#INBOUND24 Preview: Main Stage Speakers + Making 'Big Picture' Inspiration Cool Again
You're on your own, Devin. You're on your own, man. Week. Every week every week, it's kinda like the beginning of the Mission Impossible movies where it's like, we will disavow any knowledge of your existence.
George B. Thomas:Right. You are on your own. Facts. Good luck, brother.
Liz Moorehead:So every time every time you drop a bad take about fast and furious, HubSpot is like, no, bro. We're done.
George B. Thomas:Yeah. Because, you know, HubSpot is a big fan of Vin Diesel and the fast and furious.
Liz Moorehead:A 100%. Well,
Devyn Bellamy:I can neither confirm nor deny. All I know is how I feel, and, and I will stick to it, religiously. Now keep in mind, it's not a problem with Vin Diesel. Love Vin Diesel, the triple x movies are hilarious. However, the fact that we went from stealing DVDs to space
George B. Thomas:It's all good in a Fiera.
Liz Moorehead:Called growth.
George B. Thomas:Yeah. That's growth.
Liz Moorehead:That's called growth.
George B. Thomas:That's growth, by the way. And here's the thing. You know how I know HubSpot loves the Fast and Furious? Because cars have sprockets, and so does HubSpot. I'm just throwing that out there.
Liz Moorehead:Yeah. I would like to think that every time they make a change to the product, they're sitting there going, what would Vin Diesel do? That's what I would like to think happens in that way.
George B. Thomas:Without a doubt, I think that's Alright.
Devyn Bellamy:Here's the deal. I'm not allowed to talk about this, but we actually have a channel called what would Vin Diesel do. It's it's entirely devoted around marketing questions, as well as rev ops, and automation. And yeah.
Liz Moorehead:Devin Devin, talk okay. Okay. So what we need to do for inbound 25 is we need to have a q and a session with Vin Diesel where he's not allowed to study in advance about inbound, but he has to answer complex marketing and sales questions as Dominic Toretto. And this is me once again making the case for us doing a live show at inbound for hub heroes because I'm totally always on point. Always on point.
Devyn Bellamy:I'm thinking about it. The thing is that most people don't realize is that, yeah, he is a very, you know, big muscular action dude, but he's extremely intelligent.
Liz Moorehead:And nerdy. He's a Dungeons and Dragons fiend.
Devyn Bellamy:Total D and D nerd. Xander was his it was his character name. I mean, come on. So if there if there is one guy that I could see surprising the heck out of me with marketing knowledge, and just being able to to to put it out. It it is definitely So first of all
Liz Moorehead:you up in Diesel?
George B. Thomas:So come So hang on. So first of all, you're getting your your, wish this year. We'll talk about that here in a minute, Devin. If if at inbound 25, if the inbound gods are listening, if if we could have Dominic Toretto at inbound on the main stage, I, for free, would be the interviewer with without a doubt. You I you could call me.
George B. Thomas:I wouldn't care what day, what time. I I would sit there with, Dominic Toretto, AKA Vin Diesel, and put on a dope marketing, sales, and service interview.
Devyn Bellamy:Absolutely.
Liz Moorehead:And I would sit there next to George very uncomfortably staring at Vin Diesel the whole time and periodically whispering, I love you so much. Like, to really just kind of round out the three-dimensional experience that could be that fireside chat on the main stage in inbound 25.
Devyn Bellamy:And you can interview him as Vin Diesel. I'll interview him as Groot.
Liz Moorehead:Oh. So is every question just I am Groot?
Devyn Bellamy:Yeah. And so he nails it.
George B. Thomas:Yeah. But it might be a little bit of a nonvalue add, interview that way.
Devyn Bellamy:Depends on if you speak Groot.
George B. Thomas:Well True.
Liz Moorehead:Okay, guys. As much as I wanna live in this psychotic fever dream
Devyn Bellamy:angry cats this week, Liz.
Liz Moorehead:You got you know what? I was about to execute a flawless segue, Devin.
Devyn Bellamy:And I threw the wrench in it. Go ahead.
Liz Moorehead:This is like the episode when you were messing with my outline. This is like that episode.
Devyn Bellamy:I thought about it, and I'm not doing it this week.
Liz Moorehead:I'm not doing it. On fire with my brain if you do that. Oh my god.
George B. Thomas:Especially with this outline.
Liz Moorehead:Oh, yeah. There's a lot going on because we have a lot to talk about. We are back with another inbound preview episode because y'all, they dropped the main stage speaker lineup, and we have a lot to talk about today. So I'm just gonna quickly run through who we've got on the main stage this year. 1st, we're starting with Devin's best friend, brother from another mother.
Liz Moorehead:Ryan Reynolds is going to be there.
George B. Thomas:Yeah.
Liz Moorehead:Not to put with
George B. Thomas:the applause button. I know. Max, come on. Why are you missing it?
Liz Moorehead:Look. It's the same, guys. Okay. Liz, move on. That's fine.
Liz Moorehead:It's fine. We're doing great. So he's gonna be on stage to talk about his
George B. Thomas:Was that bad timing? I'm sorry.
Liz Moorehead:That sound that sound you hear is my soul and my will to live escaping my body as quickly as possible. Don't poop. Don't poop while we're recording.
