Early Team @ Notion turned Angel Investor Q&A with Ben Lang
What updates would you give as if you were talking to an old friend?
I recently left Notion and am keeping super busy these days, having a great time! Here’s a bit of what I’m up to.
A few things I’m up to over the next few months:
Starting the “next play” podcast where I’ll be interviewing world-class founders and operators on getting to their second or third acts to learn about their journey/exploration. Stay tuned for the first episodes!
Headed to the Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, and Dubai for the first time, we’ll be there for the month of February. Shoot me a note if you’re around! Also would love any recommendations.
Bringing back TLV Collective. A curated community and space in Tel Aviv for world-class entrepreneurs and operators who join forces to explore new ideas and support each other in building what comes next. tlvcollective.com
Continuing to actively angel invest and support the companies I’ve invested in. Always welcome to reach out if you’re building something new!
Helping more people explore what’s next with in-person nextplay.so gatherings in new cities. Partnering with local hosts to make it happen. Also, more matchmaking to help people land their next roles and find cofounders.
Sharing many more stories, learnings, resources in my newsletter benlang.beehiiv.com and on Twitter/Linkedin.
Publishing more Notion templates, including paid ones. Coming full circle for me here.
More workflow livestreams. Just hosted one this week on Notion Calendar+Superhuman. Will share the recording in my newsletter.
Occasional open office hours when I have a chance. I’ll also be doing paid calls through Intro.
Your origin stories from IDF to co-founder to Notion?
I moved from NYC, where I went to a private Jewish day school, to Israel to volunteer in the IDF. My family and I spent a year in Israel when I was 14, that was when I decided I wanted to serve in the army instead of going to college. I felt like it was the most important thing I could do. Everyone in Israel serves in the army and it just made sense to me. Before moving to Israel I spent 6 months in Redwood City participating in the Teens in Tech accelerator. This was one of the first accelerators in Silicon Valley. I learned a ton and was exposed to Silicon Valley for the first time through this experience. I had been working on this project. https://thenextweb.com/news/myschoolhelp-focuses-on-social-note-taking-for-high-school-students
I moved to Israel right after and worked at Wibiya (part of Conduit) before drafting in the army. I was there for about 6 months, this was the first time I worked in tech and got to see the inside of a startup. I joined the army where I served in intelligence. I started a community for soldiers interested in the startup world, we had 3,000 soldiers on the newsletter. I worked on a few side projects including mappedinisrael.com which took and got some traction. It morphed into starting a company after I finished the army https://www.techinasia.com/israel-mapme-1-million
A few years in, my cofounder took on the reins as CEO of Mapme and I moved to San Francisco to explore. (Side note, Mapme is doing great today!) I joined Spoke as the first marketing hire and dove deeper into the tech world in the Bay Area. Spoke was eventually acquired by Okta. Eventually, I left and spent a year consulting for a few startups. I worked with Spoke, Fleetsmith (acquired by Apple), Invision (recently shut down), and eventually started working with Notion. I just published a story on Linkedin on how I connected with Notion, at some point I transitioned to full-time time where I spent the past 5 years.
How did you navigate politics at a Unicorn company (if there are any)?
Tricky question there. I’d say at the most basic level, just being friendly and nice to people around you makes life inside of a growing company a lot easier.
How did you get started in Angel Investing?
I got close with a founder who was actively angel investing and looking for some help. He was busy running his company and wanted to continue investing in more companies. We started working together. I helped out with sourcing, diligence and getting deals across the finish line. At some point in the journey, I started investing my own capital as well.
Any major accomplishments/something you are really proud of during your Angel Investing journey?
Just proud to be available when founders need me. I try to be a friend and help where I can. I know how hard starting a company is having gone through it. I have a lot of empathy for what founders go through.
Your daily routine (a typical day) right now.
I wrap tefillin and pray in the morning
I try to swim, do yoga, something physical in the morning or afternoon
I go crash at friends’ offices in tel aviv.
Advice for people who don’t know what to do next / still exploring?
Talk to people who are also exploring.
Listen to podcasts, YouTube to get your thoughts going
Meet with your mentors
Talk to investors and other super connectors