Shows
The Revenue FormulaWhy weak Product-Market Fit is quietly destroying your Go-To-Market strategy (with Chris Tottman of Notion Capital)In this episode, we’re joined by Chris Tottman from Notion Capital. Before becoming a VC, Chris co-founded MessageLabs and helped grow it into a $700 million exit, so he’s seen the startup journey from both sides of the table.We talk about what really happens when your product-market fit starts to slip—and why it quietly wrecks your entire go-to-market strategy. Sales start missing targets. Marketing can’t get traction. Churn creeps up. But most teams keep pushing forward without realizing the core problem is the product just doesn’t fit anymore.(00:00) - Introduc...
2025-07-1551 minThe Revenue FormulaNot All Consultants Are Worth It (Here’s How to Tell)Not all consultants are worth it. Some drive real impact. Others just burn your time and budget.In this episode, Toni and Raul dive into how to tell the difference. They break down when it actually makes sense to bring in outside help, how to vet someone properly, and the biggest red flags to avoid.You'll learn why consulting is a real skill, what good execution support looks like, and how to think about pricing and value. (00:00) - Introduction
(02:48) - Do you actually need consultants?
(05:22) - The consulting relationship with startups
(08:29) - I...
2025-07-0837 min
Startups DecodedEp#20: Founder-Investor Fit with Chris Tottman - Notion CapitalSend us a textChris 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.Chris TottmanFounding 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 aut...
2025-06-0548 min
Venture PassportChris Tottman, Founding Partner @ Notion CapitalIn this episode, Jack Richardson sits down with Chris Tottman to explore his remarkable journey from entrepreneur to investor. They discuss the founding and growth of MessageLabs, its market leadership, and the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on the company. Chris shares insights into founding Notion Capital and its investment strategy, emphasizing the importance of assessing founder resilience and experience. The conversation delves into finding the right balance in founder traits and lessons learned from 15 years in venture capital. Chris reflects on influential board members and shares his personal inspirations. The episode wraps up with a quick-fire round and social...
2024-08-2741 min
This Much I Know - The Seedcamp PodcastNotion VC's Chris Tottman on company building, strategic pricing, and understanding customer needsIn a new episode of This Much I Know, Carlos's guest is Chris Tottman, General Partner at Notion VC, one of Europe's top-tier VC firms.
Chris shares insights on:
- his journey as an entrepreneur and Venture Capital investor
- the evolution of venture capital in Europe
- how founders can become successful in company building.
- the role of mentorship in the VC industry.
He also highlights the significance of founder-led sales, strategic pricing, understanding customer needs, fundraising challenges, and more.
Show Notes:
Chris Tottman - linkedin.com/in/chris-tottman
Carlos Espinal – linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal
Notion VC - ht...
2024-03-261h 08
PRODUCTEA with Leah, Growth & Senior Leadership45: Chris Tottman & Richard Blundell - focussing your business to success while dreaming bigChris Tottman and Richard Blundell joined me for a fantastic conversation about how they think from their own operators’ perspective when it comes to investing in successful businesses and their people.Why you should not talk to investors who never went through the personal pain of failing and why it most of the time comes down to the basics of running a successful business:Being obsessed with customers in a narrow marketProduct Market Fit is not just having a great product in a great market but also communicating it where your customers areTimestamps:...
2023-12-101h 08
Behind Startup LinesThe SaaS Leader's Playbook: Insights from Authors Richard Blundell and Paul Watson on Go-to-Market MasteryIn this episode of Behind Startup Lines, we delve into the essential world of Go-to-Market (GTM) strategies with experts Richard Blundell and Paul Watson, co-authors of "The Go-To-Market Handbook for B2B SaaS Leaders." This episode is a goldmine for founders at all stages, packed with practical advice from their newly released book.Key Highlights:1. Comprehensive Guide for Founders: The book, initially aimed at early-stage founders, has proven beneficial for growth-stage entrepreneurs as well. It serves as a practical, workbook-style guide, filled with insights from Richard, Paul, and Chris Tottman from Notion Capital.2...
