Who are Notion's decision-makers?
Notion is led by its co-founders — CEO Ivan Zhao and Simon Last — with Akshay Kothari, an early LinkedIn product leader, as COO. The founders set product vision and the famously opinionated design culture; for a deal, though, the people who matter are usually the functional and operations leaders beneath them who own the budgets.
- Ivan ZhaoCo-founder & CEOSince 2013Sets Notion's product vision around flexible, 'lego-like' software and famously rebuilt the product almost from scratch before its 2016 relaunch.
- Simon LastCo-founderSince 2013Long-time technical co-founder who has driven core product and, more recently, Notion's AI features.
- Akshay KothariChief Operating OfficerJoined Notion early and scaled its go-to-market, operations, and team from a tiny startup into a global company.
Who leads Notion?
Notion was founded in 2013 by Ivan Zhao and Simon Last, who nearly ran out of money and rebuilt the product from scratch before its 2016 relaunch turned it into a phenomenon. Zhao, the CEO, is the product and design visionary behind Notion's block-based model; Last leads on engineering and the technical foundations. Akshay Kothari joined as COO from LinkedIn and built out the go-to-market and operations organization as Notion scaled.
Who actually makes buying decisions at Notion?
Notion's founders set direction, but vendor decisions typically sit with operating leaders in product, engineering, IT, and operations, plus the go-to-market org Kothari oversees. As Notion grows past roughly 800 employees and pushes upmarket into larger enterprises, expect more structured procurement and security review. Identify the specific team your product serves rather than aiming at the founders.
How is Notion organized as it scales?
Notion has stayed deliberately lean for its scale, reflecting the same efficiency that defines its finances. Its organization centers on a strong product-and-design core with engineering, plus a growing go-to-market motion that now spans self-serve, sales-assisted, and enterprise. For a seller, that means design-led, quality-conscious buyers who respond to polish and clear ROI more than aggressive outreach.
As of June 2026.Sources:Crunchbase — NotionNotion — about
Notion — frequently asked questions
