Follow the pull, not the plan.

How tldraw scaled from creative experiments to real traction, how founders move faster with lean teams, and the project tracker built for momentum - plus a quick survey to help us shape Notion’s 2026 events.

Welcome to The Startup Stack - where we cut through the noise to bring you the real talk, tactical tools, and startup trends that matter. This week, we’re diving into Steve Ruiz 's clarity-driven path from creative experiments to building tldraw , how founders and VCs across Airtree , Qwilr , and me&u scale globally with fewer resources, a project tracker to help teams plan and ship faster, and a short, high-impact survey to help us design Notion’s 2026 event formats around what founders actually want.

Featuring:

• From side projects to real traction with tldraw’s Steve Ruiz: Building in public, turning “commodity” into innovation, and following momentum over master plans.
• Scaling faster with fewer resources: Airtree, Qwilr, and me&u on why clarity, documentation, and intentional leadership beat headcount and meetings.
• Project & Task Tracker Template: Track projects of any size, keep context in-line, and move from planning to delivery.
• Help shape Notion Startup Events: We need your voice - tell us what formats actually deliver founder value.

The stack is built - follow momentum.

“I didn’t start with a really good idea. I kind of arrived there via lots and lots of other things, some of which didn’t go anywhere. So it was a lot of noise on the line before I found or came into something that connected with a lot of people.” — Steve Ruiz, Founder of tldraw

Steve Ruiz, Founder of tldraw, joins Ghalia Alami , Notion’s EMEA Startup Program Manager, to share how a designer’s obsession with craft turned into a company that helps teams move from idea to product. Instead of chasing a perfect startup idea, Steve followed his design instincts - building in public, refining tiny details, and letting user pull guide where the product should go.

Three founder lessons from Steve:

• Building in public isn’t hype → It’s how you find collaborators, users, and opportunities you can’t predict.
• Commodity isn’t low-value → Removing gnarly, unsolved problems unlocks entirely new products.
• Follow the momentum → Don’t force a master plan. Try widely, abandon quickly, and lean into whatever pulls hardest.

Watch the full episode →

Project & Task Tracker Template: plan, execute, and ship - all in one workspace.

• One hub for every project: Track work of any size with timeline, kanban, or calendar views.
• Context in-line: Pair tasks with docs, designs, and meeting notes in one place.
• Built for momentum: Keep teams aligned and move from planning to delivery faster.

Get your startup task tracker template now →

Scaling Faster With Fewer Resources

How do fast-growing startups move faster with lean teams, clear guardrails, and fewer meetings - without sacrificing quality?

At the recent Make with Notion in Sydney, Elicia McDonald (Partner, Airtree,), Mark Tanner (Co-Founder & CEO, Qwilr), and Kim Teo (Co-Founder & CEO, me&u) shared how they’re scaling globally with teammates across time zones, merging companies, aligning with investors, and making better decisions with less overhead. Their message was simple: speed doesn’t come from headcount - it comes from clarity, documentation, and intentional leadership.

Key takeaways:

• Centralize knowledge → One source of truth collapses time zones and cuts decision friction.
• Clarity through writing → Strong memos replace meetings and unlock bottom-up ideas.
• Use AI for leverage → Automate busy work, not noise - don’t shift the bottleneck to the reader.

Watch the full episode →

Help Us Shape Notion Startup Events in 2026

As the year closes, we’re pausing to ask a simple question: what formats actually deliver value for startups?

We’re rethinking our 2026 event strategy - IRL, virtual, small, large - and your anonymous input (<2 mins) will shape what we build. Help us design a calendar that truly serves the ecosystem.

Tell us what you want to experience → we’ll build it.

The AI workspace that works for you. Startups move fast - and Notion helps you move faster. From idea to exit, build docs, manage projects, and run your team and startup in one connected workspace powered by Notion AI. Apply now to get up to 6 months of Notion’s Business plan with Notion AI included - a $12,000 value.

Till next week - clarity over chaos, momentum over noise.