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How Education-First Funnels Helped Notion and Canva Scale to Millions — Without Paid Ads or Cold Outreach

A breakdown of how two SaaS companies turned structured learning into sustainable customer acquisition — and why B2B SaaS companies should take note.

170M+

Canva Users

85%

Fortune 500

125M+

Monthly Designs

Millions

Notion Users

Part 1: Notion — Growth Through Learning, Not Promotion

In a saturated market of productivity tools, Notion didn't outspend competitors — it out-taught them.

By investing in scalable educational content, Notion empowered users to learn, implement, and advocate — without relying on demos, discounts, or traditional ads.

Key Strategies:

Market Education First:

Courses on YouTube, Skillshare, Udemy, and Notion University gave users instant, frictionless exposure to the product — by solving real organizational problems.

User Empowerment:

Notion training focused on how to build systems (e.g. second brains, project dashboards, wikis) — not just how to use the tool.

Creator Ecosystem:

Community creators became organic distributors. Certified educators and influencers taught Notion — scaling its reach without internal marketing effort.

Outcomes:

Millions of users acquired through organic education
Entire ecosystems of creators producing training content
Extremely high product stickiness: users embedded Notion into workflows and stayed for years

Key takeaway for B2B SaaS:

Teach workflows, not just features. Help your customers succeed, and your product becomes indispensable.

Part 2: Canva — Teaching 170M+ Users to Design Without the Overwhelm

Canva didn't market to designers. It marketed to professionals and teams who needed design outcomes — fast.

Their solution? Education at scale.

Key Strategies:

Canva Design School:

A built-in learning hub delivering free, focused courses on branding, resumes, presentations, social media, and more — tailored for non-designers.

Community-Led Growth:

YouTube, Skillshare, and independent creators produced thousands of tutorials and walkthroughs, all driving new users back to Canva.

Transformation Over Features:

Canva wasn't pitched as "a better design tool." It was presented as a simple way to get real work done — and the courses reinforced that positioning.

Outcomes:

170M+ users globally as of 2024
Used by 85% of Fortune 500 companies
125M+ designs created monthly
Top organic search term: "How to use Canva"
High trial-to-paid conversion rates and exceptional user retention

Key takeaway for B2B SaaS:

Build an onboarding experience that trains for results. The easier it is for users to get value, the faster they convert and stay.

What This Means for B2B SaaS Companies

SaaS growth isn't just about product demos or sales decks. It's about education, context, and timing.

Here's what both companies got right:

They led with customer outcomes
They positioned learning as the entry point
They built communities around their tools
They turned customers into educators and evangelists
Education-First Growth

Want to Build a
Notion/Canva-Style
Education Funnel for Your SaaS?

If your product solves a real business problem, we'll help you:

Outcome-Focused Course

Design an outcome-focused course around it

Natural Integration

Integrate your product naturally into the learning journey

Organic Acquisition

Acquire qualified users without relying on paid ads

Education-Led Sales

Drive conversions by teaching — not selling

Proven Framework
30-Day Implementation
Full Support