In Depth The biggest lessons from building Hubspot, from co-founder harmony to engineering the culture — Dharmesh Shah
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Dec 2, 2021 
Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO of HubSpot, shares insights from his 15-year journey building the company. He emphasizes the importance of compatibility between co-founders and outlines critical conversations to ensure a successful partnership. Dharmesh discusses how he approaches feedback and culture as an engineering process, innovating even as an introvert. He also explains the organic development of company values, like transparency, and the significance of clear roles and mutual respect in fostering a productive work environment.
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Early Co-Founder Alignment
- Have deep conversations early with potential co-founders about values and key scenarios like liquidity or exits.
- Use these talks to filter for alignment and build trust before committing to partnership.
Grad School Simulation for Founders
- Dharmesh and Brian spent their grad school together, intentionally teaming on projects linked to their startup idea.
- This simulative dating allowed deep understanding of their compatibility and working dynamic before founding HubSpot.
Complementary Skills & Shared Values
- Choose co-founders with complementary skills but shared core values like transparency and customer obsession.
- Diverse skills enhance partnership, while aligned values unify decision-making during scale.