From Venture Capital To Corporate Development With Brandon Greer Of HubSpot

Episode Summary:
On our 4th episode of Season 2, Matt and Rob connect with Brandon Greer, Manager of Corporate Development at HubSpot.  We chat with Brandon on his experience from investing and helping  SaaS teams in VC to working in partnerships and leading the venture arm at HubSpot.  We uncover more on how HubSpot invests and what makes their venture arm unique.  It’s a great episode for entrepreneurs to listen to and gain a better perspective on how corporate development works at a company like HubSpot and how to establish a rapport early on with potential buyers. 

What is Uncovered: 

• Brandon's journey from investing at Openview to working in corporate development at HubSpot 
• The main differences between venture investing at a tech company vs investing at a VC firm
• HubSpot’s investment strategy
• Hunting vs Fielding inquiries: what has worked best at HubSpot 
• Brandon’s thoughts on who should be managing the conversation when it comes to investing 
• Why deals can slow down and fall apart 
• How data from HubSpot’s integration partners provide early signals on where and how to invest at HubSpot  
• How a startup should best prepare for an acquisition or merger - and how early you should be thinking about it 
• Brandon’ thoughts on strategic vs financial buyers and what entrepreneurs should think about before selling 

Learn More About:

Brandon Greer:
Brandon sits on on HubSpot's Corporate Development & Strategy team, where he manages the HubSpot Ventures portfolio, strategic acquisitions, and works with HubSpot’s core technology partners. Together, with the business development, product, and strategy teams, Brandon manages the pre-and-post investment process for HubSpot Ventures. 

Previously, Brandon worked as an Associate at OpenView Venture Partners, a software-focused VC fund based in Boston.  

He holds a Bachelors of Science in Applied Economics from Cornell University. 

@bmarshallg on Twitter 

HubSpot:
HubSpot is a leading growth platform with thousands of customers around the world. Comprised of Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, and a powerful free CRM, HubSpot gives companies the tools they need to grow better. Our company culture builds connections, careers, and employee growth. How? By creating a workplace that values flexibility, autonomy, and transparency. If that sounds like something you’d like to be part of, we’d love to hear from you. To learn more about HubSpot, visit www.hubspot.com and to join our team, visit www.hubspot.com/careers

Quotes from Brandon: 

• “The most exciting things happen to come from people who know the pain points really well” 
•  “We don't do investments unless we have a vision for where we can work with this business in a really meaningful way."  
• “The types of companies that are most attractive are the ones that can augment the HubSpot experience and provide distinct value to our customer base” 
• “We’ve got a lot of data points and data sources which is a really cool competitive advantage of a strategic venture arm” 
• “There is this middle ground that everyone has to work to strike here, and you manage it like an active relationship and it should be nurtured”  
• “The more power I can place into an entrepreneur's hands, the happier I am, I think there's a two way relationship to be struck with any corporate conversation.”

This episode was recorded on August 17, 2020.