Kim Walsh on Hubspot for Entrepreneurs

In this episode, Dave interviews Kim Walsh, the global director of HubSpot for startups. Kim is a Canadian, by nationality, and came to the US to play soccer on a scholarship. She studied at The University of Maine and Babson College. Prior to HubSpot, Kim worked for American Express, created her own agency, Boston Web Creative, and also cofounded Good Growth Capital. Tune in as Dave and Kim talk about her journey to HubSpot, what Hubspot offers for startups and entrepreneurs, and Dave’s important announcement that will help new entrepreneurs succeed.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:05 – Entrepreneurs Organization proudly presents Virtual Learning Podcast 00:35 – In a previous episode, Dave interviewed Brian Halligan of HubSpot 01:25 – Dave introduces Kim Walsh 02:35 – Kim was part of the Canadian national soccer team and was recruited to play for a university in the US 03:45 – Kim studied at Babson College after going to The University of Maine 04:48 – Dave and Kim talk about Boston Web Creative 05:13 – Kim created the business with a former manager 05:57 – Everyone needed a web presence during the time the business was created 06:17 – Kim heard about HubSpot when Inbound Marketing was a bestseller in 2010 07:26 – Good Growth Capital is Kim’s company with 3 other women 08:40 – Kim is a mentor and a judge for Mass Challenge 09:46 – Mass Challenge is an organization that does not take equity 10:27 – 80% of startups that join Mass Challenge succeed 11:12 – Dave says failure is a subjective decision 12:30 – Kim has passion to help other entrepreneurs while working at HubSpot 13:13 – HubSpot is known for its culture 13:50 – Kim left HubSpot for 60 days to work for an enterprise software company 14:23 – Kim attended a HubSpot alumni event—this is when Brian asked her to come back 15:28 – Kim thinks HubSpot is unique but there a number of improvements they can still make 16:07 – Dave says one of the most flattering things is when people come back 16:48 – Dave and Kim discuss HubSpot for startups and HubSpot for entrepreneurs 17:12 – HubSpot offers a discount of 90% in scholarships for eligible startups 18:06 – HubSpot for entrepreneurs is for later staged companies—they provide opportunities for partnership 19:45 – The program is a great way of getting businesses in 20:54 – HubSpot’s mission is to help companies grow 21:48 – The different tools and platforms needed by companies are all in HubSpot 22:26 – You can run and grow a business leveraging HubSpot 22:43 – Dave asks Kim what HubSpot can do for Prop Fuel 23:30 – Prop Fuel will not have a sales team but will do inbound marketing 24:13 – Dave signed up with HubSpot for startups for Prop Fuel 24:41 – Kim says the first thing they’ll do is startup onboarding, where they will connect you with an expert 25:25 – The contact tier timeline will let you see what your customers are doing 25:56 – What success looks like at each stage of the game 26:16 – The startup onboarding will guide you through the process and the tools 27:20 – HubSpot has a partner ecosystem that can help do inbound for you 28:21 – You can either sign up for a startup, onboarding expert or try the self-learn track by reading the modules that are available 29:44 – Dave says he will update listeners regarding Prop Fuel’s experience using HubSpot 30:59 – Dave will start a new podcast for Prop Fuel 31:41 – Visit HubSpot for startups and entrepreneurs, you will have an internal portal 32:05 – Kim thanks Dave for documenting his startup process with his new podcast, Prop Fuel 32:25 – Dave clarifies HubSpot is not a sponsor of the podcast, but is a partner of EO 33:29 – Dave is really interested in HubSpot and Brian is an advocate of EO 34:05 – Dave will provide honest and transparent feedback 34:22 – Dave closes the podcast and encourages you to visit his website

3 Key Points:

HubSpot is that “one stop shop” for all businesses—you can run and grow your business leveraging what HubSpot has to offer. HubSpot for startups will equip founders with the platforms and tools they need to build their companies from the ground up. HubSpot for entrepreneurs is focused on later stage companies, helping them build partnerships.

Resources Mentioned:

Entrepreneur's Organization – The EO Network Boston Web Creative, Good Growth Capital, Mass Challenge – companies that Kim is affiliated with HubSpot – specific landing page for startups