20VC: Notion's Founder on "Founder Mode": When it Works & When it Doesn't | Why The Way Startups Fundraise & Construct Boards is Broken | Raising at a $10BN Valuation in Peak Bubble Times and How Notion Has More Money Than Ever Before with Akshay Kothari
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The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
49 min
3 speakers
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Founder mode is really good if you have a founder who's right a lot. If they're not, God bless that company. There's more cash in Notion's bank today than the history of its race. So it's like in some ways, like we've produced cash. We haven't spent any of it. I think the thing I would say about Sequoia, I think it is probably the best brand. Similar to how we demand excellence from our employees, I think they demand excellence from their companies.
Welcome back to 20VC with me, Harry Stebbings, and today we have the man who makes the show at Notion run smoothly in the hot seat. Akshay Kothari. Akshay is the co-founder at Notion, and he has run almost every function in the company, from sales to marketing to finance. He's even led their fundraising efforts, raising over $340 million from Sequoia, Index, and Cotu, with the latest round pricing them at $10 billion. Before Notion, Akshay was VP of product at LinkedIn for five years, and he joined LinkedIn when his previous company, Pulse, was acquired by them in 2013. But before we dive in today, all of you listening use tons of software every day. Sometimes it fills us with rage. You can't figure something out. The chatbot in the bottom right is useless. You keep getting bombarded with these useless pop-ups. And for those of you who build products, no one wants their product to feel like this. Thankfully, a company exists to help users without annoying them. CommandBar. It does a couple of very helpful things.
First, it's a chatbot that uses AI to give users extremely personalized responses and deflect tickets. But it can be beyond just text. It can also co-browse with the user and show them how to do things inside the UI. Magic. But it can also detect when users would benefit from a proactive nudge, like a helpful hint, or an invitation to start a free trial. CommandBar is already used by world-class companies like Gusto, HashiCorp, Yotpo, and Angelist. If you're a product CX or marketing leader, check them out at commandbar.com slash harry. And talking about incredible companies with Command Bar, I want to talk to you about a new venture fund making waves by taking a very different approach. It's a public venture fund anyone can invest in.
not just institutions and accredited investors. The Fundrise Innovation Fund is democratizing venture capital, which could have big consequences for the industry. The fund is already off to a good start with $100 million into some of the largest, most in-demand AI and data infrastructure companies. Companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Databricks. Check out the Innovation Fund's impressive list of investments for yourself by visiting fundrise.com slash 20VC. Carefully consider the investment material before investing, including objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. This and other information can be found in the Innovation Fund's prospectus at fundrise.com slash innovation. This is a paid sponsorship.
And finally, let's talk about Squarespace. Squarespace is the all-in-one website platform for entrepreneurs to stand out and succeed online. Whether you're just starting out or managing a growing brand, Squarespace makes it easy to create a beautiful website, engage with your audience, and sell anything from products to content, all in one place, all on your terms. What's blown me away is the Squarespace Blueprint AI and SEO tools. It's like crafting your site with a guided system, ensuring it not only reflects your unique style, but also ranks well on search engines. Plus, their flexible payment options cater to every customer's needs, making transactions smooth and hassle-free. And the Squarespace AI?
It's a content wizard, helping you whip up text that truly resonates with your brand voice. So if you're ready to get started, head to squarespace.com for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, go to squarespace.com slash 20VC and use the code 20VC to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
You have now arrived at your destination. Actually, I am so excited for this, dude. We did this four years ago in COVID when no one was getting out. And now you're in London, man. This is so special. Thank you for being here. Thank you for hosting. And so great to see you in person. Now, I spoke to Ivan before the show. I spoke to many people before the show.
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