Founder Profile
Simon Last
Last reviewed: September 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Background
Simon Last possessed a profoundly rigorous, highly analytical background in advanced software engineering, complex systems architecture, and massive-scale web development. Operating as a fiercely capable developer who aggressively rebuilt a failing platform from absolute scratch, this intensely technical foundation provided the exact engineering mastery required to successfully co-found the incredibly massive Notion enterprise.
Founding Story
Simon Last is an absolutely brilliant software engineer, highly visionary digital architect, and the profoundly influential technical co-founder fundamentally responsible for the incredibly robust foundational codebase of the massive Notion productivity empire. Operating as an incredibly talented developer alongside Ivan Zhao, Last aggressively spearheaded the incredibly complex technical rebuild of the platform following the startup's near-catastrophic early failure in 2015. Moving to Kyoto, Japan, he relentlessly coded the highly advanced, block-based architecture that allowed users to seamlessly combine databases, wikis, and documents into a massively customizable workspace. His absolutely rigorous technical execution completely guaranteed the platform's flawless, highly intuitive user experience, permanently cementing his massive legacy as a core architect of one of the most incredibly dominant SaaS monopolies in the world.