When we first launched our Notion for Startups program two years ago, we had no idea how much the world would change — or how many different shapes and sizes of companies would end up relying on our tools to bridge the divides of remote work.
Some of these companies are like Cocoon, whose founders used Notion from day one before being acquired by Substack (where they'll still use Notion). Others, like Headspace and Figma, are now keeping teams of hundreds aligned. Our startup community ranges from 90% of Forbes' Cloud 100 to over 50% of new YC batches — and it's a privilege to help everyone in between build their teams, fundraise, ship product, and adapt to this strange, new reality.
That's why we're excited to announce that we're significantly expanding our Notion for Startups program. Before, we offered $1,000 free credit to startups working with one of our global partners (that's not changing). Now, any startup can apply to receive at least $500 in credit to use Notion's team-based plans for free — enough to cover a team of 5 for a year.
Every day, we see early-stage companies doing necessary work without traditional sources of funding. We want all founders to have access to the support and tools they need no matter what path they take.
New partnerships with AWS & Stripe
As part of expanding our program, we're kicking off partnerships with two of the world's startup super-connectors: Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) and Stripe. Both of their startup programs — Activate Console Exclusive Offers and Atlas, respectively — reach thousands of companies globally, extending access to offers, resources, and tools like Notion where it hasn't existed before.
Members of these two programs can now receive $1,000 in Notion credit. We're excited to meet brand new startup audiences through these portals, including many that may have never used collaboration software they can customize before. But even if you're already on Notion, we recommend checking out Activate and Atlas. Both give founders a significant head start with deals, expert knowledge, community, and more. We're also joining AWS' Partner Network (APN) to help AWS customers leverage Notion for their work in all kinds of ways.
Similar to how AWS and Stripe are the server and payment infrastructures for the world, we want to be the go-to infrastructure for collaboration — for everyone from founders in a room to thousands distributed globally. We couldn't ask for better partners as we open this new chapter of our startup program.
We also want to do our part to share what we've learned. Which is where the last pillar of this launch comes in... ✨
Dozens of new resources to help you start up
As of today, we're releasing a new wave of guides, videos, tips, tricks, templates, live workshops — you name it — and just for startups! We've learned in depth about how Notion is used across category leading companies, and we're keen to share this knowledge with the rest of the ecosystem.
Available now, we've pulled together a Startups Starter Pack with a 5-minute tutorial to get spun up, walkthroughs for every type of team, customer stories, and templates from both us and companies like yours.
Other programs on the way:
"Hot seat" office hours series — where startups can live workshop their setups with Notion expert Marie Poulin. Anyone can apply to be a guest on the show!
Our Notion Basics course — the first of many video series to provide startups with definitive best practices, from editing a page to creating custom databases. See our videos for startups here, including how to build a GTM plan and set up OKRs.
Dozens of new templates — inspired by real workflows from the best. Try the first few from Headspace, Mixpanel, Buffer, and more.
We hope you'll follow along, join us for live events, and write in about other resources (and features!) you'd like to see.
On a personal note, I head up customer experience here at Notion, and it's been inspiring to be on the front lines talking to users, seeing firsthand how startup growth has only accelerated over these last couple years. With all the shifts in how people work, this is truly a testament to the resilience of builders everywhere. We're lucky to work with you, and look forward to serving you even better.
