​Sequoia CEO coach: Why it’s never been easier to start a company, and never been harder to scale one | Brian Halligan (co-founder, HubSpot)

Brian Halligan co-founded HubSpot, ran it as CEO for about 15 years, and now coaches Sequoia’s fastest-growing founders as their in-house CEO coach.

We discuss:

1. His LOCKS framework for evaluating founders

2. Why you should build your team like the 2004 Red Sox

3. Why hiring “spicy” candidates beats consensus picks

4. Why enterprise sales will be the last white-collar job AI replaces

5. Some of my favorite “Halliganisms”

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Where to find Brian Halligan

• X: https://x.com/bhalligan

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brianhalligan

• Delphi: https://www.delphi.ai/bhalligan

• Podcast: https://sequoiacap.com/series/long-strange-trip

Referenced:

• Dev Ittycheria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dittycheria

• HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com

• Parker Conrad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parkerconrad

• McKinsey & Company: https://www.mckinsey.com

• Brian Chesky’s new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach

• Jensen Huang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhsunhuang

• Winston Weinberg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/winston-weinberg

• James Cadwallader on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsca

• Gabriel Stengel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabestengel

• He saved OpenAI, invented the “Like” button, and built Google Maps: Bret Taylor on the future of careers, coding, agents, and more: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/he-saved-openai-bret-taylor

• Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures: https://orbit.mit.edu/classes/scaling-entrepreneurial-ventures-15.392

• OpenClaw: https://openclaw.ai

• Ruth Porat on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-porat

• Mike Krzyzewski: https://goduke.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mike-krzyzewski/4159

• Dalai Lama’s 18 Rules for Living: https://www.prm.nau.edu/prm205/Dalai-Lama-18-rules-for-living.htm

• Zigging vs. zagging: How HubSpot built a $30B company | Dharmesh Shah (co-founder/CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-30-years-of-building

• Kareem Amin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kareemamin

• Glassdoor: https://www.glassdoor.com

• Tobi Lütke’s leadership playbook: Playing infinite games, operating from first principles, and maximizing human potential (founder and CEO of Shopify): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/tobi-lutkes-leadership-playbook

• Katie Burke on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-burke-965767a

• Jerry Garcia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Garcia

• Bob Weir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Weir

• Phil Lesh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Lesh

• Ron “Pigpen” McKernan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_%22Pigpen%22_McKernan

• Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn’t even started yet: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/marc-andreessen-the-real-ai-boom

• The American Revolution: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution

• Delphi: https://www.delphi.ai

• Sonos: https://www.sonos.com

• Yamini Rangan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaminirangan

• The Boston Red Sox: https://www.mlb.com/redsox

Recommended book:

• Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History: https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Lessons-Grateful-Dead-Business/dp/0470900520

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

My biggest takeaways from this conversation:

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