Early Life and Education
Ivan Zhao was born in China and later moved to Canada during his childhood. This early exposure to diverse cultures and ways of thinking shaped his interest in the intersection of design, technology, and human behavior. He pursued a degree in cognitive science at the University of British Columbia, a field that combines psychology, computer science, linguistics, and philosophy. Zhao's academic training nurtured a mindset for approaching problems holistically, which would later inform his approach to building Notion.
The Genesis of Notion
After university, Zhao worked as a designer and realized he wanted to create something that combined beauty and function. In 2013, he co-founded Notion Labs, Inc., in San Francisco alongside Simon Last. Their mission was to design a flexible, all-in-one workspace that users could customize according to their needs without requiring any coding skills. Initially, the vision was to create a tool for building apps, but the focus shifted towards solving everyday problems for users.
Rise to Success
Notion's rise was meteoric, and by 2019, it had over 1 million users. In 2021, Notion achieved unicorn status with a valuation of $10 billion. The simplicity of its interface coupled with powerful capabilities made it particularly appealing, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when remote work surged. Notion became a go-to solution for teams navigating the complexities of collaboration from home. The platform is now used by over 100 million users globally.
Key Business Strategies
Zhao prioritized product development and user experience, which led to the growth of Notion through organic growth driven by user satisfaction and community recommendations, rather than traditional advertising. He has maintained a lean team to move quickly, iterate on feedback, and make decisions that aligned closely with user needs.
Philanthropy
Philanthropic information for Ivan Zhao could not be found through the search results.
