4 ms·

This entire post is just PR spin. I looked for substance. Couldn't find any. Exactly the sort of response I should expect from a company as awful as claimed in

by gizmo 11y ago

This entire post is just PR spin. I looked for substance. Couldn't find any. Exactly the sort of response I should expect from a company as awful as claimed in the book. In 'Disrupted' Dan claims the company is cultlike, ageist, sexist, and whiter than a Klan meeting. The book argues HubSpot is cruel and the management engages in childish as well as grossly abusive behavior. In the postscript even criminal behavior is alleged. I'm not sure whether Dan is a reliable source (and he certainly has his share of character flaws), but the book is utterly damning of HubSpot as a company. Unless HubSpot figures out how to counter some of the claims their reputation is (perhaps irredeemably) tarnished.

swampthinker 11y ago
What do you mean by substance?
- username223 11y ago
  Well, this is the opposite of "substance": > improving our margins by 12 percentage points in Q4 2015 (non-GAAP) i.e. not "Generally Accepted Accounting Practices," i.e. "we made up two numbers, and one of them was 12% larger than the other." The rest was pretty standard damage control lip-flapping. Here's another good bit: > When people were fired did you actually call it a graduation? Unfortunately, yes. In certain groups we used the term graduation to describe the event when someone was leaving the company, either because they resigned or we let them go. The curse upon the undead creature which wrote this would not let the words "Yes, we called firing someone 'graduation'" pass its fingers.
  - swampthinker 11y ago
    >i.e. not "Generally Accepted Accounting Practices," i.e. "we made up two numbers, and one of them was 12% larger than the other." Numbers don't lie: http://d1lge852tjjqow.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001404655/1ca8a3db-22b2-4d98-bf1a-6dc4537e2286.html# http://d1lge852tjjqow.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001404655/1ca8a3db... > The curse upon the undead creature which wrote this would not let the words "Yes, we called firing someone 'graduation'" pass its fingers.The curse upon the undead creature which wrote this would not let the words "Yes, we called firing someone 'graduation'" pass its fingers. Because not everyone is fired from a company, sometimes they leave on their own accord?
    - username223 11y ago
      > Because not everyone is fired from a company, sometimes they leave on their own accord? Absolutely, but most humans recognize the difference. Maybe HubSpot could use "X has graduated" vs. "X has been graduated."
yummyfajitas 11y ago
It's amusing that you use the term "whiter than a Klan meeting" as a critique of an article written by Dharmesh Shah, Hubspot's desi founder. https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DdnFtFF7X-RE&ved=0ahUKEwiW_Ivt2IrMAhXPxI4KHcrIDbQQyCkIHDAA&usg=AFQjCNF1xfORjmgy2r-xe3keu3BcrkgIgg https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http:...
ant6n 11y ago
One thing that concerns me personally is the work space startups provide for the employees. In question 4 ('...Is HubSpot really like an overcrowded 19th century sweatshop?') the author shows some pictures that attempt to prove how awesome the work area is. But all the pictures seem to be of people meeting in lounge-sort of areas. Only the last picture shows actual work spaces in the back-right, sort of half-height cubicles. I want to see what a typical work station looks like, but from the point of view of the worker, showing the distance to the adjacent work stations. That's what matters, not whether my co-workers can pose for a smile.

by gizmo 11y ago

swampthinker 11y ago

What do you mean by substance?

username223 11y ago
Well, this is the opposite of "substance": > improving our margins by 12 percentage points in Q4 2015 (non-GAAP) i.e. not "Generally Accepted Accounting Practices," i.e. "we made up two numbers, and one of them was 12% larger than the other." The rest was pretty standard damage control lip-flapping. Here's another good bit: > When people were fired did you actually call it a graduation? Unfortunately, yes. In certain groups we used the term graduation to describe the event when someone was leaving the company, either because they resigned or we let them go. The curse upon the undead creature which wrote this would not let the words "Yes, we called firing someone 'graduation'" pass its fingers.
- swampthinker 11y ago
  >i.e. not "Generally Accepted Accounting Practices," i.e. "we made up two numbers, and one of them was 12% larger than the other." Numbers don't lie: http://d1lge852tjjqow.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001404655/1ca8a3db-22b2-4d98-bf1a-6dc4537e2286.html# http://d1lge852tjjqow.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001404655/1ca8a3db... > The curse upon the undead creature which wrote this would not let the words "Yes, we called firing someone 'graduation'" pass its fingers.The curse upon the undead creature which wrote this would not let the words "Yes, we called firing someone 'graduation'" pass its fingers. Because not everyone is fired from a company, sometimes they leave on their own accord?
  - username223 11y ago
    > Because not everyone is fired from a company, sometimes they leave on their own accord? Absolutely, but most humans recognize the difference. Maybe HubSpot could use "X has graduated" vs. "X has been graduated."

yummyfajitas 11y ago

It's amusing that you use the term "whiter than a Klan meeting" as a critique of an article written by Dharmesh Shah, Hubspot's desi founder. https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DdnFtFF7X-RE&ved=0ahUKEwiW_Ivt2IrMAhXPxI4KHcrIDbQQyCkIHDAA&usg=AFQjCNF1xfORjmgy2r-xe3keu3BcrkgIgg https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http:...

ant6n 11y ago

One thing that concerns me personally is the work space startups provide for the employees. In question 4 ('...Is HubSpot really like an overcrowded 19th century sweatshop?') the author shows some pictures that attempt to prove how awesome the work area is. But all the pictures seem to be of people meeting in lounge-sort of areas. Only the last picture shows actual work spaces in the back-right, sort of half-height cubicles. I want to see what a typical work station looks like, but from the point of view of the worker, showing the distance to the adjacent work stations. That's what matters, not whether my co-workers can pose for a smile.