Devyn Bellamy:Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Oh, okay.
Devyn Bellamy:Alright. Let's go. Come on.
Liz Moorehead:Yeah. Ryan Reynolds Ryan Reynolds Ryan Reynolds is gonna be on stage. We're also gonna have Serena Williams talking about her new chapter as an entrepreneur with her venture capital fund. Kara Swisher, who is an iconic journalist, podcaster, and interviewer. We have Josh Demauro, who is the head of Disney experiences, who's gonna talk about the fundamentals of Disney storytelling.
Liz Moorehead:We have the one, the only, Yamini Rangan, who is the HubSpot CEO, who will be sharing the stage with Dharmesh Shah and Andy I'm I'm gonna say Petri.
George B. Thomas:Petri. Petri? Yeah.
Liz Moorehead:I thought I was supposed to say, but no. Okay. Petri.
George B. Thomas:Not that cool.
Liz Moorehead:I know. That's my 8 years of French that has done absolutely nothing for me shining through. Then we have Dane Veggie of OpenAI. They're head of strategic marketing.
George B. Thomas:Let's go.
Liz Moorehead:I'm so excited for that one. Kat Cole of Athletic Greens, who's talking about we're this is the one I'm very interested in because they scaled their growth, completely revitalized their brand, and they did it with a fully remote team during a time when a lot of companies are like, please come back to the office. Pizza parties are our company culture. So very excited to hear about that. Then we have Matt Wolf of the who's the host of the next wave podcast.
Liz Moorehead:We have Michelle Peluso, who's the EVP and chief customer experience officer of CVS Health, who is talking about their consumer centric strategy and a lot of CX goodies. And just overall, that's a lot of stuff. That's a very diverse lineup for this year's main stage. So today, we're not only gonna unpack our thoughts about these sessions. We're also going to have an open and honest conversation about a topic that, I am equal parts passionate and kinda cheesed off about.
Liz Moorehead:George, I said this to you earlier this week when we were planning this episode. For some reason, somewhere over along the line over the past several years, we have criminalized big picture inspirational talks
George B. Thomas:Yeah.
Liz Moorehead:Is not being actionable or valuable enough for attendees of inbound. Yeah. And I've I've got I've got a lot of problems with that. I know you've got a lot of thoughts about that. And, Devin, I cannot wait to kick your hornet's nest because my guess is we're gonna have a couple of times where you get real up close and personal with that camera while you shout at us because you love us, and I'm very excited about that.
Liz Moorehead:So, gentlemen, we're gonna grab a snack in a backpack like George likes to say.
George B. Thomas:Let's do it.
Liz Moorehead:But, George George, I wanna start with you. What are your initial reactions to this lineup? Are you excited? Are there any themes you're seeing come out? What where's your head at when you look at these?
George B. Thomas:Yeah. I'm actually really excited about this year and this release of who's gonna be on the main stage because, one, there is a broad spectrum of things that could easily go into how we need to take care of ourself and the life lessons of businesses that focus on that part of our lives. There's definitely a level of creativity because if you look at what's gonna happen with the Disney story and, obviously, Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool and him being able to talk about, different businesses, which I can't wait to actually dive into that one a little bit because I have some deeper thoughts. And just you've got, you know, a podcaster. You've got the the one that really actually kinda threw me for a loop when I started to read the thing was, Kara Swisher.
George B. Thomas:I I think I wanna change my description. Like, I don't know what I would be the most feared at, but but, like, I started to read her description. I'm like, the most feared but revered journalist.
Liz Moorehead:Okay. I love Kara Swisher. She's, like, one of my idols. She's incredible. So, like, I The work she did at New York Magazine, woah.
George B. Thomas:Immediately, I'm like, I'm I'm intrigued. So and I think that's the thing is, this is this is a lineup that intrigues me. This is a lineup that I look at, and I think there's a lot of potential. And this is one of the first lineups where I have a really hard time leaning into what you started to talk about is that, demonizing, don't waste time on the main stage because it's just gonna be a lot of fluff. This doesn't feel like a lot of fluff to me if I sit down and and watch these sessions, which is nice because, let's be honest, it became demonized because there were a couple years where it's like, what the actual freak?
George B. Thomas:But I think we're at a point where it shouldn't be that way, because there's a lot of education, a lot of inspiration, that people can gleam. And I I know I'm excited to gleam for my own business, out of these main stage sessions.
Liz Moorehead:I understand that there was some beef with previous years, but Yeah. The year that I spoke at inbound, I was the last session on the last day. But we did have standing room only, and when they had to expand my room, but it did give me the ability that year to say, I can now officially say on my resume that I opened for John Cena. It was technically right before the closing keynote.
George B. Thomas:Isn't that amazing?
Liz Moorehead:I stand by I stand by that.
George B. Thomas:Yeah. Use that use that for the rest of your life.
Liz Moorehead:Totally. Totally. Open it. Like, I just I mean, you can't see me or him, but, you know, it's fine. Devin, I'd love to hear from you.
Liz Moorehead:You're a resident in house HubSpotter. What are you excited about? What are the sessions for you that you can't miss?
