Exhibit 99.1
Team,
I’m writing to share some really sad news and the hardest decision we’ve had to make in HubSpot’s history. We’ve decided to reduce the size of our team by 7% and will be saying goodbye to approximately 500 HubSpotters. If you are one of those employees in the U.S., you will get an email within the next 15 minutes with information and support. In other countries, this process will vary based on local laws and practices. I am deeply sorry to be taking this step.
For a company that prides itself on culture, this is a difficult decision to process. And today will be an incredibly difficult day for our teammates leaving HubSpot. So, let me share why we made this decision, what principles guided us, what we are doing to support employees who are leaving, and what’s next for HubSpot.
Why we made this decision
As we all know, the world has shifted constantly over the past few years. Our business boomed throughout the pandemic but in 2022, things took a downward turn. We came into 2022 anticipating growth would slow down from 2021, but we experienced a faster deceleration than we expected. The year was challenging due to a perfect storm of inflation, volatile foreign exchange, tighter customer budgets, and longer decision making cycles.
Throughout 2022, we focused on execution and operated differently to match the environment we were in. We slowed hiring, minimized travel, cut discretionary spend, and repurposed teams with excess capacity. While all of these changes were necessary, they are no longer sufficient as we face two realities:
| • | | We grew headcount faster than revenue in a number of teams. We were optimistic about our headcount growth and underestimated the impact of the slowdown in 2022. Unfortunately, the level of uncertainty in customer demand now tells us that we may have more challenging times ahead. We need to set ourselves up to weather this storm. |
| • | | We have to invest in our future. In order to do that, we need to reduce investments that are not aligned with our strategy. To help our customers grow better during this time, we need to double down on product innovation. For us to scale better, we need to double down on our own internal efficiencies. Both of these require investments that we cannot make if we don’t make changes now. |
So, after many conversations with our founders, the executive leadership team, and our board, I came to the hard decision to reduce the size of our team by 7%. Since day one, our north star has been to “Solve for the Customer”. That hasn’t changed; in fact, our mission is more important than ever. Our customers need us to innovate faster in this environment. We are in a unique position to help them emerge stronger from this period. That’s why we’re making this decision now. We need to set ourselves up for success today so that we can continue to solve for our customers long into the future.
I know this explanation doesn’t make it any easier for those of you leaving us. We are going to do our very best to support you, and treat you with respect, empathy, and fairness during this transition. The contributions you made here at HubSpot matter a lot. And, I am grateful for the impact you’ve had on our customers and our company.