#125 - Brian Halligan and Kevin Hale

About this episode

<p><a href="https://twitter.com/bhalligan">Brian Halligan</a> is the CEO and cofounder of <a href="https://www.hubspot.com/">HubSpot</a>. HubSpot builds software for marketing, sales, and customer service. You can try it out at <a href="https://www.hubspot.com/">HubSpot.com</a>.<br><br><a href="https://twitter.com/ilikevests/">Kevin Hale</a> is a Partner at YC and cofounder of Wufoo.<br><br>Brian is on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/bhalligan">@bhalligan</a> and Kevin is <a href="https://twitter.com/ilikevests/">@ilikevests</a>.<br><br>The YC podcast is hosted by <a href="https://twitter.com/craigcannon">Craig Cannon</a>.<br><br>Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: <a href="https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/">https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/</a><br><br>***<br><br><b>Topics<br></b><br>00:00 - Intro<br><br>00:27 - Brian's an introvert that likes to work from home. He also runs a public company. How does he do both?<br><br>2:12 - How does he manage his calendar as an introvert?<br><br>4:12 - How Brian met his cofounder Dharmesh<br><br>6:12 - The first project they worked on together<br><br>7:27 - What was their unique insight when starting HubSpot?<br><br>8:52 - Pricing in the early days<br><br>9:27 - How would he have priced HubSpot differently knowing what he knows now?<br><br>10:27 - HubSpot's first customer<br><br>12:27 - Important early features<br><br>14:47 - At what point did they shift entirely away from consulting?<br><br>15:32 - Providing advice as content vs in the product<br><br>16:27 - SEO is underrated<br><br>17:12 - Trends in B2B and marketing<br><br>21:57 - Inbound marketing and audience building advice<br><br>26:52 - How did Brian know that his cofounder was right for him?<br><br>28:12 - The internet disproportionately benefiting small businesses over big ones<br><br>29:12 - Keeping your company hungry when you're big<br><br>29:52 - Building assets for your company <br><br>30:47 - Freemium<br><br>34:27 - Structural pieces of HubSpot Brian would have changed if he did it again<br><br>37:27 - Creating the voice of your company<br><br>39:57 - Early metrics they tracked<br><br>40:32 - Having a coach and reviews<br><br>41:57 - How Brian's changed as a CEO from the beginning<br><br>42:51 - What was the hardest thing to give up as CEO?<br><br>43:57 - Humility</p>