INBOUND Is Dead. After 15 Years, Here's Why I'm Not Mourning.

A buddy of mine called me something years ago that I've never been able to shake. We were talking about persistence, about how the path forward doesn't always look like a straight line. And he looked at me and said, "Dude, you're a transition specialist."

I laughed at first. But the more I sat with it, the more it clicked. Being a transition specialist isn't about running from things. It's about recognizing when to step back, reassess, or redirect your energy towards something that aligns better with your purpose and your values. It's the understanding that pivoting is a form of persistence.

So when I heard that INBOUND was becoming UNBOUND? Yeah. That hit different.

The Event That Changed Everything

Let me take you back to 2012. I was sitting in a room full of marketers, and Gary Vaynerchuk was on stage at INBOUND doing what Gary V does best: setting the room on fire. I walked out of that session with my brain buzzing and my whole career trajectory about to shift.

Here's the thing you need to know about me. Before I became "the HubSpot guy," I was a lot of other guys first. Military guy. Restaurant worker. Furniture store employee. Warehouse guy, then manager, then district manager. I was a water park manager, a horse riding instructor, a camp counselor, a bouncer, a youth pastor, a designer, a developer, a video editor. And if you think that's the full list, it's not. That's just the fraction I can rattle off without running out of breath.

Nothing stuck. Not for long, anyway. If you took the mathematical probability of all the things I've done and averaged out the time I spent doing each one, it was short. Really short.

Then I found HubSpot. Then I found INBOUND.

And for the first time in my life, all of those scattered pieces started to make sense. HubSpot became this playground where I could educate others, help them grow, and be the catalyst I'd always been searching to become. My purpose had a place to flourish. The thing I talk about all the time, leaving humans better than I found them, this was literally the place where that became possible.

Twelve years. That's how long I've been "the HubSpot guy." Nothing else in my career has lasted anywhere close to that. And it's not because I got comfortable. It's because I finally got aligned.

Let Me Be Honest: This Rebrand Hit Me in Two Places at Once

My strategic brain heard “UNBOUND” and immediately got it. Growth doesn't fit inside one framework anymore. HubSpot isn't just an inbound marketing platform. It's a CRM, an AI engine, a RevOps backbone, a service hub, a commerce platform. The word “inbound” was a box that the company, the community, and the event had already outgrown.

But my heart? My heart needed a minute.

Because INBOUND isn't just a conference name to me. It's the place where I found my purpose. It's the room where I first stepped on stage in 2016 for a breakout session, and I'll be honest, I couldn't even enjoy it because I was already chasing the main stage. (I see you, fellow humans who achieve something great and immediately move the goalpost. We need to talk about that.)

It's the place where, in 2024, I spoke five times. Two late-night shows. A debate. My talk on the future of content and human-AI harmony. And an encore. I shook more hands, hugged more humans, and had more conversations that mattered than I can count.

So yeah. Hearing "UNBOUND" for the first time stirred something up. Gratitude for what INBOUND was. Excitement for what UNBOUND could be. And a little bit of that bittersweet feeling you get when something you love evolves into something bigger than what you originally fell in love with.

Why This Rebrand Actually Makes Sense

Here's where the coach in me takes over. Because when I zoom out and look at what's happening in the HubSpot ecosystem, this rebrand isn't just a name change. It's a signal.

The world that INBOUND was created for has fundamentally changed. In 2012, when I first sat in that room, “inbound marketing” was revolutionary. Create content, attract visitors, convert leads, close customers. It was a framework that changed how businesses thought about growth. And it deserved every ounce of love and loyalty that this community poured into it for fifteen years.

But growth in 2026 doesn't live inside a single framework or a single function. Today, the conversation spans marketing, sales, service, and operations across the full customer journey. AI isn't a nice-to-have anymore. It's woven into every workflow, every report, every customer interaction. Breeze agents are handling tasks that entire teams used to own. Data Hub is connecting customer intelligence across every touchpoint. The platform has become something that the word “inbound” simply can't contain anymore.

Think about it this way. If your company had outgrown its positioning, if the thing you were known for was only 20% of what you actually do now, wouldn't you rebrand? You'd have to. Staying small when you've already grown big isn't humble. It's limiting.

UNBOUND reflects that reality. It's built for modern go-to-market teams ready to become unstoppable, with connected systems, AI-driven execution, and unified teams across the entire customer experience. The name itself is a statement: we're not bound by old playbooks, old silos, or old definitions of what this community is about.

