Who is Ben Lang?
Angel investor focused on early-stage startups, particularly in productivity and collaboration tools. Ben's portfolio includes Notion, Linear, Loom, and dozens of other tools that power how modern teams work.
The investment thesis is simple: bet on tools that improve how people work. Not enterprise sales software. Not consumer social apps. Just productivity infrastructure that makes teams more effective. When you look at his portfolio, basically half the tools on this website have his backing.
What makes Ben different from typical VCs is he actually uses the products he invests in. Not just kicking tires during due diligence. Daily usage over months and years. Notion for deal pipeline, Linear for task tracking, Loom for async founder communication - all portfolio companies that became part of his personal workflow.
His background includes working at early-stage startups before moving into investing. That operator experience means he understands product-market fit from the builder side, not just the investor side. When founders pitch him, they're talking to someone who's been in the trenches.
The Ben Lang tools below reflect someone who sees hundreds of productivity apps yearly but only keeps 7 in rotation. When an investor evaluating every new tool only uses a handful himself, that selective curation is worth examining. These aren't random picks. They're battle-tested through actual daily usage managing deal flow and portfolio support.
All-In on the Notion Ecosystem
Notion is the core of Ben's investment workflow. Investment pipeline tracking, company research, due diligence notes, founder relationship management - everything lives in Notion. He's also an investor in Notion, which means he's literally dogfooding his own portfolio company.
Custom databases link startups to sectors, funding rounds, key metrics, and meeting notes. The relational database features let him see connections between companies, track portfolio performance, and maintain context across years of conversations with founders.
His Notion workspace has evolved over years of refining what works for deal flow management. Not just templates copied from the internet. Actual systems built through trial and error managing real investments. That depth of usage makes his product feedback to the Notion team valuable - he's a power user at scale.
Notion Calendar (formerly Cron) manages his meeting schedule. Founder pitches, investor syndicates, portfolio company check-ins - all organized through the calendar. The integration with Notion databases means meetings link to specific deals and companies automatically.
Switched from Calendly after Notion acquired Cron in 2022. The workspace integration sealed the deal - scheduling links to company pages, meeting notes pre-populate with context, follow-ups get automatically added to databases. When your calendar talks to your CRM, the friction disappears.
Notion Mail is still in development, but Ben's an early access user. Testing how the Notion team approaches email integration with workspaces. As an investor always evaluating products, using beta software from portfolio companies is part of the job. If they nail the execution, having email inside Notion could eliminate context switching entirely.
Email and Async Communication
Superhuman is the main email workhorse. Investor correspondence, founder intros, deal flow - all processed through Superhuman with keyboard shortcuts and inbox zero workflow. Handles 200+ emails daily without drowning.
The speed matters when triaging pitch decks, coordinating with co-investors, and responding to portfolio company updates. Split inbox keeps newsletters separate from important founder emails. Scheduled send prevents late-night emails from training people to expect instant responses.
Yeah, it's $30/month. But when email is your primary deal flow channel and portfolio company communication hub, that's a rounding error. The hour saved daily on email processing pays for itself immediately.
Loom handles async feedback for founders. Instead of writing long email critiques on pitch decks or product strategy, just record a quick video walkthrough. Founders can watch on their schedule, replay confusing sections, and ask follow-up questions in writing.
Way more efficient than booking 30-minute Zoom calls for simple feedback loops. The Loom library also serves as a searchable archive of investment thinking - pull up that video from 6 months ago explaining why certain metrics matter for SaaS businesses.
Ben's also an investor in Loom, using it both personally and recommending it across portfolio companies. The async-first communication philosophy fits how he thinks about remote work and startup operations.
Task Tracking and Document Sharing
Linear handles personal task and project tracking. Follow-ups with founders, due diligence tasks, portfolio company support work - all organized in Linear. Also an investor in Linear, so again, dogfooding the portfolio.
The speed and keyboard-first design match how he thinks about productivity. No mouse clicking through menus. Just keyboard shortcuts to create tasks, assign priorities, and move things forward. The minimalist UI keeps focus on execution instead of project management theater.
Using Linear instead of Notion for tasks seems redundant until you realize they serve different purposes. Notion is the knowledge base and relationship tracking. Linear is the execution engine for what needs doing today. Different mental models, different tools.
DocuSend handles investment memos and term sheets shared with co-investors. The analytics show who actually opened documents, how long they spent reading, which sections got attention. Matters when coordinating syndicate deals and need to know if people are seriously evaluating or just skimming.
Email read receipts but for PDFs, basically. When you're trying to close a $2M round and need 10 angels to commit, knowing who's engaged versus who's ghosting helps prioritize follow-ups. The document tracking turns opaque processes transparent.
The whole stack reflects someone optimizing for high-leverage activities. Notion for knowledge, Superhuman for communication speed, Linear for execution, Loom for async efficiency, DocuSend for deal transparency. Each tool does one thing really well instead of trying to be everything. Classic focused investor thinking applied to personal productivity.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ben Lang's Stack
What tools does Ben Lang use for angel investing?
Notion for deal pipeline and company research, Superhuman for email, Linear for task tracking, and DocuSend for sharing investment memos. The whole stack is built around managing deal flow efficiently - triaging hundreds of pitches, coordinating with co-investors, and supporting 50+ portfolio companies. Interestingly, he's an investor in Notion, Linear, and Loom, literally using his own portfolio daily.
Does Ben Lang use Notion or Linear for tasks?
Both, for different purposes. Notion is the knowledge base - investment pipeline, company research, founder relationships. Linear is the execution engine - follow-ups, due diligence tasks, daily work. Using Linear instead of Notion tasks seems redundant until you realize they serve different mental models. Notion for context and relationships, Linear for what needs doing today.
What email app does Ben Lang use?
Superhuman for daily email, plus early access to Notion Mail for testing. Superhuman's keyboard shortcuts and split inbox handle 200+ emails daily triaging pitch decks and coordinating with founders. The speed matters when email is your primary deal flow channel. Yeah it's $30/month, but that's nothing when managing millions in investments.
How does Ben Lang give feedback to founders?
Loom for async video feedback instead of long emails or calls. Records quick walkthroughs on pitch decks or product strategy. Founders watch on their schedule, replay sections, ask follow-ups in writing. Way more efficient than booking 30-minute Zooms for simple feedback. The Loom library becomes a searchable archive of investment thinking from years of founder conversations.
What is DocuSend and why does Ben Lang use it?
Document sharing with analytics showing who opened files, read time, and section attention. Used for investment memos and term sheets with co-investors. When coordinating syndicate deals, knowing who's seriously evaluating versus just skimming helps prioritize follow-ups. Email read receipts but for PDFs. Turns opaque fundraising processes transparent.
What makes Ben Lang's tech stack different?
The Ben Lang tools are heavily portfolio-dogfooding - Notion, Linear, and Loom are all companies he invested in and uses daily. The stack reflects someone evaluating hundreds of productivity apps yearly but only keeping 7 in rotation. Each tool does one specific job really well: Notion for knowledge, Superhuman for communication, Linear for execution, Loom for async, DocuSend for transparency. No bloat, just focused tools for high-leverage investor activities.