Devyn Bellamy:Number 1, and I know you're gonna think I'm gonna say Ryan Reynolds, but I'm gonna say the product spotlight. Product spotlight every year is the most exciting time for me, even more so now that I'm a HubSpotter because I work here, and there are still things that are going on that I know nothing about. We we are very good at keeping secrets, here at HubSpot even internally. So with that being said, I'm I'm really excited to see what's happening, for the product spotlight. I am very excited about partner day.
Devyn Bellamy:This year, we are focusing a lot more on networking and breakouts, and so it won't be as much sitting in a big room staring at the stage. But, there are gonna be some dynamic speakers, dynamic sessions, dynamic networking opportunities. Oh, yeah. The most prolific brand marketer on the face of the planet is gonna be in Boston in September. And and the fact that we're talking about who's gonna be on the main stage There it is.
Devyn Bellamy:And the value that the main stage have you watched a main stage talk? And and and and and and keep in mind that the depth that we're going in and, you know, I'm not even gonna lean closer to the camera. I'm just gonna use my zoom.
Liz Moorehead:Are you holding the camera? Are you oh my
Devyn Bellamy:god. When we're talking to these people, you wanna know how the most prolific brand market like mountain mountain and Deadpool and Aviation and Wrexham all in the same commercial, and it's about none of them? It's a mid come I mean, come on. Like, seriously. Come on.
Devyn Bellamy:The the thing you alright. You know what? I'm a calm down.
Liz Moorehead:So, Devin
George B. Thomas:It's your Devin you gotta conserve energy, brother.
Liz Moorehead:It's instructive.
Devyn Bellamy:It it there's so much there's so much amazing and and and it's like, yeah. The break okay. That's part of an you know what? Go ahead. Next question.
Liz Moorehead:Devin, sweetheart, I don't know what you feel about anything. I'm gonna need you to more. Yeah. I need you to bring I'll work on that. Be more heart forward.
George B. Thomas:So so, Liz, before you jump forward, what's fun is
Liz Moorehead:I'm not jumping forward.
George B. Thomas:I I absolutely agree with Devin. Like, Ryan Reynolds, to me first of all, there's the micro lessons that you're gonna learn through this. But, man, I can't help but look at his session description and him and go, man, there is a map that shows how money makes money.
Liz Moorehead:And Can I actually read his description for everybody?
George B. Thomas:But any business owner needs to realize that money is meant to make money. And and Ryan Reynolds and the businesses that he started in the or or are part of, it maps out money makes money.
Devyn Bellamy:Him and Shaq during
George B. Thomas:the best out of the series. Yes.
Liz Moorehead:Alright. So for the listeners at home, I wanna read the session description because I think it gives clarity to what George is talking about. Join the Hollywood star as he gives the audience an in-depth look into his ventures outside of acting. He'll touch on his production company, Maximum Effort, his advertising platform, m Mountain. M n t Mountain.
Liz Moorehead:I'm just Mountain. I knew
George B. Thomas:that. Okay.
Liz Moorehead:That was a test you passed.
George B. Thomas:I know. I mean, I
Liz Moorehead:mean cry for help. They used
George B. Thomas:to run ads for marketing profs, marketing sports podcast where I hosted that, So that's how I learned that it was mountain. Anyway
Liz Moorehead:I I totally knew that too. As well as his many other ventures, including his recent reinvention as the cone co owner of Wrexham Football Club. Join this special closing session to gain better insight into how Ryan decides where to invest his time and energy and how he brings a growth mindset to everything he does. What's not listed here is he's also now a partial investor in an a formula 1 racing team.
George B. Thomas:And it doesn't mention Mint here, does it either, in this one?
Liz Moorehead:Is he just well, I is he an is he the investor in that or just a spokesman?
George B. Thomas:Well, no. The if you go down to his Ryan Reynolds actor, producer, entrepreneur, like, after that, it literally says gin, mint, mobile, Aviation.
Liz Moorehead:You know what? Ryan Reynolds, get a job. You don't do anything.
Devyn Bellamy:Here's what makes him here's what sets him and Shaq aside from everyone else, and I can't wait to hear him him hear him talk about it, is most people will show up and be a face. What they do is they be the face, but they're also part owners. They're not going to put their face on anything that they don't
George B. Thomas:have a
Devyn Bellamy:stake in. And so, like, when you look at the Shaq in the general, he's not he's not, like, you know, selling out to sell car insurance. He owns the car insurance company. And, like and and and then with Ryan Reynolds, he takes it to a next level because with Shaq, he's having fun. He's everywhere.
Devyn Bellamy:Ryan Reynolds is having fun. He's everywhere, and he's using he he's almost commingling funds with the way that the brands co promote each other. It's it's it's beautiful. It's it's genius, and and and it's hilarious.
George B. Thomas:You know what else is genius, by the way? Because I like looking at the micros and the things that we're talking about. Join this special closing session. So listen. There's always been an attrition issue at inbound where Friday, people are grabbing their flights.
George B. Thomas:I wonder if American Airlines, United, JetBlue are like, what happened this year that everybody's leaving on Saturday instead of Friday from Boston? And and the the thing is Ryan Reynolds as your closing session. That's what happened. Like, that's that's a genius move by the people who are putting on inbound and putting the speakers where they're actually putting them.
