Bringing Notion’s biggest fans together from 7 countries during SXSW 2023

Case Studies

Apr 1

Published: April 2025

As the 10th certified Notion consultant globally and community leader of Notion Austin, I've spent years at the intersection of Notion's product and its passionate user base. This deep community insight revealed a significant gap: despite thousands of Notion users attending SXSW each year, there had never been a dedicated space for them to connect, learn, and share best practices at one of tech's biggest conferences.

With thousands of Notion users descending on Austin and no official gathering at SXSW — one of the world's largest tech and culture conferences, we saw a clear opportunity to create something meaningful. Our challenge: bring together Notion power users during one of the busiest weeks in tech, deliver genuine value through expert insights, and set a new standard for community events at major conferences.

THE VISION

This wasn't just about hosting another SXSW side event. Our goal was to create the first-ever Notion community gathering at the conference, an intimate, high-signal experience that would bring together passionate users with industry operators actually building with Notion at scale. Rather than a typical networking mixer, we envisioned an event centered around a curated panel discussion featuring real practitioners from innovative brands, offering attendees actionable insights they could immediately apply to their own workflows.

THE EXECUTION

Building the first Notion event at SXSW meant starting from scratch. Every element required careful curation. We secured The Lucky Duck as our venue partner, providing an intimate Austin setting that felt authentic to both the SXSW environment and Notion's community culture. We also brought on Cometeer Coffee and Boys Club as event partners to enhance the experience and create a welcoming atmosphere for attendees.

SPEAKER CURATION

We assembled a 5-person panel featuring operators from Morning Brew, Curology, and other notable brands who were using Notion to solve real business challenges, not just talking about productivity in theory. Our focus was on diverse perspectives and tangible use cases that would resonate with the community.

LOGISTICS & EXPERIENCE

We managed end-to-end event logistics during peak SXSW season, competing with hundreds of other events for attention and attendance. We coordinated speaker schedules, venue setup, partnership activations, and attendee communications. We captured the full panel discussion on video to extend our event's impact beyond the room and create a lasting resource for the broader Notion community.

THE IMPACT

Drew 150 Notion users to our inaugural event
Successfully delivered a panel discussion featuring 5 industry practitioners from leading brands
Established partnerships with 3 brands (venue + sponsors) for event support
Set the precedent as the first-ever Notion community event at SXSW
Built a template for future community gatherings at major conferences

THE TAKEAWAY

What started as an observation, that thousands of Notion users were attending SXSW without a dedicated space to connect, became the first-ever Notion community event at one of tech's biggest conferences.

We went from concept to execution in one of the most competitive event environments in the world, bringing together 150 community members and industry leaders for an experience that set a new standard. The event didn't just happen; it required identifying an unmet need, building partnerships from scratch, curating the right voices, and executing flawlessly during peak conference chaos. Most importantly, we created something that outlasted the day itself; a community touchpoint, and a blueprint for what Notion gatherings at major conferences could become.