HubSpot's MIT Network Success

A story about how HubSpot's early hiring and compensation strategy led to creating numerous millionaires through equity rather than high salaries.

"When we started HubSpot, Brian and I had to pick salaries for ourselves, something more than zero, so we picked $5,000 a month. When we hired employee number 3, we had to decide what we were going to pay them - $5,000. Hired employee number 4 - $5,000. We built this inertia where if you're here for the salary, you're here for the wrong reason.

Of the first eight people in the company, seven came out of MIT Sloan, the same school Brian and I went to when we met in class. It was kind of an in-network thing, just a bunch of friends that knew each other. They were far enough along in their careers that they weren't missing meals.

The pitch was - this is not that risky. Let's say this doesn't work out and we end up being chumps, 3-6 months from now you will basically be able to pick up where you left off. There's no loss other than the opportunity cost of those 3 to 6 months. This is not an irreversible lifetime decision.

Now, probably somewhere in the 20 to 30 range of people have made over $10 million, and over 50, maybe even 100 people have become millionaires in the 7-figure range through their equity."