It’s not every day that an entrepreneur creates an entirely new industry category and a nine-figure company at the same time. But that’s exactly what Dharmesh Shah did when he started HubSpot.

Before the company launched in 2006, marketing relied solely on outbound tactics such as cold calling, purchasing billboards, and buying email lists. Shah and his co-founder Brian Halligan saw an opportunity to completely change the game. Together, they founded the concept of inbound marketing, which is all about creating value for your audience to draw them into your company.

Since then, HubSpot has quickly become the most respected and recognized brand within the marketing world—known not only for being the inventor and category king of inbound marketing, but also for adopting an incredible company culture. In this interview, Shah touches on all these topics and shares his biggest takeaways from serving as the co-founder and CTO of HubSpot.

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Key Takeaways

How Shah and his co-founder Brian Halligan simultaneously came up with the idea for HubSpot and an entirely new category of marketing
The biggest challenges of inbound marketing in the early days
Why Shah decided not to trademark the term “inbound,” and how this decision helped the inbound marketing movement flourish
The history behind HubSpot’s famous 128-slide Culture Code deck
Shah’s tips for keeping culture consistent across a decentralized team
Why Shah recommends approaching your company culture as a product
What Shah and his team do to make sure their customers and employees stay happy
How a maniacal obsession with your craft will help you find success

"The Appropriation of Cultures" by Percival Everett

LeVar Burton Reads

Introduction

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