How we built our AI-native CRM system

Yesterday at a Samaipata portfolio session, I witnessed something that reinforces my perspective on AI, again. A fellow founder showcased an internal portal he built in just 2 weeks (and 1,000 prompts) that saves his company $50K annually by replacing multiple SaaS tools. Clock-in/out systems, absence calendars, CRM enrichment, custom satisfaction scoring, sales deck personalization, financial reporting - all in one custom web app with enterprise-grade SSO and audit trails. But here's what really got me: it wasn't about the money. "I can now have a truly customized solution that fits my unique context," he said. The prospecting and customer health scoring features were unlike anything I've seen in off-the-shelf tools. What would have taken an 18-week development squad was delivered by one CEO with dev experience, product mindset, and determination. I found myself thinking "this is impossible" - looking for flaws, shortcuts, compromises. But the demo was solid. Enterprise-grade execution. The scary part? Zapier, Factorial, HubSpot, Calendly - all replaced with one single prompt each. This raises the big question: where's the limit? Who's next? Any SaaS solution? Even ourselves? We're moving from "build DocuSign in a lovable prompt" to "build lovable builder itself." Three new mantras emerged for me: 1️⃣ Velocity is the new MOAT - react faster than your customers can build alternatives 2️⃣ Customization at scale - no more one-size-fits-all solutions 3️⃣ Strategy over weekend builds - define ROI and ownership costs clearly We're entering a golden age for product-minded professionals. Knowing what and how to build has never been more critical. The race has started. Two weeks in the old world feels like two years now. Thanks to the Hive community for turning my FOFO into genuine excitement about what we're all building 🚀

𝗣𝗟𝗚 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀: If you are paying $𝟴𝟬𝟬 a month for 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘆, you might be paying too much. Here's how to avoid that cost. Cut the middleman and rebuilt the pipe on our own stack. 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵 → 𝗻𝟴𝗻 → 𝗛𝘂𝗯𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁. Real time, secure, and cheaper. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 • Removed the Clay connection • Disabled Clay enrichment and old webhook endpoints • Built two n8n workflows on client side infra • Moved enrichment to HubSpot Breeze AI 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 • Workflow 1: user.created from the auth platform creates the contact in HubSpot if missing and sets the initial last_login • Workflow 2: session.created updates last_login on the existing contact and feeds HubSpot’s login count workflow 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 • Contacts created and updated in real time • Fewer hops and fewer failure points • Clay cost and complexity eliminated • Clean product usage signals land in the CRM where GTM teams work 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 • Live in production with parity to the old setup • Monitoring Breeze AI credit usage with HubSpot to lower the enrichment bill further Own the pipe. Spend money on growth, not 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙡𝙪𝙚.

Automated GTM systems sound easy. But only the best know how to build and lead them. Most teams see a new tool and think, “Plug it in, hit send, scale up.” But world-class GTM isn’t stacking tools and hoping for the best. It’s about orchestration. According to Patrick Spychalski, a true GTM Engineer is a rare hybrid : → Deep technical skills (APIs, data flows, integrations) → Strategic GTM sense (ICP, messaging, positioning) → Knows the WHY behind every workflow, not just the HOW → Actually owns $$$ results, not just build workflows Anyone can buy software. Few can build an automated GTM engine that does more than push data around. Here’s what separates the best: • They know the full stack: Clay, HubSpot, n8n, Common Room, Airtable, you name it • They design systems that route the right signals to the right people at the right time • They connect product, marketing, sales, and CS so nothing gets lost • They go deeper than “native” integrations — custom, flexible, creative • They see the whole game, not just the next play The best GTM Engineers are like orchestra conductors: → Each tool is an instrument → Each workflow is a section → The business outcome is the music __ If you want to level up: → Get hands-on with integrations → Study the workflows behind real revenue →→→ Learn the WHY, not just the buttons __ Want the full episode breakdown? Replay it below. Link in comments ↓↓↓

One year ago, I wrote “The Death of SaaS” which became my most popular content online, ever. Revisiting my claims today: 1) Companies would begin to replace SaaS tools with Agentic AI workflows 2) Cost of writing code would decline sharply 3) SaaS companies would underperform the market 🤔 Claim 1 Verdict: Plausible (early days) As you might expect, the specific tools have changed, but the direction was correct. Given the stakes and opportunity, I hope to see platforms that make it easier to transition to knowledge graph based architectures. 📈 Claim 2 Verdict: Confirmed (off the scales) I was right, but not right enough. The question is now: when will we see other agent skills beyond coding? ✅ Claim 3 Verdict: Confirmed (ongoing) Everyone has to keep fighting for their existence for now. If a company like Salesforce ends up in the winner’s column, it’s certainly not by selling form-based CRM software. SaaS is dead! Long live SaaS! Full analysis here: https://lnkd.in/gYwMJZsG #saas #aiagents #agi #stocks

