Let's give it up for March 2011 HubSpotter of the Month, the great Yoav Shapira!
March 2011 HubSpotter of the Month: Yoav Shapira
Title at HubSpot: Vice President, Platform Strategy
Role at HubSpot: I'm responsible for defining and executing HubSpot's platform strategy. In this role, I manage a small team of developers who are building the foundation for the next generation of HubSpot products, providing APIs for other HubSpot developers and 3rd parties, and creating a developer ecosystem around HubSpot. I work on platform business development and integration opportunities and provide technology guidance to the entire engineering team.
From 2007 to 2010, I was HubSpot's Vice President of Engineering. In that role, I put in place HubSpot's product development framework, including all the processes and standards to facilitate team growth by several multiples, and customer growth from a few dozen to thousands.
How long have you been working at HubSpot? Since October, 2007
Favorite Thing About Working at HubSpot: I love my colleagues in all departments and how their high intelligence combines with a quirky sense of humor. That makes it fun to come into work every day.
I also like the ability to participate in all sorts of projects, experiments, and other things going on. They're all posted on our internal wiki for everyone to see, and every project is open and welcoming. That's pretty awesome.
Hidden Talent: I don't have a lot that's hidden, as I'm a very transparent person. I'd probably have to say my marlinspike seamanship is not something I generally advertise, although my friends who've come rock-climbing with me get to see it first-hand.
If you could have one super power, what would it be?
What is your best, random bit of advice for inbound marketers out there? You don't need to be great; you just need to be decent and consistent. Most people (customers, prospects) I've seen are perfectly decent at content creation, social media, and analysis, but they give up quickly or easily. Stick with it, and inbound marketing will lead to results.
What are your hobbies outside of HubSpot? I like to dabble in a variety of sports, some tame, and some a little more adrenaline-driven.
In the winter, I enjoy snowboarding and indoor rock-climbing. This year I'm hoping to learn and improve my vertical ice-climbing skills. (I also really like the gear that goes with various sports, and ice-climbing is pretty bad-ass.) In the summer, I enjoy kiteboarding, tennis, and ultimate frisbee. If you play ultimate in the Boston area, find me at the Boston Common on summer Sunday afternoons. All year long, I play pickup basketball, and last year I started playing squash as well. The ideal week is when I play some different sport, or do some different activity, every single day.
I also read a bunch. In 2010, I set myself a goal to read 100 books and just barely made it on New Year's Eve. ;) I am a big RSS fan, and I try to stay caught up on a daily basis. ("RSS Zero," kind of like Inbox Zero, which I practice.)
Lastly, as many HubSpotters can tell you, I somewhat like wine: trying different wines, comparing notes, collecting wine, investing in good bottles. It seems like this specific hobby lends itself to sharing with HubSpotters, more than say, ice climbing.
What is your favorite tool in the HubSpot software, and why? I'm a huge fan of the Sources tool. As a veteran user of other web analytics packages, I really appreciate its power, simplicity, and ease of use.
Connect With Yoav!
Google Profile
Read about our previously featured HubSpotters of the Month here.
Marketing Analytics 101: How to Measure the Effectiveness of Your Website