New Enterprise Associates published the results of an inaugural Future of Design in Start-Ups survey showing that design can lead to higher sales and greater customer retention at companies that embrace its lessons.

The survey collected input from more than 400 participants who shared observations about the role of design at startups, and it was directed by NEA Design Partner Albert Lee and Partner Dayna Grayson.

The work set out to quantify the impact of design at young companies.

What it found is that at companies with at least $20 million in venture capital that consider design very important to their businesses and which have either a designer as a co-founder or more than 20 designers on staff or both, sales, customer retention and customer engagement can benefit.

The survey is available here.