The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

20Sales: Scaling Hubspot from $3M to $1BN in ARR | How to Hire and Ramp Sales Teams | How to Scale Customer Success Successfully | How and When to Go International and Crush It with Jeetu Mahtani

Sep 27, 2024

Jeetu Mahtani, an early HubSpot leader, shares his insights on scaling a startup to nearly $1 billion in ARR. He discusses key strategies for international expansion, including common pitfalls and effective team structures. Mahtani emphasizes the importance of aligning sales and customer success incentives, revealing mistakes made while managing a 1,500-strong customer success team. He also critiques discounting practices, advocating for genuine customer engagement and the role of AI in evolving sales tactics. A treasure trove of growth strategies awaits!

56:52

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Episode guests

Jeetu Mahtani

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Quick takeaways

Successful international expansion requires strong retention metrics and a solid LTV to CAC ratio before entering new markets.

HubSpot's growth hinged on effective inbound marketing and systematic sales scaling through coherent hiring procedures and productivity strategies.

Customer success teams should align with sales through compensation plans that incentivize revenue growth via upselling and cross-selling strategies.

Deep dives

International Expansion Insights

International markets present significant growth opportunities for companies aiming for multi-billion dollar valuations. It is essential to ensure solid retention metrics and customer lifetime value to customer acquisition cost (LTV to CAC) ratios before making international investments. G2 Motani shared that prior to opening the Dublin office, their retention rates were low, prompting them to delay their international plans until they were confident in the metrics. Once they secured a strong LTV to CAC ratio, they proceeded with the expansion, highlighting the rationality behind choosing the right timing for such important decisions.

Complexity v TAM: assessing markets

02:23

Focus on Fit, Not Fame

01:34

Go international when you’ve optimised ltv/cac and Retention

00:35

Break Through Sales Barriers with Honest Dialogue

01:24

Intro

2min

From Startup Founding to Sales Success: A HubSpot Journey

3min

Global Expansion Insights

13min

Scaling HubSpot: Strategies for Success

21min

The Debate on Brand Marketing Effectiveness

2min

Investing in Customer Success: Strategies for Startup Retention

2min

Navigating Sales Challenges and Customer Engagement

11min

Evolving Sales Strategies: The Role of AI and Digital Transformation

3min

Jeetu Mahtani was an early member of the HubSpot team. Under his leadership and the sales organization, the business grew its non-US revenue from $3M ARR to close to $1B ARR. After running the International business as the global MD and Sales leader, he then moved to lead the customer success org which expanded to managing 1,500 people in customer success.

In Today's Episode with Jeetu Mahtani We Discuss:

1. How to Go International for Startups:

What are Jeetu's biggest lessons from Hubspot on what startups can do to make their international expansion a success?
What were the biggest mistakes Hubspot made in their international expansion?
How should every team in each new location be structured?
What should the ramp time and onboarding process look like or each new team and expansion?

2. Scaling Sales from $3M to $1BN in ARR:

What did Hubspot do so well to successfully scale to $1BN in international ARR?
What were the biggest mistakes Jeetu made in the expansion of Hubspot's sales teams?
What are the first things to break in sales teams? How do you handle them?
Why does Jeetu hate discounting? Why does Jeetu not like customer references?

3. Scaling Customer Success to 1,500 CS Reps:

When should founders make their first customer success hires?
What are the biggest mistakes people make in the scaling of CS teams?
Why should customer success be incentivised in the same comp plans that sales teams have?
How do the best CS teams work with sales and product teams most effectively?

4. Hiring the Best and Ramping Them:

What does Jeetu's hiring process look like for all new sales reps?
What are the must ask questions for Jeetu in all candidate interviews?
How fast do you know when you have made a mistake with a new hire?
What is the secret to effective onboarding? What are the biggest mistakes people make in onboarding?

20Sales: Scaling Hubspot from $3M to $1BN in ARR | How to Hire and Ramp Sales Teams | How to Scale Customer Success Successfully | How and When to Go International and Crush It with Jeetu Mahtani

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The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

20Sales: Scaling Hubspot from $3M to $1BN in ARR | How to Hire and Ramp Sales Teams | How to Scale Customer Success Successfully | How and When to Go International and Crush It with Jeetu Mahtani

Episode guests