Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

How Notion leveraged community to build a $10B business | Camille Ricketts (Notion, First Round Capital)

December 11, 2022

AI Summary

5 min read

Camille Ricketts, Notion's first marketing hire and former head of marketing, explains how community efforts drove ubiquity and enterprise adoption, alongside content strategies that built awareness. Drawing from Notion's growth from employee 11 to a $10B valuation and her work launching First Round Review, she outlines practical decisions around when and how to invest in these channels.

Defining Community-Led Growth

Community-led growth means leveraging user enthusiasm for ubiquity and name recognition, enabling upmarket moves into enterprise. At Notion, this manifested as widespread sharing on social media, podcasts, and billboards, de-risking purchases for larger teams. Key metric: net new website visitors, tracked via attributable channels like influencers and events. It worked because Notion's shareable "atomic units"—like templates—signaled user expertise and organization, fueling organic spread.

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What you'll learn

1 **[04:27] Career background and early Notion culture**
2 **[08:15] Stressful moments: 2021 outage**
3 **[13:09] Defining community-led growth**
4 **[16:48] Key community tactics at Notion**
5 **[19:52] When to invest: 2x2 matrix and advice**
6 **[38:10] Ambassador program mechanics**
7 **[41:24] Community commandments and scaling**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Camille Ricketts began her career in journalism, at the Wall Street Journal, in 2006. In 2010 she joined Tesla, where she worked in communications alongside Elon Musk. She transitioned into marketing and became the Head of Content and Marketing at First Round Capital and then went on to become the very first marketing hire at Notion. In today’s episode, we dig into community-led growth—what it is, and when and how to pursue it. We get super-specific on how Notion championed their most loyal users and built a passionate community, and the incredible outcome it had for the company’s growth. We also talk about how to create great content, and how content can drive growth for your business and brand.

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Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-notion-leveraged-community-to

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Where to find Camille:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/camillericketts

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camillericketts/

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