Ben Lang
Ben Lang
Ben Lang

Ben Lang

I’ve spent my life hopping between New York, Tel Aviv, and San Francisco. I'm a builder, former founder, and community guy, always in multiple places at one time. I was an early member of the Notion team, where I led community for nearly 5 years. I actively make angel investments and advise a few select startups. I’m building community at Cursor. I also help world-class talent discover what’s next through my newsletter next play.

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Reach out:
  • Email me
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin

Work

Cursor

Building

2025 - present

www.cursor.com
next play

Founder

2024 - present

nextplay.so
Notion

Head of Community

2019-2023

notion.so
atSpoke (acquired by Okta)

Growth

2017-2018

www.atspoke.com
Mapme

Cofounder/CEO

2014-2016

mapme.com

More background

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Projects at Notion

A handful of high impact projects I’ve worked on while at Notion

  • Community - all the ways to engage with the Notion community
  • Ambassador program - our global community of engaged advocates
  • Block by Block - our first user conference
  • Influencer program - robust partnership program on YouTube, TikTok & Instagram
  • Consultants - certification program and directory for Notion Certified Consultants
  • Template Gallery - community gallery showcasing the best Notion templates
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Take a peek at some of my past side projects
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CoronaCrush - private dating group with 25,000+ members
A Perfect Match Written In the Stars

Danielle Lavey and Drew Feldman met in April 2020 through a Facebook group for Jewish singles. A few months later an astrologer in Israel confirmed their compatibility. With so little to do in April 2020, Danielle Lavey and Drew Feldman quickly learned they had easy banter.

www.nytimes.com

A Perfect Match Written In the Stars
Couple meets on Coronacrush Facebook group, now is engaged

A couple that has met on the CoronaCrush Facebook group has announced their engagement, the first marriage apparently from the group. The couple started dating after meeting on the group, and did social distancing friendly activities such as hiking, kayaking and other outdoor activities.

www.jpost.com

Couple meets on Coronacrush Facebook group, now is engaged
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Hummus Day - international holiday celebrated by millions annually on 5/13
Eat up during International Hummus Day

CHICAGO (WLS) -- International Hummus Day is May 13, 2017 and it's the perfect time to dig in for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The popular Middle-Eastern chickpea spread has all sorts of variations. Chicago's very own Naf Naf Grill is celebrating the holiday with many different specials.

abc7chicago.com

Eat up during International Hummus Day
Someone just created chocolate hummus and wow

The Reveller Restaurants T o celebrate the fantastic thing that is World Hummus Day, Hou have created a rather special blend of the chickpea favourite: chocolate. Billed as a sweet hummus brand, the kooky concept will launch at Mandira of Covent Garden this Friday, May 11.

www.standard.co.uk

Someone just created chocolate hummus and wow
International Hummus Day is more than a hill of beans

Start blending those garbanzo beans, because International Hummus Day arrives Monday, May 13. The day that celebrates all things hummus was created by Ben Lang, a tech entrepreneur who got things started at a Tel Aviv hackathon seven years ago.

www.timesofisrael.com

International Hummus Day is more than a hill of beans
  • Notion Pages - the first community gallery for Notion templates
  • Mapped in Israel - crowdsourced map of the Israeli start-up ecosystem
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Interviews I’ve done
  • New York Times
  • Invested with Michael Eisenberg
  • How Notion does Marketing
  • Digital Native
  • First Round In Depth podcast
  • Community-led Growth: How Notion Grew a Global Community of Advocates and Influencers

Investing

I actively make angel investments and advise a few select startups.

