Dan MoyleFive Impulse Creative team members traveled to Boston for #INBOUND19. We're also all hosts on podcasts. So we decided to host a debrief that could serve as a fancy crossover episode for all of our show, plus for the rest of the team. And since it exists, we brought it to you!
Out of the five of us, we have a combined 25 years of INBOUND events. Even though there are only eight years... that's because we've been to 8, or 7, or 6 years of INBOUND. We all have a different perspective based on years and on industry.
Remington has always been a HubSpot partner. This was his first year speaking at INBOUND in addition to his presentations at Partner Day.
Jackie is focused on clients and their experience, along with educating herself on all things inbound.
George has been around a while, and has spoken at INBOUND more than once. He's also been in the Partner realm for a minute.
Jenn has been once before and "is always in learning mode." She's a rock star writer and an adventurous soul.
Dan has been to INBOUND 8 years, since before it was even called INBOUND. He's been on the client side, and spoken 3 years before.
We all bring something different to the table.
Our Biggest #INBOUND19 Takeaways
With five people of diverse backgrounds, you're bound to find different takeaways. From sessions to conversations to the parties, here's a look at the different INBOUND takeaways from 2019.
For Jackie, Anese Cavanaugh's lesson on presence and showing up how you want to show up (with purpose), not how you think you're expected to show up, was a "kick in the pants."
"Anese radiates an aura of awesome," Jackie says. "Her session was just what I needed."
Anese has appeared on Maiden Voyage with the women of Impulse Creative. She's as genuine on stage as she is in person.
Another takeaway Jackie shared was how George and Doug Davidoff were chatting in the Westin lobby. She described George's demeanor as "leaning in" while listening to Doug. Her and George agreed on this advice: When you're at INBOUND, lean in during conversations.
PRO TIP: Visit the Westin Lobby for amazing conversations during INBOUND.
Jenn says that Elizabeth Gilbert's challenge to people was a powerful moment to open INBOUND.
"Stop making excuses for not doing the things you want to do in life." - Elizabeth Gilbert
For Jenn, asking herself "What are you willing to give up to have the life you're pretending to want?" drove her to make a change in her morning routine. Now she's up early to write for herself in addition to writing for our clients all day.
This "sales and marketing conference" ends up with so many great life lessons if you're open to it.
Remington shared his biggest #INBOUND19 takeaway and it all comes down to the hard work of our entire team.
"The hard work that the entire Impulse Creative team and our supporters is paying off." Remington said. "We heard a LOT of Yo Impulse!' in the hallways. It's good to look up from our work and take in the impact we're having."
Our CEO and co-founder also noted that HubSpot's co-founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah impressed him with his vulnerability in his keynote.
For Dan, finding a new perspective and way to take care of his fellow humans was a major takeaway.
"We have a responsibility to take care of each other, online and offline," Dan said.
Geraldine DeRuiter spoke on surviving harassment that starts online. Women face a huge portion of it, and we need to stop it.
Favorite #INBOUND19 Moments
INBOUND is like a family reunion combined with the biggest educational/inspirational event each year. It's so hard to pick just one favorite moment.
For us, moments of connection topped the list. Inspiration was next. Education followed inspiration. Those are the general moments that bring us joy from #INBOUND19. Here's a look at what else moved us in Boston this year.
Brian Halligan joining us on the couch in the Westin lobby for an impromptu chat among friends. When the co-founder and CEO of a growing technology company on every "rising star" list out there makes time to chat, you tend to smile big. Brian's pretty damn cool.
The cafe room set up for some presentations forced attendees to have courageous conversations with strangers. It turned a normal presentation into an intimate affair. Very cool, INBOUND.
Do you know what's better than an amazing conference?
Amazing time with other people.
Soup dumplings in Chinatown!
A little advice to really make your INBOUND experience memorable: Sneak away for a minute and share a moment with people over a good meal.
For all of us, "holding court in the Westin lobby" (great term from Jackie) meant meeting with clients in-person and engaging in great conversations with so many other great people. The magic happens in the hallways (and the lobby).
Another favorite moment for all five of us was the live recording we each did for our podcasts. Maiden Voyage held a couple live podcast recordings. Sprocket Talk Unpacked held a live recording as a session open to the public, too. Each of these experiences brought a new level of fun and engagement.
Finally, a favorite moment that sounds "too good to be true." But it's our culture at Impulse. We all loved having Impulse Creative team members speak at the event. Remington graced the stage for the first time, even having an encore requested well before the event. Then George took the stage again, also had an encore, and they both killed it.
What would you change about INBOUND?
As great as INBOUND19 was, no event is perfect. How can you improve this great experience? Here are a few thoughts that came from our team discussion.
Coffee. Seriously. Sure, free coffee for 26,000 people may feel like a line item that's just too expensive. But as attendees, it's a small-but-huge thing that makes the experience top-tier. And at a conference where words like user experience, customer delight and other buzzwords are top of mind, it seems like experience would be of vital importance.
Name badges: Put attendee preferred name or first name front and center and large enough to read from 10 feet away. We don't always remember names, so a reminder of that person we met a year ago would be nice. Without making that awkward slouch to read the name tag situation.
Bring HubSpot back to Club INBOUND. We miss seeing our HubSpot people at the main event. This year it was too spread out having HubSpot village over at the Westin.
We understand that INBOUND is a bit separate from HubSpot. It's become its own entity in many ways. But here's the thing: It's a HubSpot community. We want a little more HubSpot orange.
Who Should Speak at #INBOUND20?
Every year the INBOUND event team brings together incredible speakers for all different reasons. So we asked who each of us wants to see speak at INBOUND20. Some of our suggestions would be new, while others are returning. Hey HubSpot and INBOUND team, check out this list!
- Brené Brown @BreneBrown
- Rachel Hollis @msrachelhollis
- Impulse Creative team members (Jackie Pfriender, Dan Moyle, other team members with valuable teaching)
- Gary Vaynerchuck @garyvee
- Billy Gene @askbillygene
- Joey Coleman
- The band Tool or Maynard James Keenan @tool @mjkeenan
Plug Your Podcast
Be sure to check out the other shows joining us on this episode.
Maiden Voyage
Maiden Voyage is a video podcast series by the ladies of Impulse Creative. Our mission is to relate, inspire, laugh, and learn all while empowering women in the workplace.
Sprocket Talk
Where HubSpot Users Unite!
Are you a HubSpot user? Then the Sprocket Talk podcast will be your one-stop shop for HubSpot education. Every week we bring you sales, marketing, and service interviews, Inbound strategies, HubSpot, HubSpot CRM, and HubSpot Service Hub updates. Sprocket Talk, where HubSpot users unite!
Wayfinding Growth
We created The Wayfinding Growth podcast to help you reach your next level of business growth by taking a deep dive into a new, actionable strategy. We don’t just want to tell you what works, we want to help make it work for you.
With the help of industry experts mingled with the Impulse Creative journey, we'll cover different strategies, tools, and tactics to help you grow in marketing, sales, and business development.
We’re here to help you navigate your business growth with strategic conversations and insights from experts in multiple industries. Welcome to Wayfinding Growth.
Let's chart a course for business growth as you explore a better way to grow further faster, with your hosts Remington Begg and Dan Moyle.
