Brian Balfour
Founder/CEO @ Reforge, Advisor @ Long Journey Ventures, Previously VP Growth @ HubSpot
About
Growth, Customer Acquisition, Marketing, Product Management, Social Networking, Social Gaming, Game Mechanics, Online Communities, Startups, Entrepreneurship,
Work Experience
Founder/CEO at Reforge
May 2016 - Present (10y 6m)
Reforge is a platform for AI-native product teams. We've unlocked the performance of 100K+ top professionals from Meta, HubSpot, Canva, Atlassian, Microsoft, Dropbox, New York Times, and more. ↳ Started Reforge in 2016 to encode knowledge from the world's top operators. ↳ Grew the company to $30M+ ARR ↳ Co-creator of Product Growth, Retention + Engagement, Growth Strategy, Product Strategy, AI Foundations and AI Strategy courses. ↳ Leading company evolution into a platform for AI-native product teams starting with Reforge Insights
VP Growth, Sales Product Division at HubSpot
Jan 2014 - Mar 2016 (2y 2m)
Working with an amazing team, we helped take HubSpot from a single product to a multi-product company and establish a product-led growth motion. ↳ Established the product growth function. We blend consumer marketing tactics, engineering, product, and data to drive rapid growth of engaged users. ↳ Led growth of new products such as the HubSpot CRM and HubSpot Sales Hub growing to hundreds of thousands of users.
Co-Founder, CMO at Boundless Learning
Apr 2011 - Sep 2012 (1y 5m)
* Lead user acquisition, customer development, and product teams * Established company's initial direct to consumer marketing strategy including targeted online and offline campaigns * Established and executed ongoing customer development efforts * Raised approx $10M in VC funding
Founder, VP of Growth at Viximo Inc.
Aug 2007 - Feb 2011 (3y 6m)
***Acquired by Tapjoy*** Viximo is one of the largest social game distribution companies working with premium social game developers and international social networks. I co-founded Viximo with Sean Lindsay in Fall of 2007. During my time at Viximo I held multiple executive roles taking on new challenges as the company grew. * Raised over $10M in funding from North Bridge Venture Partners and Sigma Partners * Steered company through pivot to successful product/market fit * Established Viximo's social gaming distribution business signing deals with major distribution sites including IMVU, Tuenti, VZnet, Bebo, MyYearBook, and major social game developers including LOLapps, Casual Collective, Game Insight, Playrix, and more. * Developed Viximo's initial direct to consumer strategy on platforms such as VZnet, growing to over 100K DAU's in under 2 months * Directed company's B2B marketing strategy
