Why Notion Is Betting on AI Building Blocks – with Andrew McCarthy, GM ANZ at Notion

Episode Summary

This week’s episode of In The Blink of AI is a special one, recorded live at UNSW in front of a sold-out audience. Georgie sits down with Andrew McCarthy, General Manager at Notion for Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, to explore how one of the world’s most loved productivity tools is quietly reshaping the way teams work with AI.

Andrew shares how Notion’s modular “building block” approach is changing the game for startups and enterprise alike, why simplifying workflows beats chasing the next shiny tool, and how students, founders, and even origami fans are building powerful systems without writing code.

They cover the anti-SaaS philosophy behind Notion’s design, what startups can learn from OpenAI’s use of AI for internal ops, and how AI can bridge the gap between newcomers and tenured employees, giving everyone superpowers at work.

Plus: Notion skincare routines, sports dreams, and a very wholesome story about digital journaling and self-love.

Time Stamps

02:19 – Meet Andrew McCarthy, GM of Notion for ANZ & Asia

06:55 – Why Notion Chose Sydney as Its APAC HQ

09:42 – Notion’s Anti-SaaS Philosophy & Why It Matters

12:58 – The Real Notion Origin Story: From Near-Death to Kyoto

15:13 – The Power of UI/UX & the Race to the Application Layer

18:46 – What Notion AI Can Do, And What Users Are Loving

20:07 – Work as a Flow: The Case for Native AI Integration

20:20 – Why Templates Are a Hidden Superpower

21:38 – A Nepalese Student’s Side Hustle That Blew Andrew’s Mind

22:10 – From Hype to Value: How to Cut Through the AI Noise

24:36 – Most Unexpected Notion Use Case? Origami Knowledge Base

27:25 – Scaling Notion: Focus on What’s Already Working

28:48 – Enterprise AI Adoption (Hi, Toyota 👋)

30:44 – Should You Learn Python or Logic? Frameworks vs Tools

31:23 – Non-Tech Companies and AI: The Two-by-Two Matrix

34:01 – Rapid Fire: Sports Dreams, Dinner Guests & Parenting in the AI Era

38:02 – A Notion Page That Brought a Tear to His Eye

Resources

Andrew McCarthy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/awmccarthy/

Notion’s Startup Program (6 Months Free) - https://www.notion.com/startups

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Host of the show Georgie Healy leverages 15 years in tech with a vibrant Aussie sense of humor to interview leading experts in Artificial Intelligence to unpack AI’s transformative potential and provide weekly commentary on the latest headlines.

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Hosted by Georgie Healy, In the Blink of AI is a Day One show. Day One is the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators, and investors.
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• No. of episodes: 41
• Latest episode: 2025-07-31
• Business Technology Entrepreneurship

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