As you may have seen, HubSpot has acquired Rekindle, a Boston based technology startup with unique IP and innovations that we believe will help HubSpot and our customers advance. But how? Below I’ve taken the time to share some of my thoughts on why we made this specific acquisition and how we view acquisitions like these as part of our commitment to rapid growth and transforming the marketing and sales landscape.
1) Make the RIGHT connections.
HubSpot began on the belief that the way people shop and buy has fundamentally changed as a result of technology, and therefore, the way people are marketed and sold to must also change. Our inbound marketing methodology is designed around focusing on creating quality content that pulls people toward your company and product, where they naturally want to be.
As we’ve grown, we’ve expanded that same thinking into the world of sales as well. Just as inbound marketing is about being relevant rather than disruptive, inbound selling is very much about identifying the right prospects, at the right time so you can deliver a pitch that is helpful rather than annoying. Rekindle has developed a technology that taps into the contact graph to connect people with lost connections and friends of friends, as well as facilitate introductions between relevant business contacts.
It’s a concept that we’re excited about here at HubSpot and technology that we’re looking forward to incorporating into our existing sales products like Sidekick.
2) Always be growing.
HubSpot is committed to growth — growth of our business, our employees, our industry, and most importantly, our customers. So, as we think about the right companies to join our team, one of the key elements that we look for is a company’s commitment to solving for the needs of their customer and how that interaction will ultimately help those customers grow and expand their own businesses.
The technology that Rekindle has developed is designed to specifically help people expand their contact database in a valuable way. Based on the idea that the best way to meet people is through common friends, Rekindle’s founder Matthew Grace identified an opportunity to use technology in a new and simple way to facilitate first-time connections or rekindle old ones.
Rapid technical innovation balanced with a dedication to customer needs is at the core of what we do best at HubSpot, and we were excited to find those same qualities in Rekindle. The ability to connect the right people at the right time and taking some of the guesswork out of the process aligns perfectly with how we’re thinking about inbound sales and marketing today.
3) Solve for Culture Fit.
We’ve worked hard over the years to develop a unique culture at HubSpot and it’s something that is incredibly important to us. In many ways, our Culture Code is our life’s blood and our north star as we make decisions across all facets of the business. So, just as culture is at the forefront of our minds as we hire individual employees, it’s also an important consideration as we think about acquiring companies. We look for companies that value the same things that we do — companies with people that can think quickly and innovate, people who are humble yet confident in their work, people who can get stuff done no matter what hurdles pop up along the way, and people who are passionate about the work that they do and the company and team that they are a part of. Rekindle’s team meets all that criteria and more. With the acquisition of Rekindle, we are honored to be gaining teammates who fit seamlessly into the existing fabric of the HubSpot team.
As we continue to advance and expand our team, our products, and our commitment to our customers, we will likely have more of these announcements to make in the future. We view acquisitions as important piece of our growth strategy and look forward to what the future has to hold.
