Ellie Mirman's Startup Marketing Blog

If you ever catch yourself going to your boss and asking, "How should I...?" stop, turn around, and take another look at your project. (I've recently become addicted to Harvard Business Review, and) I loved this article for articulating something I try to remind myself and my coworkers:

I have yet to hear any stories of a leader or manager succeeding by having strict control over a project or team. Again and again, it seems the key to success is a scary one: losing control.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to The Successful You Women's Leadership Forum hosted by MITX and Microsoft. There was a great turnout and we got to hear from a variety of really incredible women, from the General Manager of Boston.com to VP of Educational Partnerships at the Museum of Science to the founder of oneforty.com.

It's great to work at a place that values fun and remarkable content generation. Our latest masterpiece? This one-take lip-dub video featuring 60 of my lovely HubSpot coworkers. See if you can spot me...

Earlier this week I flew down to sunny (aka sweltering hot) Orlando, FL to speak at the Online Marketing Summit. It was a great event (sadly I had to miss the second half, but the first half was fantastic) and I wanted to share my presentation with those who couldn't make it.

While reading a recent article by our CEO Brian Halligan on HubSpot's startup culture, it struck me how important transparency is to the success of an organization. Frequently transparency is touted as a key component to a great company culture. But perhaps just as importantly, transparency is a great means of professional development.

In the Boardroom

Turns out zombies make terrible temps. The good news, though, is that with inbound marketing you can generate tons of qualified leads so you can don't need to hire any zombie temps. The other interesting news is that regular makeup can turn any marketer into a decent zombie.

I recently read Seth Godin's newest book, Linchpin, and not only loved the book but also found that it so shockingly well described my office. So much so that I've started recommending it to recent grads interested in marketing, alongside Inbound Marketing and The New Rules of Marketing & PR, of course.

Today I had the great pleasure of speaking at the National Small Food Manufacturer's Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. It was my first time visiting Omaha (it's surprisingly cute!) and also my first time being around food manufacturers.