Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Welcome to Founder Fridays - a Notion founder series - where we sit down with builders who’ve been in the trenches to talk shop - product, design, and the real lessons no one puts on a slide deck.
Steve Ruiz, Founder of tldraw, joins Ghalia Alami, Notion’s EMEA Startup Program Manager, to share how a designer’s obsession with craft turned into a company that helps teams move from idea to product. Instead of chasing a perfect startup idea, Steve followed his design instincts—building in public, refining tiny details, and letting user pull guide where the product should go.
To learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/founderfridays
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:23 What is tldraw
03:50 From Hard to Possible
04:57 Artist to Founder
06:18 Building in Public
07:45 Traction to Inbound
10:26 Open Source Breakthrough
12:44 Business Model Fit
15:59 AI Unlock
19:01 The Tool Stack
21:19 Advice Block
Welcome to Founder Fridays - a Notion founder series - where we sit down with builders who’ve been in the trenches to talk shop - product, design, and the real lessons no one puts on a slide deck.
Steve Ruiz, Founder of tldraw, joins Ghalia Alami, Notion’s EMEA Startup Program Manager, to share how a designer’s obsession with craft turned into a company that helps teams move from idea to product. Instead of chasing a perfect startup idea, Steve followed his design instincts—building in public, refining tiny details, and letting user pull guide where the product should go.
To learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit: https://ntn.so/founderfridays
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:23 What is tldraw
03:50 From Hard to Possible
04:57 Artist to Founder
06:18 Building in Public
07:45 Traction to Inbound
10:26 Open Source Breakthrough
12:44 Business Model Fit
15:59 AI Unlock
19:01 The Tool Stack
21:19 Advice Block