Liz Moorehead:So here's what I'm excited about for this year. What I really love about this lineup is the diversity of it. You know, we we have because, you know, George, you mentioned this in years past. There have there's sometimes been a little bit more of a celebrity emphasis, things like that. What I really like about this is the diversity of stories that are being told here and the diversity of lessons and inspirational pools that they are creating.
Liz Moorehead:They've they're going out of their way with each of these main stage sessions, essentially, to create an inspiration container around a big thematic idea, which I think is a far cry from like, I remember there was 1 year, and and and we're about to get into this. We're about to get into my little touchy subject about main stage speakers. But the the one time I will say I did have a gripe, because I've never had a gripe about a main stage speaker I've watched. The only one I had, and I I like her, was Anna Kendrick. I didn't understand what that fireside chat was, and it felt more geared around her personality.
Liz Moorehead:And it reminded me of some of the things that you and I, George, talk about with our clients when they're creating content, whether they're doing webinars or something that's more event based marketing, is that whether you have a sponsor or you're a guest, you should never build a topic around a product. In this case, the celebrity is the product, and instead, you should have a topic or a problem that you're digging into solving. And that's something I think they're getting much better at in terms of calibrating these main stage speakers. Because I also go I mean, I go to other conferences and having big names, like, the the guys, it's a keynote speaker circuit out there. These celebrities are out there doing talks, and it is they will often show up with their own talk, and you kinda get what you get.
Liz Moorehead:And what I like about what they're really pushing here is this diversity. Again, that range of topics, you know, the growth mindset aspect of Ryan Reynolds, storytelling with Disney, the cons the customer experience. Like, I never thought I would be interested really in CVS help, but, like, I actually now want to understand the the CX lessons that she has. And, Kara Swisher, I wanna be you when you grow up. I'll never be that scary, but you're amazing.
Liz Moorehead:So that's that's where my head's at with that. But let's let's talk about this elephant in the room.
George B. Thomas:Wow. A deep breath. Holy crap. Buckle up. Buckle up.
Liz Moorehead:I mean, think think about it, guys. One of the most common questions we get every year when we start preparing for these preview shows is, how do I convince my boss to let me go? How do I convince my boss that what's gonna be an inbound is valuable? And the moment these big names start popping off that you could their eye rolls heard heard around the world. You just wanna go see Ryan Reynolds and meet Deadpool.
Liz Moorehead:This isn't about actionable, whatever. First of all, yeah. But second of all, there is this weird kind of jaded cynicism where it's like this just showcases what's wrong with inbound. I miss the good old days of inbound, all of those different things. So I'm curious.
Liz Moorehead:What do you guys think of that? Devin, we'll start with you.
Devyn Bellamy:Alright. So, again, the thoughts and opinions expressed on this podcast are Devin and Devin only.
Liz Moorehead:Yeah.
Devyn Bellamy:So with that being said, personally personally, I don't care one way or the other about the main stage speakers. That's not why I'm there. That's I treat the main stage as entertainment. It's I treat it as edutainment. I don't come to hear the main stage content only because all of my life changing inbound experiences aren't associated with the main stage.
Devyn Bellamy:All of my life changing experiences happen from breakout sessions, and networking. Black inbound had nothing to do with the main stage. I I taught a 2 hour market sales and marketing session yesterday, and it started out very high level talking about life cycle stages, flywheel, and it ended with algebra, and how to how to calculate your your analytics in your flywheel. The point is every single thing that I taught yesterday, I learned at or because of inbound. Not just HubSpot Academy, but I learned about these courses that I could rock out after talking to professors live at inbound.
Devyn Bellamy:And I I like talking the talk, walking the walk, just perfecting my craft, these are all things that I learned how to do at inbound. I my like, my the entire trajectory of my career can be traced to 2 moments, discovering HubSpot Academy and going to inbound. And people so many people have stories just like mine, and more people need to hear these stories to understand that, yeah, Ryan Reynolds is great and this is me talking. I am not going to inbound to see Ryan Reynolds. That's not why I'm going.
Devyn Bellamy:It is. I am over the moon about it. Like, cannot express it enough. However, every inbound has had a measurable impact on my life just from the people I've met and the knowledge I've gained. I wouldn't be on this podcast if it wasn't for inbound.
Devyn Bellamy:So the thing is is that people see the main stage. That's not I wouldn't even call that a quarter of the inbound experience. That is a great way to get people to come to the website. What you should be doing is looking at the breakout sessions, looking at the agendas, looking at the topics, look past the names, and look at who you're going to be when you leave inbound. That's what you should be focusing on.
Devyn Bellamy:I like that. I like that.
Liz Moorehead:George, what about you? What are your thoughts on this? That is a 3rd trimester pregnant pause if if I've ever seen a damn. Damn.
Devyn Bellamy:That that that pause had cravings.
Liz Moorehead:So Pickles and ice cream.
George B. Thomas:Pickles and ice cream. Peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. That was the craving. So so listen. You know, there's there's so many times that, people make assumptions and have knee jerk responses, And, they shut things down before they give it an opportunity.
