First1000: How HubSpot Acquired Its First 1000 Users
HubSpot acquired its first 1000 users through content marketing, a viral Website Grader tool, and leveraging Dharmesh Shah’s blog audience. Learn how this inbound marketing pioneer scaled to a billion-dollar business.
In this First1000 article, we explore the early growth of HubSpot, the company that popularized inbound marketing and revolutionized how businesses attract and engage customers. Founded in 2006 by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot built a powerful platform to help businesses grow through content-driven strategies. But how did they acquire their first 1000 users? Let’s dive into their ingenious early growth tactics.
Founding HubSpot: The Vision for Inbound Marketing
The idea for HubSpot emerged when Brian Halligan, a former venture capitalist, noticed that traditional outbound marketing (cold calls, ads, and email blasts) was becoming less effective. Dharmesh Shah, a software engineer and blogger, had already built a strong online presence by writing about startups and marketing.
Together, they realized that the future of marketing was inbound—drawing customers in through valuable content instead of chasing them with intrusive ads. With this insight, they built HubSpot, an all-in-one marketing platform that enabled businesses to attract, engage, and delight customers using content, SEO, social media, and automation tools.
Ingenious Strategies to Acquire the First 1000 Users
- Leveraging Dharmesh Shah’s Popular Blog ✍️
Before launching HubSpot, Dharmesh Shah ran a blog called "OnStartups", which had a strong following among startup founders and marketers. He used this platform to share insights about inbound marketing and subtly introduce HubSpot as a solution. This built trust and created an organic funnel of early adopters. - Free Marketing Grader Tool for Lead Generation 🎯
One of HubSpot’s smartest early moves was launching the "Website Grader"—a free tool that analyzed websites and provided SEO and marketing recommendations. This tool became wildly popular, attracting hundreds of thousands of businesses and converting many into early HubSpot users. - Inbound Marketing Strategy (Practicing What They Preached) 📢
HubSpot didn’t spend heavily on ads—instead, they focused on creating high-quality blog content, ebooks, webinars, and educational guides. By ranking high on search engines for marketing-related queries, they attracted businesses looking to improve their digital marketing. - Building a Strong Email List & Nurturing Leads 📩
HubSpot actively collected emails from their blog and Website Grader tool users and nurtured them with valuable email content. Instead of aggressively selling, they focused on educating their audience about inbound marketing, which led to higher trust and conversions. - Beta Testing with Early Adopters & Word-of-Mouth 🔥
HubSpot invited small businesses and startups to test their software for free in its early days. These users provided testimonials and referrals, which helped HubSpot gain credibility. Many of these beta users later converted into paying customers.
HubSpot Today
Today, HubSpot is one of the most successful SaaS companies, serving over 200,000 businesses worldwide. The company has expanded into CRM, sales automation, customer service, and AI-driven marketing. As of 2024, HubSpot is valued at over $30 billion and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HUBS).
What is First1000?
First1000 is a series that explores how the world’s most successful companies acquired their first 1000 users. We analyze the marketing tactics, strategic decisions, and early user acquisition methods that helped startups grow from idea to industry leaders.