# Brian Halligan

> Brian Halligan co-founded HubSpot with Dharmesh Shah, led it as CEO until 2021, and remains a non-executive board director. He is a Sequoia Capital partner, co-founder of ocean-focused climate venture firm Propeller, an MIT Sloan senior lecturer, marketing author, and host of Long Strange Trip: CEO to CEO with Brian Halligan.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Non-executive Board Director at HubSpot; Partner at Sequoia Capital
- **Organizations:** HubSpot, Sequoia Capital, Propeller Ventures, MIT Sloan School of Management, PTC, Groove Networks, Longworth Ventures, Fleetmatics, Navier, Aquatic Labs
- **From:** Westwood, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, University of Vermont, MBA, MIT Sloan School of Management
- **Known for:** Co-founded HubSpot and led the company through its 2014 IPO., Coined the term inbound marketing and helped popularize it through software, writing, and events., Developed and taught MIT Sloan’s Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures course.

## Career timeline

- **1990** — Graduated from the University of Vermont and began a software-sales career at PTC.
- **1990s** — Helped build PTC’s Pacific Rim operation from Hong Kong and Tokyo.
- **2000-2004** — Vice president of sales at Groove Networks, later acquired by Microsoft.
- **2005** — Earned an MIT Sloan MBA; an early HubSpot announcement dates the company’s founding to 2005.
- **2006** — HubSpot’s public company history dates its founding with Dharmesh Shah to 2006; announced $500,000 seed financing in June.
- **2009** — Co-authored Inbound Marketing with Dharmesh Shah.
- **2010** — Co-authored Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead with David Meerman Scott; Bill Walton wrote the foreword.
- **2014** — HubSpot began trading on the NYSE on October 9, raising $125 million in its IPO.
- **2017** — Bought Jerry Garcia’s Wolf guitar at a charity auction benefiting the Southern Poverty Law Center.
- **2018** — Presented HubSpot’s flywheel growth model at INBOUND.
- **2021** — Handed the HubSpot CEO role to Yamini Rangan and became executive chairperson.
- **2022** — Co-founded Propeller, which announced an inaugural $100 million ocean-climate fund.
- **2023** — Received MIT’s Monosson Prize for entrepreneurship mentoring.
- **2024** — Began serving as a Sequoia senior advisor in May, according to HubSpot’s proxy filing.
- **2025** — Became a non-employee HubSpot director effective May 8; a revised Grateful Dead book edition was announced for November 25.
- **2026** — Continues founder coaching and CEO interviews as a Sequoia partner; publicly demonstrated personal AI agent Hal.

## Achievements

- Co-founded HubSpot and led the company through its 2014 IPO.
- Coined the term inbound marketing and helped popularize it through software, writing, and events.
- Developed and taught MIT Sloan’s Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures course.
- Received the 2023 Monosson Prize for entrepreneurship mentoring.
- Co-founded Propeller’s $100 million inaugural ocean-climate venture fund.
- Co-authored Inbound Marketing and Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead.

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Transitioned from executive chairperson to non-employee HubSpot director, effective May 8.
- **2025-11** — David Meerman Scott announced the revised Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead edition for November 25; the Long Strange Trip podcast trailer was published November 11.
- **2026-06** — Publicly demonstrated Hal, a personal AI agent that he says participates in Zoom meetings.

## Links

- Website: https://sequoiacap.com/people/brian-halligan
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhalligan
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/bhalligan
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOhHNjZItNnNu8wknSuVtcSJRs7Q4xqOE
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brian_halligan/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bhalligan2

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/brian-halligan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-13