we're in a position where we kind of get to choose where we go from here and that we feel like we're in control of our future and, and that we can prioritize what we want to prioritize. That does again, that doesn't mean that we don't have days or weeks or months where we feel lost in the abyss. But I still feel at the end of the day like there's so much to look forward to with automations and AI and efficiencies that will be around the corner. And I think there's a lot that we have no idea is even in store or even a possibility that as other developers are putting these things together, we're going to go, whoa, that's a game changer for us.

C And, and so I just think the possibilities are endless right now and that's really, really exciting.

B Yeah, I think I agree with all of that. And I think just where I'm at like personally and professionally is like I love being able to have this kind of flexibility to be able to do these passion projects and these things that we are so, you know, like that really drive us and like spark the creativity and those like juices that we have to just like go like it's so exciting. And I think having the team that we have at Etch has been like such a blessing because they have really given us the ability to do these other things while they're kind of managing the day to day side of Etch. Like obviously Steph's in Utah, so while I'm here in Austin, like I'm not in the office every day. So it's, it's given us the opportunities to be able to explore these other avenues and do things that we really find, you know, to be very exciting. And so what the future holds, man, I don't know but I'm excited about it. I'm really excited to see what happens over the next year to five years. I mean just even looking back at the last year and how, how much things have changed, I can only imagine what the next year is going to look.

A Hi disruptors. Thank you for joining us today on an episode of Practice Disrupted. If you like the content for today's show, you can find all of our past episodes over on practiceofarchitecture.com podcast. Be a part of the conversation by joining me, our speakers and other disruptors in our community@practiceofarchitecture.com community. Our, our social media handle is practiceofarch. That's practiceofarch. We'd love to hear from you, so feel free to drop us a DM and say hello. Tune in next week for a new conversation on change in the profession.