Case Study: Notion achieves a lifesaving product relaunch and 1M users with Figma

How Notion pulled itself back from the brink of failure

Notion faced near failure in 2015 after its original app repeatedly crashed and funding ran out. Founders Ivan Zhao and Simon Last rebuilt the product from scratch with a relentless focus on user experience, and they relied heavily on Figma’s design tool — especially its multiplayer, real‑time collaboration — to iterate rapidly and brainstorm together during their crunch year.

Using Figma as a “tool for thought,” Notion ran countless design permutations, preserved institutional knowledge in shared files, and collaborated in real time to refine flows and onboarding. The result: Notion 1.0 launched in March 2018, shot to the top of Product Hunt, earned major press (including the Wall Street Journal), and reached 1 million users on just a seed round — achievements the team credits in part to Figma’s tooling.

Notion

Ivan Zhao

Founder