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐮𝐛𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞. 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 🔴 And your CEO is asking why lead routing stopped working… at the worst possible time. I’ve seen this scenario dozens of times across industries. The real issue? It’s usually not HubSpot itself. It’s how the system was built. After building 100+ custom HubSpot integrations, here’s what I’ve learned: → Workflows fail when they’re built for today, not tomorrow → Complex automations need fallback logic to handle API limits → Custom properties should follow naming conventions from day one → Integration errors multiply when systems don’t sync bidirectionally Last month, we helped a SaaS company rescue their broken lead routing. The fix wasn’t more workflows it was smarter architecture, better error handling, and restructured custom objects. The best HubSpot admins aren’t just tool users they’re system architects thinking three steps ahead. What’s the most frustrating HubSpot challenge you’ve faced as an admin? Drop it in the comments below 👇 let’s solve it together. #HubSpot #HubSpotAdmin #MarketingAutomation

🔧 Engineering Predictable Growth with HubSpot Unpredictable revenue isn’t a data problem — it’s an alignment problem. Most organizations still operate in silos: Marketing chases MQLs. Sales pursues quotas. Customer Success fights churn. Meanwhile, growth slows, forecasts miss, and decision-making becomes guesswork. Enter Revenue Operations (RevOps) — the operating system for scalable growth. It’s not another tech stack or new department. It’s a unified revenue architecture that aligns people, process, data, and technology under one intelligent framework. In Strativera’s latest article, discover how to: ✅ Transition from fragmented GTM to unified RevOps ✅ Implement the four pillars of RevOps excellence ✅ Use HubSpot as the foundation for automation and data integrity ✅ Achieve 22% faster funnel velocity and 15% OPEX reduction (real results!) 📊 Predictable growth isn’t a slogan — it’s a system. Read the full blueprint here → https://lnkd.in/esAqz-RZ #RevOps #HubSpot #RevenueOperations #B2BStrategy #PredictableGrowth #Strativera

Most SaaS onboarding problems aren’t caused by bad tools. They’re caused by manual handoffs between tools. Example: • Sales closes a deal in HubSpot • Ops copies data into Airtable • Someone else triggers a Zapier flow manually Multiply that by 50 clients and things break fast. Automations can fix this — but only when you define one clear source of truth and automate from there. Tools are easy. Clarity is hard. Fix the process before you fix the tech. #SaaS #Automation #NoCode #Zapier #Airtable #ClientOnboarding

"No one notices the janitor — until the automation breaks." 🧹 Your CallRail → HubSpot → CasePeer integration has been running flawlessly for 6 months. Leads flow automatically. Follow-ups trigger on schedule. Case data syncs perfectly. Everyone's happy. No one thinks about it. Then one day, a Zapier connection breaks. Lead data starts scattering like confetti. Your intake team is manually entering everything again. Suddenly everyone's asking "Wait, how did this used to work?" That's when you realize: Good automation is invisible until it's not. The best systems we build at OptiVis are the ones you forget exist: 📞 CallRail calls → automatically logged with source attribution 🎯 HubSpot workflows → trigger follow-ups without human intervention ⚖️ CasePeer entries → populate from intake data seamlessly 🤖 Jetson AI nodes → monitor everything and alert when something breaks When your team stops asking "How do we do this?" and starts asking "Wait, this used to be manual?" — that's when you know your automation is working. The goal isn't to impress people with fancy tech. The goal is to make the complex feel effortless. Until it breaks. Then everyone suddenly appreciates the janitor. What's one workflow in your firm that runs so smoothly you've forgotten it used to be manual? 📨 info@optivis.dev | 🌐 www.optivis.dev | 📞 (713) 487-9382 #LegalTech #ProcessAutomation #LawFirmSystems #Zapier #CallRail #CasePeer #Clio #Lawmatics #OperationalExcellence #OptiVis

3 Essential Automations Every SaaS Founder Must Implement Now to Drive Scalable Growth In the fast-paced SaaS landscape, manual processes become your biggest bottleneck. Automations are no longer optional they’re foundational for efficiency, customer satisfaction, and sustainable revenue growth. Here are the three game-changing automations every SaaS founder should put in place immediately: *Seamless Customer Onboarding Automate welcome sequences, product tours, and educational drip emails to ensure customers achieve value quickly reducing churn and boosting lifetime value. *Data-Driven Lead Scoring & Nurturing Implement intelligent automation that prioritizes high-potential leads based on behavior signals, delivering highly personalized content that converts prospects into paying customers faster. *Transparent Billing & Subscription Management Automate invoicing, renewal reminders, and payment reconciliation to maintain cash flow consistency and reduce administrative overhead freeing your team to focus on growth. These automations are the backbone of a SaaS business that scales smartly and sustainably. Which of these have you implemented or is next on your roadmap? Let’s discuss how automation transformed your SaaS journey. #SaaSFounders #Automation #GrowthStrategy #SaaSScale #StartupLeadership

Here’s a hard truth: Most SaaS lifecycle teams are still “email-only marketers.” But the customer journey doesn’t live in inboxes. It lives inside your product. Customer io’s Custom Objects + multi-step in-app messaging fix this. ✔️ You can model “companies,” “teams,” “usage tiers.” ✔️ Trigger nudges when those objects change. ✔️ Escalate: in-app → email → SMS. Example: usage at 80% of plan. Don’t wait for renewal. Show an in-app upgrade prompt now. That’s lifecycle orchestration. And the SaaS brands doing it are pulling ahead. 👉 Be honest: are you still “email-only,” or are you orchestrating the entire lifecycle?