"The public guys are giving better terms, " said Brian Halligan, chief executive of Cambridge, Mass.

WSJ: New Money Ventures to Silicon Valley

Six years ago, while working as a venture capitalist, Brian Halligan saw that the typical playbook for sales was broken.

FORBES: HubSpot Nabs $35 Million To Revolutionize Marketing

"The public guys are giving better terms, " said Brian Halligan, chief executive of Silicon Valley marketing software startup HubSpot Inc.

WSJ: New Money Ventures to Silicon Valley