Brian Halligan is the CEO and cofounder of HubSpot. HubSpot builds software for marketing, sales, and customer service.
https://twitter.com/bhalligan
https://www.hubspot.com/
Kevin Hale is a Partner at YC and cofounder of Wufoo.
https://twitter.com/ilikevests/
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
https://twitter.com/craigcannon
Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.
Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
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Topics
00:00 – Brian’s an introvert that likes to work from home. He also runs a public company. How does he do both?
1:45 – How does he manage his calendar as an introvert?
3:45 – How Brian met his cofounder Dharmesh
5:45 – The first project they worked on together
7:00 – What was their unique insight when starting HubSpot?
8:25 – Pricing in the early days
9:00 – How would he have priced HubSpot differently knowing what he knows now?
10:00 – HubSpot’s first customer
12:00 – Important early features
14:20 – At what point did they shift entirely away from consulting?
15:05 – Providing advice as content vs in the product
16:00 – SEO is underrated
16:45 – Trends in B2B and marketing
21:30 – Inbound marketing and audience building advice
26:25 – How did Brian know that his cofounder was right for him?
27:45 – The internet disproportionately benefiting small businesses over big ones
28:45 – Keeping your company hungry when you’re big
29:15 – Building assets for your company
30:20 – Freemium
34:00 – Structural pieces of HubSpot Brian would have changed if he did it again
37:00 – Creating the voice of your company
39:30 – Early metrics they tracked
40:05 – Having a coach and reviews
41:30 – How Brian’s changed as a CEO from the beginning
42:24 – What was the hardest thing to give up as CEO?
43:30 – Humility
