Patrick: Good to connect again, though I wish it were happier circumstances. :) Disclosure: Brian Halligan (the author of the article) is my co-founder and fr

Patrick: Good to connect again, though I wish it were happier circumstances. :) Disclosure: Brian Halligan (the author of the article) is my co-founder and friend at HubSpot. It's late here in Boston, and it doesn't look like he's going to get a chance to respond tonight, but I wanted to address a couple of the points you've made (and that have been echoed by others in the HN community). 1. This particular tactic of his is usually near the very end of the process. He doesn't start by doing reference checks. He still goes through standard interviews, and in most cases, has them meet several members of the team. 2. Brian is super-sensitive about not putting potential employees in an uncomfortable position by disclosing that they are seeking employment. That would be a jerk move, and he's not a jerk. And it's also bad business. 3. His express purpose is not to solicit negative comments (though it comes off that way in the article). He's trying to get a more complete picture of the truth. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. The focus is on what this persons "super powers" are. Most of the discussion is positive (For someone to have made it that far in the process, in just about all cases, there's going to be more strengths than weaknesses). But, he does deliberately open the door for negative comments. 4. We actually encourage anyone that is looking to join the HubSpot team to do deep due diligence on us. We think it's not only fair, but good for both parties. They can talk to any employee (or ex-employee), any customer, any investor, any partner. We aim to be as transparent as possible in this process and have found that the kinds of people that we like to recruit value that particular aspect of the company culture. One thing I will say for sure: Brian is one of the most ethical people I know. He's going to be disappointed when he reads this thread that folks though him to be shady. There is no way for me to prove that Brian's one of the good-guys. But, there's a way for you to do it (turn the tables, if you will). Do some blind reference checks. That would make for an interesting follow-up post. Thanks for reading. Sorry it was so long -- it's been a long day, and I didn't have a chance to make it shorter. Regards, Dharmesh p.s. I don't usually write HN comments in letter form, but it felt right in this particular case as I think of Patrick as a friend.