The Global Startup Awards (GSA) is the world's largest independent startup competition, uniting innovators across 19 regions and 154 countries. For over a decade, we've celebrated entrepreneurial excellence while connecting thousands of founders, investors, and ecosystem players who drive positive change.
But behind the scenes, our operations resemble those of VCs and accelerators — only at a significantly larger, more complex, and seasonal scale.
We initially chose HubSpot for its simple CRM capabilities, but as our needs evolved, so did HubSpot's ability to meet them. Today, it's the backbone of our operations, helping us centralize communication, streamline stakeholder management, and build meaningful relationships across our global network.
Through working closer with the HubSpot for Startups team, we've unlocked favorable pricing and additional perks that make this powerful platform accessible for organizations like ours.
In this post, we'll show you how HubSpot supports our mission — and why it could be indispensable for others working to support startups at scale.
Working across 19 regions and 154 countries means our team is constantly juggling scale and speed. While every ecosystem has its own unique flavor, some challenges have become universally familiar to us as we continue to grow and evolve.
One of the most consistent hurdles is managing the high volume of applications we receive during each competition cycle. In our most recent edition, over 36,000 nominations came through our platform, and for Edition 11, we're expecting that number to climb to around 50,000. Every nomination represents a story worth hearing, and ensuring that no one gets lost in the shuffle requires a system built for clarity and flow.
As our network of mentors, jury members, partners, and experts expands, so does the need for seamless coordination. Aligning calendars, expectations, and communications across such a broad and diverse group is a challenge we're always working to refine.
Beyond the competition itself, we also strive to stay connected with the thousands of startups that pass through our programs. Maintaining strong, ongoing relationships with alumni isn't just nice to have, it's foundational to our mission of supporting long-term entrepreneurial success.
Measuring our community engagement and impact is another area we've learned to approach with care. It's not just about numbers, it's about understanding whether the connections we help facilitate are meaningful, useful, and lasting.
With so many regions operating under the GSA umbrella, consistency in communication is key. From announcements to partner updates, we aim to keep messaging clear and aligned, while leaving space for local context and voice.
These challenges have taught us that structure and flexibility need to go hand in hand, and that the right tools can make all the difference in managing both.
Before HubSpot, we were drowning in spreadsheets and email threads. Now, we have a global view and it’s made our operations not only faster but smarter.
We use Marketing Hub to run highly targeted outreach - from newsletter campaigns to automated workflows, ensuring we communicate with our audience using the right resources at the right time, all without losing the human touch.
Stat: Increased our open rates further from 32% to 43% from Q1 to Q2, with an additional CTR improvement of +2%.
Sales Hub helps us streamline how we manage relationships across our ecosystem - from outreach automation to onboarding new partners. It has made our sales process more transparent and collaborative across teams.
Stat: Used sequences of emails and tasks with automation rate up to 70%, freeing the day for the team to focus on later stages of deals where their attention is much needed.
With Service Hub, we’ve built a more responsive support system, enabling us to resolve issues faster and keep our community engaged and satisfied.
Stat: In just 6 months, we’ve cut our average ticket resolution time by over 90%.
Global Startup Awards has had the opportunity to become a trusted partner to HubSpot for Startups and work closely on initiatives to help startups grow, such as 75% off CRM tools, discounts from other tech partners in the HubSpot network and Free Onboarding for Startups and more. Our partnership has allowed us freedom to experiment and in an evolving landscape where change is the only constant, that has been truly impactful.
HubSpot has now become our go-to platform for staying organized, connected, and driving our mission forward: Unite and uplift startup ecosystems across borders.
Ready to see the same results for your startup ecosystem? Apply here to become a HubSpot for Startups partner.
