It took me years to even start writing this post and at least the last 2 years to actually publish it. And even then, I only posted it to the internal HubSpot wiki. It’s so deeply personal, I couldn’t imagine sharing it publicly. (Note to self: It’s much easier to write articles about advice on marketing and startups).

I’ve been different since the day I was born.

I was born in Ankleshwar, Gujarat, a tiny town in India. I don’t know what the population was back then, but it was probably fewer than 10,000 people. We had one somewhat-paved road…

The business world is obsessed with growth.

We chase it, chart it, and celebrate the moment we’ve captured it — even temporarily.

I’m no outlier to this global past-time.

Over the last 12 years my cofounder and I have grown HubSpot from a curious idea to an enduring company serving more than 48,000 customers worldwide. I love growth so much that a couple of years ago, when I hand-coded a lovable chatbot I named it GrowthBot.

I say all of that so you’ll know I’m not a charlatan when I say this:

Growth alone doesn’t interest me anymore.

Somewhere along…

I ordered the new MacBook Pro 2018 edition the day it was announced (actually, minutes after I heard the news it was out).

I got a maxed-out version that cost me $6,699 (phew!).

It arrived today.

So, is it worth that kind of money? Or, likely more importantly, should you drop that kind of money to upgrade?

Short answer: Probably not.

There were two fundamental reasons I bought it.

1. I was desperate to get a MacBook Pro with a keyboard I didn’t despise.
2. I wanted a larger SSD (this one is 4TB).

The good news is that the keyboard is…

My mom would have turned 70 years old today — but she passed away last year from health complications.

If I had to describe my mom in a word, I’d probably use fierce. If I had two words, I’d say fiercely principled.

She had a sense of right and wrong. Of fair and unfair. If one of us (there were 4 kids and my dad) were in the wrong, she would rain down truth on us like an Alabama thunderstorm. She wouldn’t take crap from anybody. Not even from people in power. Especially not from people in power.

I’d be…

The following started out as a late night email I was going to write to someone that reached out for some guidance and advice. Expanded version posted here in a somewhat desperate attempt at garnering sympathy and understanding. Thanks for your patience. -Dharmesh

Dear Friend,

Thanks for reaching out and connecting.

It is likely that you, your idea, your company, or your proposition is awesome. Unfortunately, my schedule is totally not awesome.

One of my biggest weaknesses in life is that I too often say yes. I’m passionate about startups. I get excited about new ideas. I love making new…

I know I’m likely in the minority of my tech circle friends, but I have no plans to delete Facebook from my life.

I recognize the major privacy issues that have some up — and acknowledge that they’re serious and it’s going to take some doing for Facebook to reclaim trust.

Disclosure: I bought shares of Facebook on IPO day. Have not bought or sold shares since then, and have no plans to.

Why am I going to #keepfacebook? Because, despite its flaws, Facebook adds value to my life — in precisely the way I think it intended — by…

I got an unexpectedly strong response to a tweet earlier today about how one needs to repeat one’s core messages — especially around mission and culture.

Here’s the tweet:

I believe strongly in the need to not carefully craft the core messages around mission and culture — but to then communicate those messages repeatedly.

Two of the responses to the tweet stood out for me, because they were both pushing back on the idea and both were from people that I have known for many years and who I deeply respect.

Let’s look at each of them:

The first…

This article is based on a presentation I gave at HubSpot’s annual INBOUND event (this year, the event has grown to 21,000+ people).

A Surprising And Fateful Email

Last year I received an email that caused a whole range of emotions: