First Block – Tools & Craft – Notion

Thoughts on the future of work,
from the people and teams creating it.

First Block

First Block

— Lessons learned from leading startup voices.

First Block with Garrett Lord, Co-founder and CEO of Handshake

In this episode, Garrett shares his journey from growing up in a working-class family to building a company that democratizes access to career opportunities.

Anastasia Crew

Startup Marketing Lead

jesse zhang blog

First Block with Jesse Zhang, Co-founder and CEO of Decagon

In this episode, Jesse shares his journey from a painful first startup experience to building Decagon with intentional customer discovery, and why commercial thinking matters as much as technical excellence.

Anastasia Crew

Startup Marketing Lead

first block fabian hedin

First Block with Fabian Hedin, Co-founder and CTO of Lovable

In this episode, we spoke with Fabian Hedin about Minecraft, the bold bet on democratizing software development, and why building for today's AI capabilities beats betting on tomorrow's.

Anastasia Crew

Startup Marketing Lead

First Block Ant Wilson

First Block with Ant Wilson, Co-founder and CTO of Supabase

In this episode, we spoke with Ant Wilson about his previous founder experiences, the power of solving your own problem, and why building authentic relationships with your community matters.

Anastasia Crew

Startup Marketing Lead

First Block with Brendan Foody, Co-founder and CEO of Mercor

In this episode, we spoke with Brendan Foody, Co-founder and CEO of Mercor, about his decision to drop out of college, and how he positioned himself perfectly for the AI talent revolution.

Anastasia Crew

Startup Marketing Lead

First Block with Varun Anand, Co-founder of Clay

First Block with Varun Anand, Co-founder of Clay

In this episode, we spoke with Varun Anand, Co-founder of Clay, about the journey to finding product-market fit, becoming a specialized go-to-market platform, and curiosity matters more than traditional startup wisdom.

Anastasia Crew

Startup Marketing Lead

First Block with Michael Truell, Co-founder and CEO of Cursor

In this episode, we spoke with Michael Truell, Co-founder and CEO of Cursor. He shares his insights on pivoting from mechanical engineering AI to developer tools, and why sometimes breaking startup orthodoxy is exactly what you need to do.

Anastasia Crew

Startup Marketing Lead

Ivan Simon Blog

First Block with Notion Co-Founders Ivan Zhao and Simon Last

On this episode, we spoke with Notion Co-Founders Ivan Zhao and Simon Last. Ivan and Simon share more about the early days of building Notion, creating a global community, why scaling company culture is so important.

Anastasia Crew

Startup Marketing Lead

Adeyemi Ajao Blog

First Block with Adeyemi Ajao, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Base10

On this episode, we spoke with Adeyemi Ajao, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Base10. Adeyemi shares more about the importance of true community, his experience learning to be a CEO, and moving from founder to investor.

Anastasia Crew

Startup Marketing Lead

First Block Vlad Magdalin Thumbnail

First Block with Vlad Magdalin, Co-Founder and CEO of Webflow

On this episode, we spoke with Vlad Magdalin, Co-Founder and CEO of Webflow. Vlad shares more about the early days of Webflow and its journey to sustainable growth and financing, and why it's important to focus on your core product and audience when building product.

Anastasia Crew

Startup Marketing Lead