Stephen Millard

Leading Notion Capital’s Value Add Team

I have the privilege of leading The Notion Platform, Notion Capital’s commitment to helping our amazing portfolio companies fulfil their potential, growing from $1m to $1B revenue. I work with every new investment, helping founders solve problems, build capabilities, hire exceptional people, and, most importantly, avoid the mistakes so many make. My work is powered by an exceptional internal team of operators and a trusted network of advisors and experts.

A proven SaaS operator

Since joining Notion in 2016, I have worked with more than 100 SaaS companies, including Cogna, Currencycloud, Flip, Gocardless, Mews, Paddle and Protex, to name just a few. I co-founded Included VC in 2019, a global fellowship providing underrepresented communities with access to the venture capital industry.

I have learned so much over the past ten years at Notion, building on more than two decades starting, building, and scaling business software companies, as CEO of Eccomplished, VP of Marketing at MessageLabs, CMO at Clearswift, and head of European marketing at Oracle.

My Approach

I believe there are no fixed playbooks for building startups, only patterns and principles. Every company is different, but the commonalities allow us to continually improve the value we bring to new investments. Relentlessly curious and always learning, I approach problems through exploration rather than offering definitive answers. I focus on solving the right problem rather than defaulting to standard approaches, and I put issues on the table so they can be addressed head-on. My favourite mental model is the pre-mortem, a tool that helps founders anticipate challenges and build with even greater confidence.

My goal is for every founder, perhaps many years later, to look back and say, “Taking money from Notion was one of the best decisions I ever made.”

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