Figma Just Went Public. But the $45 Billion Isn't the Real Story.

It’s a reminder that sometimes, the best things happen when big plans fall apart.

So, the news is out. Figma just went public.

The stock popped, and the company’s valuation instantly soared to around $45 billion. That’s a huge number. The kind of number that makes you blink and read the headline again.

But let's be honest. That isn't what I’m thinking about today.

My mind keeps going back to a little over a year ago, when the news broke that Adobe's massive $20 billion deal to buy Figma was officially dead.

Do you remember that?

I remember the collective sigh of relief that rippled through the design and tech community. It wasn’t that we had anything against Adobe, not really. It was just… we liked Figma the way it was. Independent. Scrappy. Focused. It felt like our tool, built for us, by people who seemed to just get it.

The thought of it being absorbed into a corporate giant felt like the end of an era.

And now, look.

A Quiet Validation

This IPO doesn’t feel like a flashy, chest-thumping victory. It feels more like a quiet, satisfying validation.

Validation for every designer who convinced their boss to switch from Sketch.

Validation for every product team that discovered the magic of seeing five cursors flying around a file at once, building something together in real-time.

Figma didn’t win with a massive, top-down marketing strategy. It spread through word-of-mouth, from one curious designer to another. “Hey, have you tried this? It runs in a browser. And it’s… actually really good.”

It grew because the product itself was the best argument.

More Than Just a Tool

I think what Figma really nailed was the feeling of community. It wasn’t just software; it was a shared space. With plugins and FigJams and community files, it became a creative ecosystem.

When the Adobe deal fell through, the fear was that Figma would struggle to compete on its own. That it needed the giant’s resources to survive.

Today’s $45 billion valuation isn’t just a number. It's a clear signal that a company can thrive by focusing on its core users and building something genuinely useful. It’s proof that you don't need to be acquired to win. Sometimes, staying independent is the most powerful move you can make.

So, What Now?

Of course, going public comes with its own pressures. The focus can shift from product to profits. The stock price will now be a character in Figma’s story, for better or worse.

Will it change? Absolutely. Everything does.

But for today, it just feels good to see a company that so many of us cheered for from the sidelines have its moment. It’s a pretty cool story for a tool that, for most of us, just lives in a browser tab.

The money is impressive, for sure. But the journey to get here? That’s the real story.