Raphael Schaad
Swiss designer-engineer; founder of Cron; lead of Notion Calendar
raphael
New York, New York, United States
22K connections
Joined January 2025
Summary
Product-first designer‑engineer who builds — then ships — distinctive, craft-focused consumer productivity software. Raphael founded Cron to rethink the calendar, led its design and engineering as CEO, and then joined Notion to launch Notion Calendar, authoring the product launch and shipping deep integrations between calendar and Notion workspaces. notion+2
A rare blend of academic research and product engineering: trained in computer science in Switzerland and media arts & sciences at MIT, Raphael applies research-informed design and technical craftsmanship (computer vision, visualization, native iOS engineering) to shipping real products. github+1
Open-source and engineering credibility complement design leadership: public repositories (including FLAnimatedImage and other pinned projects) and a technical portfolio demonstrate hands‑on engineering experience that informs UX and product decisions. github
Active in the startup ecosystem as a founder, accelerator alum, and advisor—YC alumnus (Cron, W20), startup founder/CEO, and later a Visiting Partner — indicating experience mentoring founders and scaling product teams. ycombinator+1
Work
Education
Projects
Writing
Introducing Notion Calendar: an integrated calendar for work and life
January 17, 2024Product/launch post announcing that Cron is now Notion Calendar and describing the vision to integrate time into Notion's workspace.
The Power of Stating Your Objectives / Statement of Objectives
Personal essay/statement (published on Medium) describing goals and advice relating to applications and design research; tied to Raphael's MIT application and thinking about research objectives.