MBMichael Buchanan
@squid
Creative leader with 15 years of experience in design and strategy.
United StatesWhat I'm looking for
With over 15 years of creative leadership experience, I have dedicated my career to empowering early-stage companies and larger organizations to achieve significant growth. As a Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Colab.la, I built and led the creative and product design arm of a top-ranked venture studio, successfully guiding over 120 startups through branding, UX/UI design, and go-to-market strategies. My efforts have helped portfolio companies raise over $300 million in venture capital, resulting in multiple successful exits, including an IPO.
In my role as Chief Creative Officer at Highfive Schools, Inc., I directed the brand and product design for a platform focused on social-emotional learning tools for educators. My leadership in UX/UI design ensured intuitive workflows for both web and mobile applications. I have also collaborated with teams at Charge Enterprises and Pluto.tv, where I contributed to the development of innovative solutions and design systems that enhanced user experiences and drove company growth.
Experience
Work history, roles, and key accomplishments
COCo-Founder & Chief Creative Officer
Colab.la
Sep 2013 - Present (11 years 10 months)
Built and led the creative and product design arm of a top-ranked venture studio, working across 120+ early-stage startups. Led research, branding, UX/UI design, and go-to-market creative across consumer, SaaS, marketplace, and CPG verticals. Helped portfolio companies raise over $300M+ in venture capital, resulting in multiple exits including one IPO.
Founding Creative Partner
Charge Enterprises
Aug 2022 - Mar 2024 (1 year 7 months)
Co-founded Charge as a micromobility charging startup and helped evolve it into a national EV infrastructure and telecom platform. Developed brand identity, product design, investor materials, and creative strategy from seed through IPO. Played a key role in supporting executive leadership through a 3-year growth sprint to public listing on NASDAQ.
Chief Creative Officer
Highfive Schools, Inc.
Apr 2021 - Feb 2023 (1 year 10 months)
Led brand, product design, and creative strategy for Highfive, a school-focused platform providing SEL tools for administrators, teachers, and parents. Directed UX/UI for both web and mobile apps, ensuring intuitive workflows for data management, student support, and engagement tracking.
Product Designer
Community.com
Apr 2021 - Feb 2023 (1 year 10 months)
Designed core messaging and onboarding flows for a large-scale SMS platform. Worked closely with PMs and engineers to ship features across web and mobile. Helped evolve the design system for faster iteration and consistency.
Founding Creative Partner
Pluto.tv
Apr 2021 - Feb 2023 (1 year 10 months)
Collaborated with a small team to take Pluto TV from concept to MVP, pioneering free ad-supported streaming. Led UX/UI and branding for the initial web implementation. Contributed to core experience design that laid the foundation for Pluto’s 9-figure acquisition.
Education
Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework
Indiana University
BA, Graphic Design
Pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design, focusing on visual communication principles and design software. Developed foundational skills in design theory and application.
General Assembly
Certification, Front End Web Development
Completed a certification program in Front End Web Development, gaining expertise in modern web technologies and programming languages. Focused on building responsive and interactive web interfaces.
Availability
Location
United StatesAuthorized to work in
Website
s-q-u-i-d.comJob categories
Skills
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