George B. Thomas:I was literally talking to Jorge about this earlier today, about how so many times people will think they wanna do something, but they'll shut themselves down before they actually get to allowing themselves to try to do the thing. And I think this happens with people's bosses. I think this happens with us as individuals. And I think sometimes we make these knee jerk blanket statement decisions that there's not gonna be value in a thing because we've positioned it as it being the, lure or the worm to catch all the fish to get them to the thing. The fish finds value in the lure.
George B. Thomas:The fish finds value in the worm. Like, I'm willing to sit on a main stage session and just wonder what can I learn, what is possible if I truly pay attention to the words that is coming out of this other human's mouth? And and to me, it it correlates back to something that I'm I'm a big fan of. And when when I talk to clients about this, I'm like, listen. I don't care if the janitor comes to you with a good idea.
George B. Thomas:We should be listening for good ideas. Humans are humans. We all have brains. We all have thoughts, and we can all learn from each other. And so listen.
George B. Thomas:I'm gonna beg people listening to this. If you've historically had issue with mainstage sessions, Give it a try this year. Make sure that it's a focal point, and you come in there, by the way, as you would a breakout session. You know the difference? You come into a breakout session, you got your iPad and your notepad ready.
George B. Thomas:You know what you do when you come into main session? You take selfies, you sit there, you chitchat with your friends, you take a little nap, and then you walk out. Completely different mindset of what you're walking into and what you think you're gonna get out of it. And so my challenge for everybody this year is give these a try because I feel like, especially this year, there is going to be a massive list of lessons that we'll be able to take away for our businesses, our marketing, our sales, and our service.
Liz Moorehead:You know, George, I haven't heard you say this in a while, specifically. Man, now I'm gonna get a lot of hate mail. So now I'm gonna ask you a question that's gonna immediately make you say, man, now I'm gonna get a lot of hate mail. You and I both know that there are business owners, business leaders, agency owners listening to this right now who are a 100% guilty of the eye rolls I was talking about, who a 100% push back when their people say, I wanna go to this, and then they see Ryan Reynolds. They're like, it's not worth it if you go skip those.
Liz Moorehead:What's your message to them, Pookie?
George B. Thomas:Really? Yeah. Really? We got Yeah. Really?
Liz Moorehead:Do you wanna just say the phrase? Yeah. I'm gonna get a hate mail note to say it say it once. Say it.
George B. Thomas:No. No. Okay. I'm probably gonna get hate mail. I mean, I don't know who you think you are.
George B. Thomas:I don't under really understand who you think you are, the fact that your thoughts should be everybody's thoughts in your agency. Just because God blessed you or your parents blessed you or the universe blessed you with the ability to start an agency and be able to hire some humans. I don't understand where the leadership of that should dictate what they're going to be able to absorb and change in themselves and in your organization based off of 30, 45, or 60 minutes of what Ryan Reynolds might say, of what, you know, Michelle might say, of what Yamini might say, of of what any of these main speaker listen. I'm glad that the agency owner that I worked for when I was back in Massillon, Ohio, Wild Boy Design, didn't say, hey. You're not allowed to go to any keynote main breakout sessions.
George B. Thomas:Because if so, I would've never heard Gary Vaynerchuk speak. I would've never decided that I wanted to be on a main stage. I would've never decided that I wanted to grow up to be a marketer, and I probably would've never fell in love with HubSpot the way that I did because it was the whole process of don't call me a customer, call me a human, and Gary Vaynerchuk killing it on the main stage. So I ask you the same way that I opened this is who do you think you are? And be them.
George B. Thomas:Let them do them.
Liz Moorehead:Devin, go off yeah. Go off, king.
Devyn Bellamy:Okay. So so I I mentioned earlier that the main stage didn't really have anything to do with my experience. I take that back 150%.
Liz Moorehead:There we go. He's back.
Devyn Bellamy:Here's the thing. Because I don't. I still don't. Like, the main stage is not the reason why I go. But to say that there have not been life changing moments for me that happened on that main stage, like Gary Vaynerchuk when he spoke, and I was sitting in my hotel room, and I was dealing with social anxiety.
Devyn Bellamy:And I knew that I needed to meet people, and I didn't know how to do it. And then I just wrote something about, that awkward moment when you want to meet people, but instead, it's something that and I just it was about Gary v. And he tagged he tag he replied. He says, you can do it. And I'm like, you know what?
Devyn Bellamy:I can. And and and the thought was about starting black and inbound. So black and inbound started because of a white guy on the main stage, just so you know. So
George B. Thomas:Yeah.
Devyn Bellamy:That's one thing. The next thing, so many of us had a twilight zone moment in November of 1996, and I won't go into details about what you believe and who you who you vote for, whatever. All I know is that that was a difficult time for people who look like me, and there are so many people who didn't understand why that was a difficult time. So the morning that Trump got elected
Liz Moorehead:Oh, you mean 2016? I thought you said 1996. I
Devyn Bellamy:said 2016. I said 2014. I meant 2016. Yep. Alright.
Devyn Bellamy:Yeah. I thought I said 2016. 1919.
Liz Moorehead:You said 1996.
George B. Thomas:That's why
Liz Moorehead:I was like, wait a minute.
George B. Thomas:Time machine, baby. Time machine.
Devyn Bellamy:Yeah. I'm
George B. Thomas:old. That's when the Simpsons actually said that Trump would be president.
