Akshay Kothari

So this was second half of 2021, pretty crazy time. And the reason we did this raise was because our peers, our competitors were getting very aggressive in going to market, both from the marketing lens as well as from the sales lens. And we saw an opportunity to not only raise this money, but also to sort of play the game on the field. And so we did this in October 2021.

And I think the plan was to sort of go more aggressive on go to market. Did you decide to play the game on the field and go aggressive? Yes, we did. For about a year or so before the markets turned. Was it the right decision? You have to. I mean, there is no other choice, right? I think at the end of the day, you do have to play the game that is being played on the field.

And I think the plan was to sort of go more aggressive on go to market. Did you decide to play the game on the field and go aggressive? Yes, we did. For about a year or so before the markets turned. Was it the right decision? You have to. I mean, there is no other choice, right? I think at the end of the day, you do have to play the game that is being played on the field.

And I think the plan was to sort of go more aggressive on go to market. Did you decide to play the game on the field and go aggressive? Yes, we did. For about a year or so before the markets turned. Was it the right decision? You have to. I mean, there is no other choice, right? I think at the end of the day, you do have to play the game that is being played on the field.

Probably nuanced. I think you don't want to like burn your company down, but I think you do want to like compete and see if you can capture more of the customers that you and your competitors are both trying to get.

Probably nuanced. I think you don't want to like burn your company down, but I think you do want to like compete and see if you can capture more of the customers that you and your competitors are both trying to get.

Probably nuanced. I think you don't want to like burn your company down, but I think you do want to like compete and see if you can capture more of the customers that you and your competitors are both trying to get.

That's what happened in 2022. In fact, the harder times came much faster than most had imagined. And so in many ways, the pullback happened quite a bit early in our journey.

That's what happened in 2022. In fact, the harder times came much faster than most had imagined. And so in many ways, the pullback happened quite a bit early in our journey.

That's what happened in 2022. In fact, the harder times came much faster than most had imagined. And so in many ways, the pullback happened quite a bit early in our journey.

We did do some of that. And I think the reason we were able to do some of that was because we were already cash flow positive. So we saw all the companies around us all trying to get fit, all trying to get back to cash flow positive. And we were like, we're already there. So what do we do? Through all of these things, one thing I realized, actually, there's like 99 ways you can burn money.

We did do some of that. And I think the reason we were able to do some of that was because we were already cash flow positive. So we saw all the companies around us all trying to get fit, all trying to get back to cash flow positive. And we were like, we're already there. So what do we do? Through all of these things, one thing I realized, actually, there's like 99 ways you can burn money.

We did do some of that. And I think the reason we were able to do some of that was because we were already cash flow positive. So we saw all the companies around us all trying to get fit, all trying to get back to cash flow positive. And we were like, we're already there. So what do we do? Through all of these things, one thing I realized, actually, there's like 99 ways you can burn money.

There's only one good way to effectively make money. There's just so many bad ideas out there. You can throw money on the billboards, you can throw money on YouTube. But I think it's actually very few ideas that actually can continue to scale well. And even when it starts to do well, you put more money in and it starts to be a bad channel.

There's only one good way to effectively make money. There's just so many bad ideas out there. You can throw money on the billboards, you can throw money on YouTube. But I think it's actually very few ideas that actually can continue to scale well. And even when it starts to do well, you put more money in and it starts to be a bad channel.

There's only one good way to effectively make money. There's just so many bad ideas out there. You can throw money on the billboards, you can throw money on YouTube. But I think it's actually very few ideas that actually can continue to scale well. And even when it starts to do well, you put more money in and it starts to be a bad channel.

So it's actually kind of an interesting exercise of if something works for X, how do you get to 10X and still have the same unit economics? It's pretty hard. I have a question for you.

So it's actually kind of an interesting exercise of if something works for X, how do you get to 10X and still have the same unit economics? It's pretty hard. I have a question for you.

So it's actually kind of an interesting exercise of if something works for X, how do you get to 10X and still have the same unit economics? It's pretty hard. I have a question for you.

Well, I think going back to what we discussed, right, I think in the very long term, it will be a function of the company's sort of multiple, the function of multiple of revenue. And the premium we'll get is based on us being able to grow fast or continue to grow fast and do it in an efficient way. The great thing about Notion is that we just operate in a very large market.