In late 2019, we sent out our annual NPS survey to gather feedback from all the founders and CEOs in the Notion Family, as we’ve done for the last five years. We’ve continued to do this year-on-year as it teaches us how the founders in our portfolio can get the best out of the Notion team and allows us to improve the way we work together with them. Throughout these five years our mission has also stayed the same: to create the conditions for extraordinary success for European SaaS companies. And this mission has never been as important as it is today.

Since gathering the results of our NPS survey in early 2020 the world has changed a lot and, therefore, so has the way we work with our founders. Reflecting on the feedback, we’re able to see how we can carry on working with our founders in a way that they enjoy and that is beneficial to them and their companies, whilst remaining mindful of the current situation. This time now, whilst we’re still in lockdown and working from home, has allowed us to take a step back from the day-to-day and has given us more time to really reflect on the ways in which we can improve working with our founders.

Why our founders enjoy working with us:

Whilst the main aim of our NPS survey is to improve on the experience our Founders have with us, it’s also helpful to re-enforce what we’re doing well, and to, therefore, do more of it.

Having a VC that’s on your side

“The people. Everybody is helpful and supportive. And the introductions made have almost always been top notch.”

Community

“Community within the portfolio as well as the workshops and sessions on specific topics have been stellar.”

Platform and Talent Services

“The Retreat was excellent and intros to recruiters have been very useful.”

As a VC fund founded by former entrepreneurs, we are uniquely positioned to offer, not just financial support, but emotional support on the founder journey itself, whilst also being able to offer up an extensive network of experts within the Saas industry to offer additional support and expertise. With such a powerful network of experts and thought leaders, last year we were able to put on around 50 events, varying from in-person workshops to webinars and then of course our annual founder’s retreat. These events allow for a collective learning experience within the portfolio and the Notion team, which is often cited as a reason founders enjoy being part of the Notion Family. The support to our founders also extends into their own teams, where Maddy Cross’ talent support is frequently flagged as a highlight of working with Notion.

Where our founders think we could improve:

The most important aspect of the NPS survey is for us to take the honest feedback from our Founders and to continuously improve on it. With an NPS score this year of 81 in 2018 vs 84 in 2019, it feels like there is still room for progress, so we are looking forward to tackling these areas of improvement throughout 2020.

The Network

“A bit more variety in the network. Maybe someone based in the US to help companies over there given that is where most of the portfolio are headed.”

Making Notion more accessible through events

“Notion is still very much a UK based VC, but a lot of the investments are in Europe. So building a stronger bridge to support non-UK based investments through events.”

This learning experience is what makes the NPS survey so valuable for us.

Over the past 10 years or so, the Notion Team has opened up its network to work with and support our Founders. As the Notion team has grown fairly significantly in the past couple of years, so has our network. Whilst the need for some variety in the network is clear, we hope some additions in the team over the last couple of years, such as Itxaso del Palacio will allow us to grow this network even more. Alongside this, we’re aware that we need to make more of a concerted effort to be European-focused and more accessible throughout, rather than predominantly in the UK. In both these instances - improving the network and our reach across Europe - the current situation lends itself to and has already allowed us to broaden our network, as we’re able to access speakers and experts who are usually further afield. We’ve also taken the opportunity to move all of our events online, making them more accessible to portfolio companies not based in London.

Next Steps:

It’s never been more critical to support our founders. Taking the feedback, plus the current circumstances into consideration, we’ve recently launched a series of remote conferences known as ‘Notion Now’. This will allow all our existing portfolio companies and the extended Notion Network to gain access to this event, all from the safety and comfort of their homes. It also means that, with much more ease for both parties, that we’re able to access even more world-class speakers.

Moving forward, we endeavour to keep on hosting our virtual conferences, even when we are able to see one another again, to enable global accessibility and to run these alongside and with the same gusto as any in-person events we may run in the future. We will use this opportunity, when it’s never been easier to access someone over the phone or a zoom link, to broaden our network across the globe and improve its diversity of thinking.

Final Words:

The SaaS industry is, in many ways, uniquely positioned to develop itself in the current crisis and improve on what’s already known. Whilst the situation will vary company to company, we hope that, at Notion, we are able to refine our strengths, tackle any areas of improvement, to enable us to offer the best support possible during these uncertain times. We are delighted to continue to support our Portfolio on this journey, through the good times and the bad.