Liz Moorehead:You were still in mourning. We were also in mourning over Tupac. It was fine. Continue.
Devyn Bellamy:Yes. So what I meant to say was 2016, that was the number that was in my head.
Liz Moorehead:That was brutal. Yeah.
Devyn Bellamy:When Tallahassee Coats came in and scrapped his entire speech
Liz Moorehead:Oh my god.
Devyn Bellamy:And took the wind out. Like, people walked out.
Liz Moorehead:I remember. Yeah.
Devyn Bellamy:We're we're we're we're we're we're set Twitter ablaze with how angry they were about, a man simply expressing his his his his it's not even his opinions. All he did was go it was it was an entire semester's African American studies class condensed into one keynote speech.
Liz Moorehead:And they still have it online. They did not take it down. I'm so
George B. Thomas:glad they did not take it down.
Liz Moorehead:I'm so glad I'm
Devyn Bellamy:so glad
George B. Thomas:they did not take
Liz Moorehead:it down.
Devyn Bellamy:Did they not take it down, they doubled down and got extra black the next year. So if you're mad about the fact that we have a black person on stage talking about black opinions, well, guess who's coming this year? Michelle Obama. Get mad about that.
George B. Thomas:Yeah. That was the year after that.
Liz Moorehead:I remember I remember being in that room because I I I've read a lot of his essays. He's in just an incredible educator. And what I did I was sitting with a bunch of people who had no idea who this man was because I remember when I woke up that morning, I was like, man, Ta Nehisi Coates, bold move, Cotton. Like, this is gonna be this is gonna be how that works out. See how this works out.
Liz Moorehead:And when he walked on stage, it said, for those of you who know me, you know exactly what's about to happen. For those of you who do not know me, I'm sorry. Like, some she said some version of that, and it was just like
George B. Thomas:Which by the way, at that moment, I was sitting next to Marcus Sheridan. Oh my gosh. Sitting there. And we don't swear a lot, but we basically looked at each other and was like, oh, shit. Like like, this is I Woo.
Devyn Bellamy:I was front row center, and I was next to a lady who only didn't leave because she was in the front row with me. But she was texting, like, calling them Ta Nehisi snores, and she was so mad. And I'm over here just like, yes. Yes, angry woman. Be mad.
Devyn Bellamy:This is not for you. He is speaking to me right now. It was it was beautiful. It was a It was It was
Liz Moorehead:a beautiful it was cultural moment regardless as to whether you
Devyn Bellamy:a culturally substantial moment.
George B. Thomas:That's one of
Liz Moorehead:those memories where I'm like, I know exactly where I was when that happened.
George B. Thomas:Oh, yes. Yeah. Well, yeah, you're at inbound and and in the main key area.
Liz Moorehead:George. Thanks.
George B. Thomas:Here's the only thing that for me because I'm not disagreeing with this conversation. The only thing that was rough or frustrating for me was it was the presidential election, and we have to remember that a large portion of the humans that actually came to inbound aren't from America. So, like, they had, like, no like, they're like, I don't even understand what's going on, and I have really no connection to this. And so that was, like, for me, kind of what like, the awkward part of what was happening in that situation.
Liz Moorehead:Well, based on the the conversation I had with our Australia client last night, George, they've been considering our politics as spectator sports since 2015.
George B. Thomas:Oh god.
Liz Moorehead:So maybe it was more relevant than we thought it was.
Devyn Bellamy:That yeah. So that's the thing. So two things. 1, yes. We are the laughing stock of the world in that regard.
Devyn Bellamy:It is their favorite reality show is our political system. But, with that being said, what I loved about his speech is that he gave so much context and so much emotion that regardless of your level of knowledge of American history, you came away with a strong understanding of African American history, if nothing else, and how where we are has and where we're headed and and what that election meant, for the trajectory of the growth of people of color and not just black people. And it was just, like, whether you agree with him or not, whether you are regardless if you vote red or blue, it's like that kind of moment and that kind of discourse is what makes inbound so special is because so here's the way I would explain it. If someone had to tell me why I would go see the main stage speakers, the breakouts have affected me fundamentally professionally in ways that I cannot quantify. The main stage has created, like Nick from Fargo said, some core memories that have shaped me as a human being.
Liz Moorehead:I love our live studio audience. Thanks, Nick from Fargo.
Devyn Bellamy:Exactly. So, like because now I'm sitting here thinking more about impactful moments that resonated with me. Water has nothing to do with my job.
George B. Thomas:So good.
Devyn Bellamy:Has nothing to do with my job. But when I tell you, I was sobbing during that presentation and all the tears of grief, of joy, all of them, that that that changed how I thought of things. It changed how I looked at nonprofit organizations. It changed how I looked at fundraising, and it changed how I look at access to water as a basic human right and the fact that so many people don't have it. Like, it it it's yeah.
Devyn Bellamy:The main stage, you're you're gonna get something out of it even if that's all you do.
George B. Thomas:But Yeah.
Devyn Bellamy:And that's not gonna be the most impactful thing.
George B. Thomas:And if people are curious, like, what, you mean by water, it's it's charity water, and it was Scott Harrison, which, by the way, if you type in what's fun about this, if you type in, like, Scott, Water Foundation, one of the first links, it's it's charitywater.org /about/scottdashharrison dash story. Ladies and gentlemen, I can't make this junk up. The video on the top hero section of that page is the inbound talk.
