Yesterday Podcast Akshay Kothari | $90M Acquisition to Co-Founding Notion ($10B+ Valuation)
Sep 16, 2025
Akshay Kothari, co-founder of Notion, shares his inspiring journey from a childhood in India to his role in creating a $10 billion productivity tool. He reflects on the challenges of shifting dreams from cricket to engineering and how a transformative trip to the U.S. changed his life. Akshay's experiences founding Pulse, its acquisition by LinkedIn, and his eventual partnership in Notion reveal the unpredictable nature of entrepreneurship. He also emphasizes the importance of mentorship and supporting young innovators in tech.
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Pulse's Wild Stanford Origin
- Akshay built Pulse at Stanford from a Launchpad class and launched it within weeks without marketing.
- Steve Jobs highlighted Pulse at WWDC, which drove a massive spike and press attention.
From Cricket To Confidence
- Akshay grew up in Ahmedabad, played cricket obsessively, and was a poor student until a turning point before seventh grade.
- A family trip to the U.S. and his mother's pragmatic push nudged him toward studying over cricket.
Pulse Growth To LinkedIn Exit
- Pulse grew to ~30 million users over three years and then was acquired by LinkedIn for strategic reasons.
- The team joined LinkedIn to help build content and the homepage, a natural match for LinkedIn's identity data.