And the format changes tell the story too. The Exchanges, UNBOUND's new networking approach, brings together communities across roles, industries, and identities in one continuous experience. That's not a conference tweak. That's a philosophy shift. It's HubSpot saying, "We're not just here to teach you marketing tactics. We're here to connect you with the humans who will change how you think about growth." Through curated meetups, braindates, and shared experiences, they're building a space where connection doesn't stop when the session ends. It continues in the hallway, at dinner, and long after you fly home.

UNBOUND 2026 lands in Boston, September 16 to 18. Back where it all started. Full circle. And that's not lost on me.

What This Means for You

Here's the part where I look you in the eye and say something you probably need to hear.

If HubSpot can rebrand its most iconic event after fifteen years, you can evolve too.

I know that might sound simple. But sit with it for a second. How many of us are clinging to a title, a process, a positioning statement, or a "way we've always done it" that stopped serving us three years ago? How many of us have outgrown our own brand but are too scared to admit it because the old version is comfortable?

I spent years as “the chameleon.” I could step into any room and become what that room needed me to be. And for the longest time, I thought that was a weakness. I thought it meant I was being inauthentic, just playing a part. It wasn't until I read Michael Port's Steal the Show that I realized: I wasn't being fake. I was authentically adapting to serve the humans in front of me.

That's not a weakness. That's a superpower.

And it's the same superpower HubSpot is flexing right now. They looked at what INBOUND was, recognized it had served its purpose brilliantly, and made the bold call to evolve it into something that serves the community better.

So here's my challenge to you. Audit your own “brand names.” The labels you've given yourself, your team, your services, your processes. Are they still accurate? Do they still serve the humans you're building for? Or are they comfortable boxes you've been afraid to step out of?

I'll give you a practical starting point. Pick the one thing in your business that you've kept the same for more than three years. Your positioning statement. Your signature service name. Your internal process that everyone follows because "that's how we've always done it." Now ask yourself: does this still describe what we actually do? Does it still serve the humans we're building for? If the answer is no, that's not a crisis. That's a signal. That's your transition specialist moment.

Growth isn't about abandoning what worked. It's about building on it. INBOUND isn't gone. It's unbound.

See You in Boston

I'll be at UNBOUND 2026. Whether I'm on the stage or in the crowd, I'll be there doing what I always do: meeting humans, shaking hands, having real conversations, and geeking out about the future of HubSpot and AI. If you see me in Boston, come say hi. Seriously. I don't care if we've talked a hundred times or if it's our first handshake. That's the whole point.

Because that's what transition specialists do. We don't run from change. We lean into it. We recognize that the pivot is the persistence. And we show up, again and again, in whatever room needs us.

I've been a military guy, a bouncer, a pastor, a designer, a developer, and now the HubSpot guy for twelve years running. Every single one of those transitions felt scary at the time. Every single one of them turned out to be exactly what I needed to become who I am now. And I genuinely believe UNBOUND is going to be that same kind of moment for this community.

So if you're processing this rebrand and feeling some kind of way about it, good. That means it mattered to you. Let it matter. And then let it go.

Embrace the pivot. Show up in Boston. And let's build what's next together.

I'll see you there.

UNBOUND 2026 FAQs

What is UNBOUND 2026?

UNBOUND 2026 is HubSpot's flagship annual conference, formerly known as INBOUND. It takes place September 16 to 18, 2026 in Boston at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The rebrand reflects HubSpot's evolution beyond inbound marketing into a full platform for go-to-market teams.

Why did HubSpot change the name from INBOUND to UNBOUND?

HubSpot changed the name because growth no longer fits within a single framework. The company has expanded from an inbound marketing tool to a comprehensive CRM platform with AI, RevOps, service, and commerce capabilities. UNBOUND represents connected systems, AI-driven execution, and unified teams.

When and where is UNBOUND 2026?

UNBOUND 2026 takes place September 16 to 18, 2026 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston, Massachusetts. This marks a return to Boston, where the original INBOUND conference began in 2011.

What are The Exchanges at UNBOUND?

The Exchanges are UNBOUND's new networking approach that brings together communities across roles, industries, and identities in one continuous experience. They include curated meetups, braindates, and shared experiences designed to help attendees build lasting professional relationships.

How much do UNBOUND 2026 tickets cost?

UNBOUND 2026 General Admission tickets range from $1,199 (Tier 1) to $1,599 (Tier 3). VIP passes range from $1,699 to $1,999. Groups of 10 or more save 15% on General Admission. Full refunds are available until June 1, 2026.