Liz Moorehead:I'll put a link
George B. Thomas:in the show notes. Charity water. So, yeah, link it in the show notes.
Liz Moorehead:Alright. I've taken my mic off the stand, guys. Are you ready for my thoughts here?
George B. Thomas:Oh, here we go. Buckle up.
Devyn Bellamy:Let's go. Let's go.
Liz Moorehead:This whole conversation reminds me of every time I would want to sink into the floor and become one with the tile when everybody's like, we gotta focus on quick wins, guys. We gotta focus on quick wins. We gotta focus on those short term tactics. We gotta focus on how we're getting from point a to point b as if that is the only pathway to growth, as if there is no input that should there should be no inputs in terms of our long term growth and sustainability. Right?
Liz Moorehead:You you know, George, I listen to you talk about this all the time with our clients. Right? You know? Yes. We wanna get those quick wins now, but this is about setting yourself up for long term success in the future.
Liz Moorehead:That's what this conversation reminds me of. This conversation also reminds me of the fact that I have to sometimes remind people that did you know part of my content creation time is sitting there and thinking? Part of my content creation time is every time I read a website or pick up a book that has absolutely flipping nothing to do with my job. Because if I'm only consuming tactical, one dimensional how to content within the echo chamber of my own industry or the industries I'm creating content for, I will die. Not of boredom, but I will become atrophied in my creative capabilities and abilities.
Liz Moorehead:One of my biggest inspirations as a b to b content creator, the content that makes money for other businesses is comedy. Reading comedy essays, watching SNL sketches, because comedians are a master of one thing, timing and precise word choice. They know how to move people and drive emotions. There's a reason why comedian actors, even if the market rejects it, are better at converting over to drama than dramatic actors are able to convert over to comedy. There is a reason why.
Liz Moorehead:So why do I bring that up? When we think about the idea of growing better that HubSpot has put out there, growth isn't just about your ability to bring in more MQLs and SQLs that can be converted into customers. Yes. That is important. But if we're talking about how we grow as organizations, how we grow as individuals, whether we're content creators or strategists, we become better and grow better when we introduce new ideas into our little brains inside our flesh suits that help us look at the world in different ways, that help us embrace different perspectives.
Liz Moorehead:We learn from each other. We don't grow if we just continue to eat the same stuff that we're consuming every single day. So it infuriates me to my core that you're saying that there's no value in your people sitting down and learning from some of the best minds in the world even if they only hear one line that sticks with them. Think about what George was talking about. You are quoting a keynote from 2,012.
Liz Moorehead:That is 12 years ago. I remember Malcolm Gladwell's came out keynote that changed my life.
George B. Thomas:Oh, yeah.
Liz Moorehead:I was there when Simon Sinek did his I'd never seen the start with Y Talk. That was my first time seeing it on a main stage at inbound.
George B. Thomas:Listen. Listen. Liz, I had a religious moment when it was Spike Lee. I'm just I'm just saying it, like, anyway.
Liz Moorehead:But, like, that's that's me on my soapbox. How dare you, any of you say that to put your people in front of some of the smartest minds in the world and to get bigger ideas about what's possible in this world? I mean, guys, also, come on. These are what? Like, 10, under 10 main stage speakers that we're talking about here, and there are 100 of all of those tactical quick win sessions.
Liz Moorehead:100. George is doing one of them. Guys, come on. Lended inspiration for inspiration sake just to expand our minds and revise what we believe is possible in this world. How is that a negative?
Liz Moorehead:I don't get it. Anyway, done with my soapbox. I'm putting my mic back on the stand.
George B. Thomas:Nice. Nice. Well played. Well played.
Liz Moorehead:Thank you. Oh, yay. Thank you, Devin. Devin.
George B. Thomas:Oh, yeah. We should we should just do, like, the there we go. Okay. So in
Liz Moorehead:case you're wondering
Devyn Bellamy:that was beautiful. Thank you. That was that was, a poem to my rants.
Liz Moorehead:Aw. But I love your rants. They're so angry and very close.
Devyn Bellamy:Oh, no. I stand by my rant hostility.
George B. Thomas:I'm just
Devyn Bellamy:commenting on the beauty of your soliloquy.
Liz Moorehead:Yeah. So, Devin, I wanna stick with you here for a moment. As business owner owners, agency leaders, and quite frankly, inbounders of all stripes, look ahead to inbound 24. What do you want them to remember about the big point about this event and what it's all about?
Devyn Bellamy:There is a hilarious amount of knowledge in a venue with like minded individuals. That was true the 1st year I've gone, and it's been true ever since. It's it's fun. It's great. It's Disneyland for marketers 1 week a year.
Devyn Bellamy:But at the same time, every time I have participated in inbound, I have come away better than I had before, especially as a customer, especially as an executive. Inbound had more of an impact on me before I started working at HubSpot than after because now I have to work inbound. I can't do all the fun things that I used to do because I have a sign up
Liz Moorehead:sheet Sucker.
