Design debt, or inconsistencies and complexities in a product's design, can have far-reaching consequences for businesses if left unchecked. The authors of the article share their experience with building messaging functionality in a startup, which led to accumulating user-experience debt (inconsistent UI components) and functional debt (different teams built features in unique ways). To tackle this debt, they developed a three-step framework: visualizing design debt, prioritizing and rationalizing designs, and approaching design debt. The authors found that taking a top-down approach, where they rationalized all objects in tandem to create a unified system, was more effective than starting with the bottom-up approach. By embracing design debt and addressing it proactively, businesses can avoid the penalties of slow growth and move faster without compromising their product vision.