Interesting, with my startup, I aim to stay sharp for a customer segment first (ADHD). What do you think about Notion case? It seems like a general one since the beginning
Love this question, Austin. Notion is a fascinating edge case because it looks like it started as a Swiss-Army knife, but under the hood it was really a chef’s knife with one exceptionally sharp blade: the “block” model for note-taking and lightweight databases. In the 2016–2018 window their core persona was actually quite narrow, design-forward product teams who cared as much about aesthetics and keyboard flow as they did about flexibility. That fanatical subgroup became the beachhead that carried Notion into the broader “all-in-one workspace” story we see today.
A couple of takeaways that map to your ADHD-focused startup:
Start with a single habit loop you can 10×. For Notion it was “capture and organize information without context-switch friction.” For ADHD users it might be something like “reduce task overwhelm in <60 seconds.” Make that moment magical and you earn permission to add adjacent blades later.
Hide the breadth until the core is addictively sharp. Notion didn’t push databases, kanban, calendar, and wiki all at once. Those capabilities were latent inside blocks but surfaced gradually as users pulled for them. You can do the same, bake extensibility into your architecture without advertising it on day one.
Cult community > mass adoption (early on). The #buildinpublic crowd and design Twitter basically became Notion’s GTM engine. An ADHD-specific champion cohort (productivity coaches, neurodiversity advocates, etc.) can play a similar role for you.
So yes, Notion seems general, but it earned that breadth by first nailing a very specific workflow for a very specific set of power users.
Wow, this is super detailed and helpful, Michael - I wasn’t expecting such a thoughtful reply. I especially liked the part where you mentioned creating a magical moment first to earn permission to add adjacent blades later. Will have to decide what the single habit loop is and what it comprises. Thanks man!
Interesting, with my startup, I aim to stay sharp for a customer segment first (ADHD). What do you think about Notion case? It seems like a general one since the beginning
Love this question, Austin. Notion is a fascinating edge case because it looks like it started as a Swiss-Army knife, but under the hood it was really a chef’s knife with one exceptionally sharp blade: the “block” model for note-taking and lightweight databases. In the 2016–2018 window their core persona was actually quite narrow, design-forward product teams who cared as much about aesthetics and keyboard flow as they did about flexibility. That fanatical subgroup became the beachhead that carried Notion into the broader “all-in-one workspace” story we see today.
A couple of takeaways that map to your ADHD-focused startup:
Start with a single habit loop you can 10×. For Notion it was “capture and organize information without context-switch friction.” For ADHD users it might be something like “reduce task overwhelm in <60 seconds.” Make that moment magical and you earn permission to add adjacent blades later.
Hide the breadth until the core is addictively sharp. Notion didn’t push databases, kanban, calendar, and wiki all at once. Those capabilities were latent inside blocks but surfaced gradually as users pulled for them. You can do the same, bake extensibility into your architecture without advertising it on day one.
Cult community > mass adoption (early on). The #buildinpublic crowd and design Twitter basically became Notion’s GTM engine. An ADHD-specific champion cohort (productivity coaches, neurodiversity advocates, etc.) can play a similar role for you.
So yes, Notion seems general, but it earned that breadth by first nailing a very specific workflow for a very specific set of power users.
Wow, this is super detailed and helpful, Michael - I wasn’t expecting such a thoughtful reply. I especially liked the part where you mentioned creating a magical moment first to earn permission to add adjacent blades later. Will have to decide what the single habit loop is and what it comprises. Thanks man!
This is a balanced take, and I'd say your emphasis on 'start narrow, stay sharp' before broadening later on is astute.