Devyn Bellamy:On. Right. But the point is is that our ethos, at at, HubSpot is helping people grow better. Inbound will make you grow better, as long as you're not just going there and showing up and drinking and hanging out. Inbound works if you work it.
Devyn Bellamy:There is so much opportunity to grow professionally and personally there and to deny someone the opportunity, simply because you have a bias against the your personal perception of, the impact that celebrity can have. You can kiss my grits, and also re hell, inbox me. I'll talk to you directly 1 on 1 about why inbound is the only conference that I have never missed and why anytime I started a new job, I baked into my hiring contract that they would be flying me out to inbound every year.
Liz Moorehead:Bring us home. Help us land the plane. What do you want folks to walk away from this conversation today remembering? Because we've we've covered a lot of ground.
George B. Thomas:Yeah. Well, first of all, I'm not ready to answer that yet.
Liz Moorehead:Okay. I don't have any other questions.
George B. Thomas:Because because there's a big there's a big gaping hole. I'll I'll answer that in a minute. I'll answer that in a minute. There's a big gaping hole that has to be, mentioned here. Is this gonna be the 1st year since 2012 or 2011 that Brian Halligan is not gonna be on the main stage?
George B. Thomas:I do not see him anywhere interviewing anybody.
Liz Moorehead:I do
George B. Thomas:not see him as part of the spotlight. I do not see him listed anywhere as being part of inbound. And to me
Devyn Bellamy:I thought I saw his name on the flyer.
George B. Thomas:To to me, I don't I don't see it. I don't see it. And maybe it's coming. Maybe it's coming. That would be good.
George B. Thomas:Because if we've reached a place in space and I know Homeboy's busy. Don't get me wrong. I know he's doing things and shaking and baking. But if we've reached a point where Brian Halligan is no longer part of inbound, I gotta be honest with you. I'm a little sad.
George B. Thomas:I'm a little sad, and I just need to share that I see that right now that's a void. So we'll see. We'll see. Alright. So now I'll answer your question, Liz.
George B. Thomas:Now But
Liz Moorehead:what if he's being interviewed by Vin Diesel and they just haven't announced it yet?
George B. Thomas:That's my That would be the best.
Liz Moorehead:That's my
Devyn Bellamy:I'm looking at the flyer. His name's on it. He's gonna have something to do. Well It goes Andy Petrie, Ari Murray, Barbara Peng, Brian Halligan.
George B. Thomas:Okay. So Okay.
Devyn Bellamy:My card has resumed.
George B. Thomas:Okay. Me me too. Because I'm I'm, like, sitting here looking at the website just being, like, pseudo sad of, like, interesting. Like
Liz Moorehead:Yeah. Okay.
Devyn Bellamy:Alright. That just means it's more time for him to hang out with me. That's all.
George B. Thomas:Yeah. They hey. I'll hang out with Brian any day of the week because it's awesome and fun. I'll never forget the Westin, lobby sitting on a couch. Remington Bragg Begg, Brian Halligan, me, Doug Davidoff, and we're like, yep.
George B. Thomas:This is happening. Let's let's have fun. Alright. So here's what I wanna kinda end this with because, again, I'm sorta weird, but I pay attention to the micros of things, and and I I love to connect dots. So here we go.
George B. Thomas:If you think about the release and what's happening right now, You have Ryan Reynolds giving maximum effort is the title of this thing. Ladies and gentlemen, I'll ask you to think about what would happen in your life if you were focused on giving maximum effort in your business, in your relationships, in yourself? How would you be able to impact the world if you were giving maximum effort? The next one is from CenterCourt to Venture Capital, meaning a method to the madness, a road that you must travel, a way to make yourself greater than you already were when you were great. This is Serena Williams.
George B. Thomas:And I ask you, do you have a road that you're traveling down to take you from who you are now to who you will be in the future? Because that's really important for us to not be stagnant and just be in one place. If you think about the next one they've released, it's Cara, and it's recoding the future. Ladies and gentlemen, every now and then, we gotta upgrade our software. We have to reprogram and recode ourselves to understand the world around us and who we're supposed to be inside of it.
George B. Thomas:If you think about the next one, now we're talking about Josh and dream to reality. You know how many humans I've met that are afraid to dream? You know how many humans don't think that their dreams can come reality and so they get stuck in places that they shouldn't be? Like, look at these titles. Look at what people are talking about.
George B. Thomas:Global market. Yes. We're in a global market, and we do need to grow. Like, there's just so many micro pieces to even how we're naming the things and the humans that we're bringing in to talk about them then I really hope that everybody starts to understand that, yes, you will have the individual breakout sessions for your tactical stuff, but this is a road map to a mindset, core beliefs, and things that you must believe about self, your business, and the universe to become greater than you are when you first enter Boston for inbound 2024. And I can't wait for people to hit my email, not with the hate mail, but with the emails of how inbound 2024 changed their lives because they actually took time to go to the keynote sessions.
Liz Moorehead:Devin called me a poet, but after that, I'm an illiterate cotton candy grape because damn.
Devyn Bellamy:Cotton candy grapes are awesome.
Liz Moorehead:But illiterate but illiterate, and you eat them. They're not gonna write a for you, though. They're not gonna write a blog for you, son. Certainly not a sonnet.
Devyn Bellamy:Walking away.
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