Notion-based founder operations and decision system for managing relationships, tasks, and commitments
This system was developed for a solo founder operating in the VC tech startup environment.
The founder is managing investor conversations, following up on introductions, attending events, and running multiple initiatives at the same time. Alongside this, they are leading product development, coordinating with their team, speaking to users, and making hiring decisions.
A typical week involves meeting new contacts, being introduced to others, sending follow-ups, and revisiting earlier conversations to decide what to do next. At the same time, they are switching between internal work on the company and external activity across the ecosystem.
The role requires constant context switching between people, conversations, decisions, and ongoing work, all within limited time.
Each day includes a mix of internal meetings, investor conversations, and ongoing work that all require preparation and follow-up.
To prepare for a meeting, the founder may need to recall what was discussed previously, check messages or notes, and understand how that conversation connects to current priorities. After the meeting, actions need to be captured and followed through.
Because this information is updated throughout the day across different sources, it is difficult to keep track of what needs attention now, what is scheduled later, and what requires follow-up without stopping to piece this together manually.
The approach was to organise the system around the founder’s daily workflow.
The starting point is a single view of the day, showing scheduled meetings, the type of each interaction, and any preparation required. Internal work, investor conversations, and external meetings are visible together so that the founder can move between them without losing context.
Each meeting, message, or interaction is connected to the people involved, the relevant project, and any actions that follow. When new information is added, it updates the current state of work rather than creating separate records that need to be revisited later.
The structure focuses on keeping preparation, interaction, and follow-up connected, so that the founder can move through the day without needing to reconstruct context between steps.
Each part of the process is handled by a separate component:
The system is built as a relational workspace where people, companies, projects, events, and tasks are connected.
The first version is structured within a Notion environment, where each layer is linked so that updates in one place are reflected across the system. Calendar data, meeting notes, and existing records are attached to the relevant people and activities.
AI is used to summarise meetings, extract actions, and assign them to the correct records. These actions are then added to the task layer, where they can be reviewed alongside upcoming meetings and ongoing work.
The current version is used as a private working environment by the founder. The next step is to extend access to a chief of staff, allowing parts of the system to be shared and maintained collaboratively. A second layer is also being considered to support the internal operations of the startup, separate from the founder’s external activity.