Smart, all-in-one software for lesson-based businesses

Noto is a modern platform for businesses that offer private and group lessons—including music schools, tutoring centers, driving schools, private pay clinics, and sports coaching.

Why We Built Noto

Noto's first user was AJ's mom, who is a piano teacher and runs a music school in New Jersey. AJ saw first hand how much administrative work it can take to run a business like hers and saw the lack of modern software tools in the space.

Noto was founded by AJ and Steve, who spent years building products at Silicon Valley giants like Google, Meta, Quora, and Lyft. They saw firsthand how thoughtful software can make complex work feel simple.

AJ and Steve believe these businesses deserve the same standard of software used in big tech. They built Noto as a modern alternative to legacy software, bringing world-class product quality to businesses so owners can stop wrestling with spreadsheets and focus on their students.

Our Founding Team

Noto's founding team is a group of fun loving and ambitious technologists that all have one thing in common: they love their users! They work together in a cramped office in NYC.

AJ Ding
Cofounder and CEO
AJ grew up in Madison, NJ, and studied Statistics at Yale before spending five years in San Francisco working at big tech companies like Google and Meta. He now lives in New York City with his fiancée and their dog. AJ started Noto because his parents were after-school educators (in tennis and piano), and he saw firsthand the lack of modern software in the space.
Steve Wang
Cofounder and CTO
Steve grew up in several places across the U.S., including Maryland, Iowa, and Georgia. He studied Math at Harvard and, like AJ, spent a decade in San Francisco working at major tech companies such as Lyft before moving to New York City. Steve started Noto because he wanted to serve smaller local businesses rather than the large, well-resourced tech companies many of his Silicon Valley peers focused on. Outside of work, he’s an avid volleyball player.
Cory Zhou
Head of Customer Success
Cory grew up in Smithtown, Long Island and studied Statistics at Yale before moving to New York City, where he has lived for the past four years. Prior to joining Noto, Cory held a similar role at CourseDog, an administrative SaaS platform for higher education. Outside of work, Cory is a fitness enthusiast and spends part of his free time working as a front desk admin at Solidcore.
Trevor Huston
Head of Sales
Trevor is a native New Yorker that grew up in Manhattan most of his life. He was fortunate enough to be part of 3 different acquisitions over 6 years and loves developing sales talent. When he isn't working, he's spending time removed from the city with his wife Kristen + Beagle/Dachshund Hannah or probably playing Tennis or video games like Halo. He's also an avid sports fan and loves the Knicks + Giants!
Mohit Dalal
Founding Engineer
Mohit grew up in Chandigarh, India, and studied Production Systems at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He recently moved to New York City from San Francisco, where he worked as a software engineer. In college, Mohit built a custom 3D printer to prototype parts for his robotics projects—and he still enjoys tinkering with hardware when he’s not coding.
Viral Patel
Founding Engineer
Viral grew up in Toronto, studied Systems Design at the University of Waterloo, and just moved to NYC from Toronto! Before Noto, he was a software engineer at Blockscope and self driving car company Nuro. After hours, Viral enjoys rock climbing and is a passionate high school robotics mentor.
Jackie Fu
Founding Designer
Jackie grew up in Houston, TX, studied at UT Austin, and has lived in NYC for the last five years. Before Noto, she was a design technologist at frog, a global design and strategy agency. After hours, Jackie likes dabbling in various side quests such as: teaching her cats how to communicate with buttons, working at an archive fashion showroom, and crafting her own homewares.
Gary Fox-Nelson
Founding Account Executive
Gary was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and spent some time studying finance. Prior to Noto he worked in the pet health space selling pet insurance and an AI-based pet health device. Outside of work he DJs and is a health/fitness enthusiast
Zach Nicius
Founding Account Executive
Zach was raised in Georgia and developed a strong interest in finance and technology early on. Prior to Noto, he worked in financial planning, helping high-income professionals grow and protect their wealth. Outside of work, he’s a dedicated fitness enthusiast and spends his weekends dancing bachata and salsa.