Select direct investments:

Deel

Payroll for remote teams

deel.com
Lovable

AI to build software

lovable.dev
Masterschool

Tech training school

masterschool.com
Gamma

Presentations powered by AI

gamma.app
Givebutter

Fundraising platform

givebutter.com
Sintra

AI employees

sintra.ai
Corgi

AI insurance company

www.corgi.insure
Gelt

Tax optimization solution

joingelt.com
Runlayer

Safe way to connect MCPs

www.runlayer.com
Vybe

Build internal apps with AI

www.vybe.build
AI Underwriting Company

Certifies and insures AI agents

aiuc.com
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Full portfolio (50+)
Runlayer

Safe way to connect MCPs

www.runlayer.com
Vybe

Build internal apps with AI

www.vybe.build
Proximal

Superhuman coding agents

proximal.ai
AI Underwriting Company

Certifies and insures AI agents

aiuc.com
Cove

Explore using AI

cove.ai
Lovable

AI to build software

lovable.dev
Paper

Home for designers

paper.design
Blocks

Works apps and AI agents

blocks.diy
Roadway

Growth marketing co-pilot

www.roadwayai.com
Daytona

The future of dev environments

www.daytona.io
Hotplate

The storefront built for food drops

hotplate.com
Hero

Sell stuff faster using AI

herostuff.com
Gestalt

Human data interface

gestalt.com
Natoma

Non-human identity management

www.natoma.id
Corgi

AI insurance company

www.corgi.insure
Julius

Analyze data with AI

julius.ai
Paradigm

AI spreadsheet

www.paradigmai.com
Haize Labs

trust & safety for AI models

haizelabs.com
Sintra

AI employees

sintra.ai
Kick

Self-driving bookkeeping

kick.co
SellScale

Outbound sales with AI

www.sellscale.com
Tildei

Conversational marketing

www.tildei.com
Deeptune

training gyms for AI agents

www.deeptune.ai
Promptlayer

Data-driven prompt engineering

promptlayer.com
Gamma

Presentations powered by AI

gamma.app
Modyfi (acquired by Figma)

Design platform for multidisciplinary designers

modyfi.io
Budibase

Internal apps platform

budibase.com
OwnID

Passwordless solution

ownid.com
Jitter

Motion design tool

jitter.video
Givebutter

Fundraising platform

givebutter.com
Pluto

Expense management for MENA

plutocard.io
Gynger

SaaS financing platform

gynger.io
Masterschool

Tech training school

masterschool.com
Pocus

Product-led sales platform for GTM

pocus.io
Luma

Comprehensive community platform

lu.ma
Balance

B2B eCommerce payments

getbalance.com
Swagup (acquired by BDA)

Swag automation platform

swagup.com
Notch

AI helpdesk & support system

www.notch.cx
Mixmax

Sales engagement platform

mixmax.com
Equals

Next gen spreadsheet

equals.app
Carrot

Organize all the shopping you do online

addtocarrot.com
Fondue (acquired by Postscript)

Replace coupon codes with CashBack

getfondue.com
Gelt

Tax optimization solution

joingelt.com
Deel

Payroll for remote teams

deel.com
Commsor

Community OS

commsor.com
Intello (acquired by Sailpoint)

SaaS ops management (acquired)

intello.io
Sapling (acquired by Kallidus)

HR platform for startups (acquired)

saplinghr.com
Caliva (IPO)

Vertically-integrated cannabis brand (IPO)

caliva.com

Get in touch

You can email me directly or reach out on Twitter, I’d love to hear from you!

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I'm one of the most active hunters on Product Hunt, I love helping companies launch
  • I'm selective about the products I post, I can't guarantee I'll post your product until I've had a chance to check it out.
  • Please submit your product here and I'll do my best to get back to you once I've had a chance to review your product.
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I actively make angel investments and advise a few select startups
  • I like to invest in founders I know personally or with investors I’ve collaborated with
  • I'm most interested in community + product led companies
  • Reach out directly to see if it makes sense to work together, happy to hear from you
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I enjoy helping folks looking for their next roles

Reach out and join nextplay.so

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I host gathering for people are who looking to start or join their next thing
  • Secret gatherings for top-notch founders and operators looking to start or join their next big thing. Everything is off the record and completely confidential.
  • As of now, these dinners take place in New York City, San Francisco, Tel Aviv and 30 more cities.
  • If you live somewhere else, you’re welcome to leave your info through the form and when we expand, I’ll reach out.
  • Apply here
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I occasionally take advisory calls

Book an advisory call with me.