Bonfire Ventures

23 Company Building Lessons Learned From Scaling Stripe & Notion

The article outlines 23 detailed company-building lessons from scaling Stripe and Notion, emphasizing mission focus, hiring for growth potential, clear communication, scalable systems, embracing ambiguity, rapid iteration, strong onboarding, thorough documentation, ownership, feedback culture, customer closeness, intentional culture design, disciplined focus, celebration of achievements, maintaining quality, aligned incentives, transparency, learning optimization, team diversity, and humility.

April 5, 2022

23 Company Building Lessons, Learned From Scaling Stripe & Notion

  1. 1.

    Focus on the mission.

    • Keep the company’s mission at the center of every decision.
  2. 2.

    Hire for trajectory, not pedigree.

    • Look for people who are on a steep growth curve, not just those with impressive resumes.
  3. 3.

    Prioritize communication.

    • Clear, frequent communication is essential as the company grows.
  4. 4.

    Build for scale from the start.

    • Design systems and processes that can handle future growth.
  5. 5.

    Embrace ambiguity.

    • Be comfortable making decisions with incomplete information.
  6. 6.

    Iterate quickly.

    • Ship early, learn fast, and improve continuously.
  7. 7.

    Invest in onboarding.

    • A strong onboarding process sets new hires up for success.
  8. 8.

    Document everything.

    • Written documentation helps maintain alignment as the team grows.
  9. 9.

    Encourage ownership.

    • Empower team members to take responsibility for their work.
  10. 10.

    Foster a culture of feedback.

    • Regular, constructive feedback helps everyone improve.
  11. 11.

    Stay close to customers.

    • Continuously gather and act on customer feedback.
  12. 12.

    Be intentional about culture.

    • Culture develops by design or by default—choose to design it.
  13. 13.

    Don’t be afraid to say no.

    • Focus is key; avoid distractions and unnecessary projects.
  14. 14.

    Celebrate wins, big and small.

    • Recognize achievements to keep morale high.
  15. 15.

    Maintain high standards.

    • Don’t compromise on quality, even as you scale.
  16. 16.

    Align incentives.

    • Make sure everyone’s incentives are aligned with company goals.
  17. 17.

    Be transparent.

    • Share information openly to build trust.
  18. 18.

    Optimize for learning.

    • Treat mistakes as opportunities to learn and improve.
  19. 19.

    Build diverse teams.

    • Diversity leads to better decision-making and outcomes.
  20. 20.

    Stay humble.

    • Success can breed complacency; stay grounded and curious.
  21. 21.

    Move fast, but don’t rush.

    • Speed is important, but don’t sacrifice quality for haste.
  22. 22.

    Measure what matters.

    • Track key metrics to guide decision-making.
  23. 23.

    Enjoy the journey.

    • Building a company is hard—remember to have fun along the way.