This Week in Startups

E997: HubSpot CEO & Co-founder Brian Halligan shares insights on the origin of inbound marketing, how The Grateful Dead inspired HubSpot, importance of customer experience, managing employees in the Glassdoor Era & more

Nov 5, 2019

Brian Halligan, Co-founder and CEO of HubSpot, dives into the wisdom garnered from scaling a leading inbound marketing platform. He shares how The Grateful Dead influenced HubSpot’s philosophy on customer experience and innovative marketing strategies. Halligan also reflects on evolving leadership strategies and managing a diverse workforce in the Glassdoor Era. He emphasizes the transformative power of introversion in tech and offers insights into creating exquisite customer interactions that drive success.

01:05:39

Creator website

Episode guests

Brian Halligan

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

2min

Navigating Growth: The Evolution of Leadership in Business

2min

Nostalgia and Music: A Journey Through Time and Apps

2min

The Grateful Dead: Culture, Community, and Innovation

8min

Community and Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead

3min

Contrasting Connections: From Cocktails to Collaborations

12min

The Power of Introversion and Modern Hiring Practices

3min

Navigating Leadership Succession in Tech

11min

Revolutionizing Home Workouts and Navigating the IPO Landscape

4min

10.

Navigating the Startup Landscape

14min

11.

Building Connections and Trust

4min

12.

The Future of Work: Remote vs. In-Office Insights

2min

0:52 Jason intros Brian Halligan
1:35 Brian describes how his job has changed as HubSpot has scaled
3:33 Jason asks Brian about buying Jerry Garcia's guitar "Wolf"
4:42 Jason & Brian reminisce over Grateful Dead shows at Giants Stadium
6:36 How the Grateful Dead pioneered "Inbound Marketing" & inspired HubSpot
15:24 How Brian met his Co-founder Dharmesh Shah
17:04 The original idea behind HubSpot
19:18 Ray Ozzie's impact on HubSpot & Brian
25:34 Benefits of introversion
30:06 Succession planning in tech
33:24 Avoiding pot-holes as CEO
35:18 Importance of customer experience in 2019
38:45 Examples of creating a great end-to-end customer experience
49:43 How Brian keeps himself sharp & motivated
52:45 Managing employees from different generations in the "Glassdoor Era"