Startups Decoded
Startups Decoded is a podcast that provides real-world insights into startup strategy and growth, featuring expert-led content, insider stories, and actionable takeaways for founders and investors. We bridge the gap between theory and practice, offering practical lessons to help entrepreneurs thrive in today’s fast-paced ecosystem. More than just a podcast, it's a resource for innovators who dive deep into the strategies behind building and scaling successful startups.
Startups Decoded
Ep#20: Founder-Investor Fit with Chris Tottman - Notion Capital
Chris Tottman, Founding General Partner at Notion Capital, shares how collaboration between radically different thinkers — founders, investors, and operators — creates force-multiplying outcomes.
This episode explores why the best startups aren't built solo, how pattern recognition meets founder intuition, and why energy alignment matters more than experience at early stages.
Founding General Partner at Notion Capital ($1B+ AUM), where he backs exceptional B2B SaaS founders and helps shape go-to-market strategy at scale. He’s the founder of Included.vc, AlphaGraph.club, and TheFoundersCorner newsletter, and the author of The GTM Handbook for B2B SaaS Leaders and the wildly candid BrainDumps series.
A serial investor in over 500 founders, Chris is also an active advisor to leaders and companies across stages. Beyond venture, he invests through his family office with a growing interest in super rare classic cars.
When he’s not investing, you’ll find him coaching, creating, and collaborating with the kind of brilliant, incrementalist founders who value long games and thoughtful growth — often referred by close-knit networks or discovered in unexpected corners of the internet.
A venture capital firm specializing in European SaaS and cloud startups. With over 100 investments to date, Notion backs exceptional founders with long-term capital and hands-on support through its value-add platform — helping build category-defining companies from seed to scale.
SHOW NOTES
Music Credit: "Neptuno" - Phondupe (Album: Onykia)
“We don't want to be concerned about Founders solving the problems that have been solved many times before.”
In this episode of Startups Decoded, host Andy Walsh engages in a deep conversation with Chris Tottman from Notion Capital about the critical relationship between founders and investors. They explore Tottman's journey into venture capital, the importance of understanding founder dynamics, and the evolving landscape of startup investment, particularly in the context of AI.
Tottman shares insights on investment strategies, the significance of empathy in investor relationships, and the need for founders to solve unique problems. The discussion also touches on the balance between intuition and data in decision-making, the importance of differentiation in the market, and the value-added infrastructure that can support founders in their journey.
Sound Bites
"The best founders solve unique problems."
"Don't be better, be different."
"The math of venture capital is extreme."
Chapters
00:00: Introduction to Founder-Investor Fit
03:06: Chris Tottman's Journey into Venture Capital
05:42: The Role of Founders in Venture Capital
08:29: Notion Capital's Investment Strategy
11:15: The Impact of AI on Investment Opportunities
13:12: Navigating Hype Cycles in Technology
15:09: The Evolution of Investor-Startup Relationships
16:45: Understanding Personal Motivations and Dyslexia
22:25: Building Value-Added Infrastructure for Founders
24:34: Building a Supportive Ecosystem for Founders
28:25: Navigating Founders' Challenges and Problem-Solving
31:54: The Balance of Data and Intuition in Decision-Making
33:26: The Importance of Differentiation in Startups
37:30: Insights from the Book 'Brain Dump'
39:51: Understanding Deal Flow and Investment Strategies