How a Deep Tech Venture Capital firm Runs on Notion (Darja Nelson) | E07 Tim Jeffries, Jerwin Parker

In Episode 7 of Notion in Practice, Jerwin and Tim chat with Darja Nelson, Operating Partner at Bridgewest Ventures: New Zealand's leading deep tech venture capital firm that invests in early-stage deep tech companies.

Darja shares how her team of six uses Notion to manage a pipeline of 300+ pitches a year, support five active portfolio companies, and produce investor reporting all while she spends six to seven hours a day in meetings.

This episode covers the real, practical impact of AI meeting notes, how custom agents are starting to automate pipeline updates, and why the skills that matter for new hires are fundamentally changing.

Three Actionable Takeaways

1. Own your system as a team: Don't treat your Notion workspace as a one-off project. Hold regular sessions to review, improve, and build onboarding guidance - the team that owns the system gets the most out of it.
2. Hire for wisdom, not just analysis: AI handles the traditional grind. Look for people who can critically evaluate output, ask the right questions, and make good decisions with the information AI surfaces.
3. Make meetings your institutional memory: Store meeting notes centrally, make them searchable, and use custom agents to automate follow-up - so nothing falls through the cracks, even on six-call days.

If you enjoyed the episode, subscribe for more real-world Notion workflows. More deep dives into custom agents, onboarding workflows, and how teams are building governance around their Notion systems.

Resources mentioned

• Tim Jeffries' article: Why Your Notion Workspace Design Matters for AI
• Notion AI Meeting Notes
• Notion Custom Agents
• Notion Skills (new AI feature in workspace settings)
• Hosts
  • Jerwin Parker Roberto: LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jerwinparker
  • Tim Jeffries: LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/timjeffries