First Block: Interview with Varun Anand, Co-Founder of Clay
Welcome to First Block, a Notion series where founders from the world’s leading companies tell us what it was like to navigate the many firsts of their startup journey — and what they learned from that experience.In this episode, we spoke with Varun Anand, Co-founder of Clay, one of the most exciting companies at the intersection of GTM and AI that’s redefining what modern go-to-market looks like.Varun shares insights on the journey to finding product-market fit, how Clay went from horizontal spreadsheet tool to specialized go-to-market platform, and why following your curiosity matters more than traditional startup wisdom.For video, transcripts, and custom Notion Clay templates, please visit: https://ntn.so/7i8hzvTo learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/udg5vzTimestamps00:00 Intro01:20 Finding PMF07:48 Reverse Demo Strategy10:50 Scaling with Intent16:04 Reinventing Sales Roles19:58 Hiring for Potential21:48 Clay's Operating Culture23:56 AI Pressure25:37 Advice Block
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First Block: Interview with Michael Truell, Co-Founder & CEO of Cursor
Welcome to First Block, a Notion series where founders from the world’s leading companies tell us what it was like to navigate the many firsts of their startup journey — and what they learned from that experience.In this episode, we spoke with Michael Truell, Co-founder and CEO of Cursor, an AI code editor that has gone from side project to one of the fastest-growing AI tools in the developer world in under a year. Michael shares why they started with a solution in search of a problem, ignored conventional advice, and focused obsessively on product over everything else. From a 4-person founding team to hiring just one person every few months, their unorthodox path laid the foundation for breakout growth.For video, transcripts, and custom Notion Cursor templates, please visit: https://ntn.so/2yr1lwTo learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/9ipiekTimestamps00:00: Intro02:18: The original spark and false start in mechanical engineering05:53: The pivot moment to developer tools06:45: The decision to fork VS Code08:45: Building AI-native coding tools and the balance between speed and control12:24: Cursor's explosive growth trajectory13:41: Early mistakes and lessons learned14:16: Hiring philosophy and building the first team17:08: Internal tools and operational philosophy19:01: Maintaining focus in a hyper-fast environment20:53: Advice for founders building in the AI era
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First Block: Interview with Ivan Zhao and Simon Last, Co-Founders of Notion
Full video episode here: https://youtu.be/ZMrjvxCIPpY
To learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/rmCdsK
First Block, a Notion series - hosted by Notion's Co-Founder Akshay Kothari - where founders and executives from some of the world’s leading companies tell us what it was like to navigate the many firsts of their startup journey — and what they learned from that experience.
In this episode, Akshay sits down with Notion co-founders Ivan Zhao and Simon Last to talk about everything Notion — where we started, how we got where we are now, and where we’re headed.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:06 The Founding Story
04:55 The Early Days
11:43 Reaching Product-Market-Fit
17:53 Building a Lean Team
19:58 Building for All: The Tradeoffs
27:09 Creating a Global Community
30:19 Scaling Company Culture
37:13 The Future of AI
44:32 A Day in the Life of Ivan Zhao and Simon Last
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First Block: Interview with Adeyemi Ajao, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Base10 Partners
First Block, a Notion series - hosted by Notion's Co-Founder Akshay Kothari - where founders and executives from some of the world’s leading companies tell us what it was like to navigate the many firsts of their startup journey — and what they learned from that experience.
To learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/tts9Uf
In this episode, we have Adeyemi Ajao, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Base10 Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in the automation of the real economy. In this episode, we delve into his early days as a serial entrepreneur, experiences as an immigrant in Silicon Valley, his transition to becoming an investor, and much more.
For videos, transcripts, and custom Notion Base10 templates, please visit: https://ntn.so/Hv0nRi
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:32 Becoming an Entrepreneur
05:13 Co-Founder Relationships
08:58 Growing the Team
13:53 Building an Authentic Community
19:57 Learning to Be a CEO
22:18 Being an Immigrant
25:09 The Positivity of Silicon Valley
28:06 The Life after Acquisition
32:04 Becoming an Investor
35:40 Base10
38:55 The Ultimate Diversity
41:48 A Day in the Life of Ade Ajao
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First Block: Interview with Vlad Magdalin, Co-Founder and CEO of Webflow
First Block, a Notion series - hosted by Notion's Co-Founder Akshay Kothari - where founders and executives from some of the world’s leading companies tell us what it was like to navigate the many firsts of their startup journey — and what they learned from that experience.
To learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/56lXGm
In this episode, we have Vlad Magdalin, Co-Founder and CEO of Webflow, the leading visual development platform for building powerful websites without writing code. In this episode, we do a deep-dive into the early days of Webflow and its journey to sustainable growth and financing, their hiring principles, the importance of user feedback, the "no-code" revolution, and much more.
For video, transcripts, and custom Notion Webflow templates, please visit: https://ntn.so/QFJPUA
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
03:22 Co-Founder Complimentary Skillset
07:26 Early Attempts at Webflow
12:21 Perseverance Despite the Challenges
17:49 Reaching Product-Market Fit
21:49 Fundraising
25:21 Hiring Principles
29:42 Building in Public & User Feedback
33:39 First Enterprise Customer
39:44 No-Code Revolution
42:44 A Day in the Life of Vlad Magdalin
47:02 Notion for Startups Special Offer (https://ntn.so/n0Iy5d)
Candid conversations with the people shaping the world of technology — from pioneers of computer history to founders at the world’s leading startups. For more information, visit: https://www.notion.so/blog/topic/first-block
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