2023-12-071h 09
Notion Capital - exceptional founders, extraordinary journeysP511 - The three horizon mindset - how visionary founders win big, with Chris Tottman, General Partner, Notion CapitalThe three horizon mindset: the first horizon comes to: how are you executing on the promise of that thesis and to customers? The third horizon to: are you able to imagine how that market operates? Then there's a very grey area in between the two, that's where startups play, and execute.
2021-01-2021 minNotion Capital - exceptional founders, extraordinary journeysP511 - The three horizon mindset - how visionary founders win big, with Chris Tottman, General Partner, Notion CapitalThe three horizon mindset: the first horizon comes to: how are you executing on the promise of that thesis and to customers? The third horizon to: are you able to imagine how that market operates? Then there's a very grey area in between the two, that's where startups play, and execute.
2021-01-2021 min
Notion Capital - exceptional founders, extraordinary journeysTEN01 - Building an entirely new category of venture capitalChris Tottman discusses his hopes and fears for the next ten years
Highlights:
- A new category of venture capital. It’s got to be so much more than just a fund.
- For me, calmness is success and it’s changing the way I operate.
- Spinning the flywheel of success ever faster.
2020-03-1007 minNotion Capital - exceptional founders, extraordinary journeysTEN01 - Building an entirely new category of venture capitalChris Tottman discusses his hopes and fears for the next ten years
Highlights:
- A new category of venture capital. It’s got to be so much more than just a fund.
- For me, calmness is success and it’s changing the way I operate.
- Spinning the flywheel of success ever faster.
2020-03-1007 min
Notion Capital - exceptional founders, extraordinary journeysP302 - Building a company that will change an industry, stop hiring like an HR manager, Chris TottmanYou're building a remarkable company that will change an industry - so stop hiring like an HR manager, with Chris Tottman, Notion Partner.
- Why the best teams are built on chemistry first and repeat pedigree second.
- Founders are founders not because they want to manage things, but because they want to imagine things.
- A bastardised version of three horizon thinking to help create long term strategy in parallel to world class execution.
2019-09-1832 minNotion Capital - exceptional founders, extraordinary journeysP302 - Building a company that will change an industry, stop hiring like an HR manager, Chris TottmanYou're building a remarkable company that will change an industry - so stop hiring like an HR manager, with Chris Tottman, Notion Partner.
- Why the best teams are built on chemistry first and repeat pedigree second.
- Founders are founders not because they want to manage things, but because they want to imagine things.
- A bastardised version of three horizon thinking to help create long term strategy in parallel to world class execution.
2019-09-1832 min
Notion Capital - exceptional founders, extraordinary journeysNC23 - Why Chris Tottman invested in UnbabelChris Tottman, partner at Notion Capital, on why he invested in Unbabel, the translation layer for the internet.
2017-01-1113 minNotion Capital - exceptional founders, extraordinary journeysNC23 - Why Chris Tottman invested in UnbabelChris Tottman, partner at Notion Capital, on why he invested in Unbabel, the translation layer for the internet.
2017-01-1113 min
Notion Capital - exceptional founders, extraordinary journeysNC01 - Taking everything I learnt as an entrepreneur to invest in founders in EuropeIn this episode, Chris Tottman, Partner at Notion Capital, on taking everything he learnt as a entrepreneur to invest in founders in Europe.
Before co-founding Notion, Chris was at MessageLabs Group from 1999 as one of its first employees and held a number of executive level roles including Chief Commercial Officer and Senior VP of HR prior to their $700m exit to Symantec in 2008.
2016-03-2321 minNotion Capital - exceptional founders, extraordinary journeysNC01 - Taking everything I learnt as an entrepreneur to invest in founders in EuropeIn this episode, Chris Tottman, Partner at Notion Capital, on taking everything he learnt as a entrepreneur to invest in founders in Europe.
Before co-founding Notion, Chris was at MessageLabs Group from 1999 as one of its first employees and held a number of executive level roles including Chief Commercial Officer and Senior VP of HR prior to their $700m exit to Symantec in 2008.
2016-03-2321 min