What happens when you get representatives from the best HubSpot agencies in the Americas together for two days in Cambridge, Massachusetts? In short, intriguing discussions, constant networking, some laughs, and a whole lot of swag.
When I walked in that Wednesday morning, eager to learn and represent Digifianz, I think I underestimated the energy that would surround the event. After some morning breakfast and networking, everyone made their way to the auditorium for the opening speaker. The energy instantly went through the roof as Jon Dick, VP of Marketing at HubSpot, cruised into the room and onto the stage, on a hoverboard.
From there on, those two days went just as smoothly as that sweet hoverboard. We bounced back and forth from workshops to networking, keeping a lively buzz and constant flow of interesting conversations in the air.
The workshops and discussions were pure gold, but there was a wide range of topics offered at a time, so Dan and I often had to split up, go to different talks, and later share with each other what we’d learned.
Here are some of my workshop and discussion highlights:
One of my favorite talks was Navigating Difficult Decisions, hosted by a panel of partner agency owners. As a team member of an SMB and a hopeful future business owner, I was captivated by the speakers and their knowledge.
As expected from the name of the discussion, the panel was tested with tough questions, but consistently delivered valuable insight into how they’ve handled difficult decisions in the past, and how they’d handle them in the future. Topics ranged from hiring, firing, dealing with clients, and building the right culture. One trend I observed in the panelists’ responses was the importance of knowing your values and strengthening those values on a day-to-day basis.
No client or employee is worth sacrificing your values, and ultimately, your culture. So, when hiring, all three of the agency owners said they prioritize cultural fit over skills and experience. In firing employees or clients, they’re transparent to their organizations as to why the relationship was counterproductive, and echo to everyone else how to learn from it.
By far, my favorite discussion was a conversation between HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan and advertising and philanthropy legend Jack Connors. The two friends captured everyone’s undivided attention as they dished jokes at each other, shared life stories, and explored current endeavors.
Jack inspired hope in the audience as he talked about his early-life struggles, from moving to New York with practically nothing but a dream to taking on a multi-million dollar meeting he wasn’t even supposed to be at.
Jack’s past and current successes can all be credited to his unrelenting desire to help people. As Brian Halligan pointed out, Jack could be spending his days drinking Margaritas on a beach, but instead, is known as “the beacon of philanthropy for the city of Boston.” Jack reminded us all of the true meaning of success: positively impacting as many people’s lives as possible.
Jack’s talk was at the end of the two days, but fortunately, his core message of helping others was the common theme of Partner Day. As we all know, Hubspot is all about client success. HubSpot’s been great to Digifianz and other partners because they know that when their clients are winners, their company is better off.
It’s no surprise, then, that partner agencies reflect this attitude with everything we do. Dan and I used our two days to talk with as many other agencies as possible, learning about each other and looking for ways to collaborate. As you looked across the Hubspot campus, you’d see the top agency owners and executives from all over the Americas doing the same.
I’m hard-pressed to find a community like the HubSpot Partner Agency community, where people who could see each other as competitors, effortlessly bond together. We talked about common struggles, innovative ideas, and opportunities to #GROWBETTER together. The knowledge we gained and the relationships we built helped us focus our path for the future.
Jon Dick’s hoverboard entrance definitely set the tone for those two days. Seriously, I thought I had swag until I stepped onto HubSpot’s campus.
I’m not sure what popular opinion was, but my favorite from the swag department had to be HubSpot President, JD Sherman’s bedazzled jean jacket. The jacket, along with the hilarious speech to follow it, was just one of the ways HubSpot kept the mood light and fun.
Luckily, for people like me, HubSpot sure knows how to delight, and blessed us all with some swag. We spun the famous flywheel to see what kind of goodies we could choose from. Now, I love me some free stuff, but I especially love what HubSpot did here because it was another reminder that we’re all players on the same team. We’re all HubSpot fanatics, using our talents and their incredible software to help companies around the world.
We had an incredible time at Partner Day, and the examples in this post are just the beginning. The Partner Agency program has been great to us, so we do our best to positively contribute to it. We can’t wait to be back in Cambridge, representing Digifianz and the HubSpot community. See you all at INBOUND this September!
Collaboration is the key to growth. Schedule a call with me so we can look for opportunities to grow together!