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/2yr1lw⁠

To learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: ⁠https://ntn.so/9ipiek⁠

Timestamps

00:00: Intro

02:18: The original spark and false start in mechanical engineering

05:53: The pivot moment to developer tools

06:45: The decision to fork VS Code

08:45: Building AI-native coding tools and the balance between speed and control

12:24: Cursor's explosive growth trajectory

13:41: Early mistakes and lessons learned

14:16: Hiring philosophy and building the first team

17:08: Internal tools and operational philosophy

19:01: Maintaining focus in a hyper-fast environment

20:53: Advice for founders building in the AI era

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.

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

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

First Block, a Notion series - hosted by Notion's Co-Founder & COO 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, we have Daniela Amodei, Co-Founder & President at Anthropic. Anthropic is the AI safety and research company behind Claude — the frontier model used by millions of businesses and consumers for its emphasis on safety and performance. She discusses how to build a strong team of founders, how to navigate role changes, and how feedback is essential to scaling a company.

For an audio-only podcast, transcripts, and custom Notion Anthropic templates, please visit: https://ntn.so/CHl2rT

To learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/HHuDPC

First Block, a Notion series - hosted by Notion's Co-Founder & COO 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, we have Mathilde Collin, Co-Founder & CEO of Front, a customer operations and communications platform. She discusses how to hire your first ten employees and the importance of radical transparency.

For an audio-only podcast, transcripts, and custom Notion Front templates, please visit: ⁠https://ntn.so/TuLOgg

To learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: ⁠https://ntn.so/hvXpHh

First Block, a Notion series - hosted by Notion's Co-Founder & COO 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, we have Christina Cacioppo, Co-Founder and CEO of Vanta, discussing her transition from VC to operator and how she has built Vanta into the leading trust management platform.

For an audio-only podcast, transcripts, and custom Notion Vanta templates, please visit: https://ntn.so/TQf6LA

To learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/2f5lfV

First Block, a Notion series - hosted by Notion's Co-Founder & COO 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 partnership with Index Ventures, this episode features Julianna Lamb, Co-Founder & CTO of Stytch. Stytch helps developers secure and scale their applications with authentication and fraud prevention. Akshay sits down with Julianna to discuss the founding story of Stytch, how her role as CTO has evolved over time, the early days of finding product-market-fit, building out their engineering team, and much more.

For more episodes of the First Block series including custom Notion templates, video, and transcripts, please visit: https://ntn.so/pIvAbt

For more startup resources and to learn more about the Notion for Startups program, please visit: https://ntn.so/AZhAX8

First Block is a Notion series hosted by Notion's Co-Founder & COO 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.

This episode features Parker Conrad, Co-Founder and CEO of Rippling, discussing the ins and outs of his entrepreneurial journey and what he’s learned along the way. Rippling lets you easily manage your employees’ payroll, benefits, expenses, devices, apps & more — in one place.

For more episodes of the First Block series including custom Notion templates, audio-only podcasts, and transcripts, please visit: https://ntn.so/5uecCU

For more startup resources and to learn more about the Notion for Startups program, please visit: https://ntn.so/JSIG0M

Michael Nielsen is a quantum physicist, science writer, computer programming researcher, and modern polymath working on tools to expand human capacity to think and create. He’s previously authored pioneering quantum computing books, propelled forward the open science movement, and published research on artificial intelligence. He now researches meta-science at the Astera Institute, while writing about his many interests online.

See www.notion.so/blog/michael-nielsen for episode transcript.

Hosted by Devon Zuegel

Edited by Anson Yu

Audio by The Land Films