Notion Podcast

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Feb 2026

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About the show

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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35 recent

February 18, 202625 min

First Block: Interview with Gabe Pereyra, Co-Founder and President of Harvey

For a video, transcripts, and a custom Notion x Harvey template, please visit: ⁠https://ntn.so/bgpz1oTo learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/td602rWelcome 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 Gabe Pereyra, Co-founder and President of Harvey. Harvey is an AI platform built for large law firms and their clients, helping thousands of lawyers collaborate on complex matters with the power of generative AI. From a seed check from OpenAI to a valuation that has grown to $8 billion, Harvey's trajectory is one of the defining applied AI stories of the last few years.Chapters00:00 — Intro01:42 — Origins of Harvey03:41 — Why Legal Made Sense06:02 — Building a General Tool08:50 — Accuracy in Enterprise10:03 — Infrastructure Over Models12:49 — Founder Lessons in AI16:04 — Scaling the Company17:50 — Building with Models21:48 — The Tool Stack23:01 — Advice Block

January 20, 202623 min

First Block: Interview with Gerry Giacomán Colyer, Co-Founder and CEO of Clara

For a video, transcripts, and a custom Notion x Clara template, please visit: https://ntn.so/nz57mo To learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/otm3he 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, recorded live at Mexico Tech Week, we spoke with Gerry Giacomán Colyer, Co-founder and CEO of Clara. In just a few years, Clara has become one of the fastest-growing companies in the Americas, reaching over 20,000 customers across three countries and raising $80 million along the way. Gerry shares the founding insight that came from watching a previous company struggle without proper financial tools, the near-end experience of their bank partner shutting down months after launch, and how they’re now deploying AI agents to transform finance operations across Latin America.Chapters00:00 Intro01:42 The Starting Point05:11 Early Milestones08:47 Scaling Decisions12:30 Staying Lean15:56 Roadmap Across Markets19:52 The Tool Stack20:59 Advice Block

December 16, 202523 min

First Block: Interview with Garrett Lord, Co-Founder and CEO of Handshake

For a full video, transcripts, and custom Notion x Handshake templates, please visit: https://ntn.so/tgn78cTo learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/slpyk0Welcome 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 Garrett Lord, co-founder and CEO of Handshake. Handshake is the leading career platform connecting students and young professionals with employers, serving 17 million users and nearly 1 million companies. Garrett shares his journey from growing up in a working-class family in Michigan to building a company that democratizes access to career opportunities. He discusses his days living out of his car, the importance of talent density, and why this is the moment to go all in on your biggest bets.Chapters00:00 Intro00:48 Founding the Spark02:43 The Early Grind06:42 Talent Matters Most07:37 Scaling Through Leadership13:17 Inside Handshake AI18:04 Shaping the Future Workforce19:38 Advice Block

November 18, 202522 min

First Block: Interview with Jesse Zhang, Co-Founder and CEO of Decagon

October 28, 2025Episode 427 min

First Block: Interview with Ant Wilson, Co-Founder and CTO of Supabase

October 28, 2025Episode 522 min

First Block: Interview with Fabian Hedin, Co-Founder and CTO of Lovable

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 Fabian Hedin, Co-founder and CTO of Lovable. Lovable is a platform that lets you build apps and websites by chatting with AI. After launching in November 2024, they've scaled from $1M to $100M ARR in just eight months—one of the fastest growth trajectories in AI history.Fabian shares his journey from running Minecraft servers in high school to cofounding Lovable, the bold bet on democratizing software development, and why building for today's AI capabilities beats betting on tomorrow's.For video, transcripts, and custom Notion x Lovable templates, please visit: ⁠https://ntn.so/hz0tpbTo learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ntn.so/v53xj8Chapters:00:00 Intro01:38 Early Journey05:57 Becoming Lovable08:40 Launch Lessons09:39 Scaling Fast12:38 Building with AI17:11 What's Production-Ready19:39 Notion x Lovable20:34 Future of Building21:20 Advice Block

September 29, 2025Episode 326 min

First Block: Interview with Brendan Foody, Co-Founder & CEO of Mercor

Welcome to First Block, a Notion series where founders from the world's leading companies tell us about the many "firsts" of their startup journeys. We explore the ups and downs that founders face as they build, and what they've learned along the way.In this episode, we spoke with Brendan Foody, Co-founder and CEO of Mercor. Mercor is an AI-powered recruiting platform that scaled from $1 million to $100 million in revenue run rate in just 11 months, making it one of the fastest-growing companies in Silicon Valley.Brendan shares his journey from selling donuts in eighth grade to building automated hiring solutions, the decision to drop out of college, and how he positioned himself perfectly for the AI talent revolution.For video, transcripts, and custom Notion Mercor templates, please visit: https://ntn.so/cbc8mpTo learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/271hmwChapters:00:00 Intro03:39 Mercor by the Numbers05:36 Obsession Over Discipline08:39 Fundraising as Input10:59 Scaling Self & Culture13:40 Automating Manual Processes17:40 Finding the Right Market21:08 Staying Long-Term Oriented22:58 The Tool Stack25:22 Advice Block

July 22, 2025Episode 228 min

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

June 17, 2025Episode 123 min

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

March 20, 202449 min

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