HubSpot co-founder: the app layer isn't dead and solo software startups have never been easier
a16z · x · 2026-11-11
a16z podcast with HubSpot co-founder/CTO Dharmesh Shah, who has shipped software for 30 years without a single direct report. His latest one-person product uSpot (a CRM for solopreneurs) charged from day one and became his most successful launch. Key takes: run the "yet" test to avoid ideas AI labs will flatten; stay off the labs' "Yellow Brick Road"; models are becoming infrastructure and "ChatGPT is the new OS"; 60% of SMBs still don't use a CRM.
Related event: HubSpot CTO on a16z Podcast: The App Layer Isn't Dead(2 posts)→
More from AGI Musings
- "Only jobs left will be at AI labs and HFT firms," jokes ex-Tower Research quant — abhishekcode42 · 2026-11-11
- Linguist Najoung Kim warns commercial AI providers could monopolize independent scientific progress — najoungkim · 2026-11-11
- Najoung Kim: fixes for AI ideation homogenization may be priced out of academics' reach — najoungkim · 2026-11-11
- Najoung Kim warns AI dependence in ideation may cause 'convergence to above median' research — najoungkim · 2026-11-11
- Najoung Kim: not doubting AI's creative ideas, but fearing human deskilling — najoungkim · 2026-11-11
- Najoung Kim: AI-only ideation isn't great yet, but may soon beat the median human idea — najoungkim · 2026-11-11