Justin JW Lee, head of Growth Chatbots & Messaging at HubSpot, joins Todd Stewart and Bob Calise to discuss his career path from the Republic of Singapore Air Force to startups and, ultimately, to Hubspot, his love of data science, and why nerds are taking over the world. You’ll learn whether or not chatbots are the future of marketing and sales, what’s driving the current chatbot craze, and why chatbots are an integral tool in your marketing stack!

Justin JW Lee’s Quick-Hit Career Timeline

Discovering Data Science

Despite being highly ranked in Judo in Southeast Asia, Justin’s shot at a professional fighting career was cut short by injuries and surgeries. While recovering, Justin took the chance to pursue his intellectual curiosities, settling on applied mathematics. He also enlisted in the Republic of Singapore Air Force, as an information specialist, where he honed his programming skills. Finally, he studied data science at Johns Hopkins University, where he could blend programming and mathematics.

Jumping Into Startups

Justin felt a connection to the world of startups through his love of technology. Attending local meetups and conferences, Justin met the editor of Poached Magazine and joined their team to write about startups. From there, he co-founded a company called GetKlarity, where he was able to apply his data science skillset to an old-school industry.

Content Marketing Paves the Way to a New Role

After GetKlarity, Justin joined a company called Oddle, where he was the growth and marketing lead. He honed his new skills in the marketing space and began to publish his knowledge online. His content caught the eye of Hubspot’s Director of Marketing for Asia Pacific, who brought him onto the team to lead marketing efforts in Southeast Asia.

Enter The Robots

A trip to a bagel shop in Shanghai (Boom Boom Bagels) opened Justin’s eyes to WeChat/WePay and the mobile payments landscape in China. While he was exploring messaging apps that included these additional layers of functionality, Justin began experimenting with chatbots as a lead-gen tool at Hubspot — a successful effort that was rolled out globally.

We cover much more in this episode, including Justin’s thoughts on the future of chatbots, artificial intelligence, how people interact with automated systems, and why bots can be such a valuable part of your marketing stack.

Connect with Justin and say hi!

• Follow Justin on Twitter
• Connect with Justin on LinkedIn
• Follow Justin on Medium