HubSpot Culture Clash

A story about the cultural differences between HubSpot and The Hustle during their acquisition.

"HubSpot hasn't done a lot of acquisitions in the past. We've done a handful of them, and most have gone well. The thing that made this different is the DNA of the Hustle is different than HubSpot - that's both a good and bad thing.

I was worried because Sam is what I would think of as a Type A personality - he's out there, he's hustling, that's the name of the company. But that's just not the makeup of HubSpot. We're a kinder, gentler, humble, quieter kind of company.

There was one minor story I can recall - there was a Twitter back and forth that Sam had with Rand Fishkin about VCs or investment. Rand's been a good friend, and while neither party was right or wrong, it highlighted our different approaches.

This difference shows up in practical ways too. For instance, today Kieran told Sam he should probably hire someone outside of HubSpot for a growth role because Sam was too direct for anyone who works at HubSpot. But overall, it's worked out well."