Anna Alworth
Founding Account Executive
Anna grew up in Long Lake, Minnesota and studied Data Science at Emory University. After graduating, Anna worked as an English teacher in Madrid for two years. Most recently, Anna worked in biotech consulting in Boston and is now a new NYC resident!
Jack Ginsburg
Founding Account Executive
Jack grew up in Wilton, CT, and studied Marketing and Advertising at West Virginia University. He also founded a clothing brand called Hyper Activity.
Judy
Chief of Staff
Judy grew up in San Francisco, studied philosophy at Oxford and now resides in NYC. Prior to Noto, Judy was a theoretical physicist at CERN, where she focused on symmetry breaking and the metaphysics of unobservable particles. Outside of work, Judy is a dedicated amateur horologist, maintains a personal archive of Cold War propaganda, and is currently translating Beowulf into Esperanto.
Karthik Nagappan
Head of Business Operations
Karthik is a proud Michigander, where he grew up and also attended the University of Michigan. Before Noto, he worked at an EV battery recycling startup called Redwood Materials and was a management consultant McKinsey & Company. Outside of work, he loves exploring new food spots in New York City with his wife and improving his South Indian dance skills.
Dexter Renick
Founding Engineer
Dexter grew up in Pasadena, California and studied computer science and design at Northeastern University. He founded a hospitality startup that was acquired by his previous employer before joining as a founding engineer at Noto.
Artemy Ivanov
Founding Onboarding Manager
Artemy grew up in Watertown, MA in a family of musicians, actors and music teachers. Artemy later attended Emory University for his BBA where he dual-majored in Information Systems as well as Finance. After graduating, Artemy spent a few years at Epic Systems as an Implementor and Project Manager before joining Noto as one of our Founding Onboarding Managers. Artemy plays the saxophone, was a member of the soccer team at Emory and loves all forms of Art.
Caitlin Tully
Founding Account Executive
Originally from Brewster, New York, Caitlin studied economics in college, spending her time deep in research while working as a TA and tutor. After graduating, she moved straight to NYC, working in finance for two years. Outside of work, she's a live music lover who enjoys reading and golfing.
Cole Drew
Founding Account Executive
Cole was born and raised on Long Island, NY and studied Aviation Management in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He worked in private aviation in New York City before Noto. In his free time Cole loves to play golf and roller hockey.
Khalid Onaola
Founding Account Executive
Khalid is a Jersey Native and Prior to Noto worked in Real Estate Helping families navigate the probate process. Outside of work he is a Master of Ceremonies (MC) for weddings and special occasions.
Salman Mahmud
Founding Implementation Lead
Salman was born and raised in the heart of Queens, New York and studied accounting. Prior to Noto, Salman moved to Madison, Wisconsin to implement healthcare software at Epic Systems and impacted a million patients working with healthcare systems across the nation. Off the clock, he loves playing with his kitties, listening to live music any chance he gets, and spending quality time with his loved ones.
Greyson Moroney
Founding Implementation Lead
Greyson grew up in Philadelphia and studied biomedical engineering at Purdue University. She previously worked in the medical device industry before joining Noto as one of the Founding Implementation Leads. Outside of the office, she loves to travel and can often be found testing her trivia skills at local restaurants.

Running lessons often means managing schedules, payments, records, and communication across too many disconnected tools. Noto brings everything together into a single system, so operators spend less time on admin and more time supporting students and growing their programs.

What Noto supports

Noto is designed to handle the operational complexity behind lesson-based businesses, without adding more work. Everything is connected, so teams always have a clear, up-to-date view of what’s happening across their programs.

Flexible Scheduling

Easily manage private and group lessons.

Billing & Payments

Automated invoicing and integrated payment processing.

Records Management

Centralized student, family, and staff profiles.

Growth Tools

Marketing automation to grow your business