2026: A lot has changed over the past year. Today I'm the CEO and co-founder of DealStack.ai, building the #1 platform for sourcing, evaluating and funding small business acquisitions. We currently serve over 25,000+ business buyers.

Seven companies built. Five failed. Two sold. Design has been the thread running through all of it.

I'm no longer actively taking on design work but I'm always open to a conversation if you're building something interesting and need an ex-product designer turned founder's eye on it.

—

In the beginning, I loved design for how things looked. Now, I’m obsessed with what design does.

Design is my way of solving real problems, creating positive change, and building tools that actually make life better. Whether I’m designing software, mentoring others, or supporting causes I care deeply about—like addiction recovery, and mental health—my work is always grounded in purpose.

I’m an entrepreneur by nature with a background in visual design, brand strategy, and building businesses. I spent 10 years growing a clothing brand from scratch and leading creative at a visual communications agency before shifting into product design. My obsession with design and human behaviour finally met its match when I discovered UX.

In 2016, I entered a hackathon hosted by BrainStation and Budweiser, where our team built an app to promote designated driving among young people. We won. That win took us to SXSW—and it lit a fire that hasn’t gone out since.

Since then, I’ve gone all-in. I completed BrainStation’s UX Design bootcamp, became a Teaching Assistant in their full-time program, and co-founded Anyware AI, where I led product with a team of four incredible humans. We built an AI-native platform that helps small business buyers analyze and acquire businesses faster and more confidently. We launched our MVP in just 4 weeks and scaled to over 200 users in our first week of beta. In September 2025, Anyware AI was acquired by a US-based Deal Sourcing platform.

I believe good design is invisible, intentional, and inclusive.

If I’m not designing, I’m likely deep in conversation, taking photos of people or places, or saying hi to every dog I meet.

Thanks for stopping by. Let’s connect: alex@designbyhines.com