Dharmesh Shah

Founder and CTO at HubSpot. Helping millions grow better.

Career startup guy.

Author of the book &quot;Inbound Marketing&quot; (http://InboundBook.com)

Specialties: Entrepreneurship, Software Development, internet marketing,SEO

Founder and CTO

Founder of HubSpot, a venture-backed software startup.  HubSpot offers the industry's first inbound marketing system for small businesses.  The software is available as a hosted service (SaaS).

"Why should companies pay for SaaS (HR/CRM/ERP/etc.) when they could just vibe code them?"

I get variations of this question or comment with some regularity (granted, it's sometimes just me talking to myself). 

Here are some biased (but hopefully, well-considered) thoughts:

1) I am a big proponent and user of vibe coding (what I call "agentic coding"). I do it every day, 7 days a week, including Sundays. It's amazing.

2) My company, HubSpot is a software company. We have hundreds of professional engineers -- just about all of them use AI for product development too. They are brilliant and know how to build production-grade products.

3) Even with this powerful army of talent, the number of internal, core SaaS applications that we have replaced with a vibe-coded variant is exactly ZERO. The number of applications we plan to replace is also exactly ZERO. 

4) It's not the absence of talent that keeps us from rolling our own SaaS apps, it's the presence of focus. It would be silly to try and replace our HR, team collaboration, expense tracking and 100+ other SaaS apps we use when we can just buy them. Just doesn't make sense.

5) That's us -- as a software company at some scale. If you're a non-software company it makes even less sense for you. Doesn't matter how good the AI coding tools get. Let's say you *could* vibe code a replacement for that SaaS app you're using, who's going to maintain it? Who's going to keep up with industry trends? What are you going to do when the 20-something genius that vibe coded it over a weekend leaves the company?  Who do you call when there's a major bug? 

6) If you're a Fortune 500 company at some scale, perhaps you could pull this off for some discrete use cases and the tradeoffs are worth it. You have an IT/Engineering department that is larger than the population of some countries.  You can take on the pain in return for the positives.

For the millions of others, my advice is:

Spend every calorie possible on creating value for your customers.

Never spend more time debating the priority of a product improvement than it would take to actually go ahead and do it. 

Small improvements add-up and they're morale boosters for both customers and the team.

In the early times at HubSpot we had something called "daily delights". Basically, every day, the product team would *ship* at least ONE small improvement to the product that was noticeable by customers (and hopefully delight a few of them).

We're bringing a variation of that idea back whereby we find and fix those minor annoyances in the HubSpot product and drive some customer delight. I'm thrilled. 

Sometimes companies have a tendency to overthink things and undervalue the compounding value of seemingly inconsequential improvements.

BREAKING:  OpenAI launches GPT 5.2 and boy is it smart.

I got immediate value out of it.

I was struggling with getting Codex CLI to work through a tricky coding (actually deployment) issue I was running into.  I was going back and forth with the coding agent for almost a dozen rounds -- to no avail.

Was even desperate enough to try Claude Code with Opus 4.5.  No luck.

Then, saw the news about GPT 5.2.  Switched to it.  It took a couple of more rounds of prompting -- but it solved the issue.

Look forward to digging in more tonight with a late-night coding session for a major overhaul of one of my popular agents. 

Thank you OpenAI!

I build a lot of AI agents for myself, which I increasingly also share with others. 

I don't build AI agents to make people unnecessary.

I build them to make people unstoppable.

The latest McKinsey State of AI 2025 report just dropped and I'll cautiously say it's pretty good. (Cautiously, because I'm a bit leery of reports from big management consulting companies -- they're often very mega-enterprise focused and I'm a startup/SMB guy.)

Some quick takes and insights:

1. Most companies are still “AI-curious,” not “AI-capable.”

Eighty-eight percent are using AI somewhere, but two-thirds are still stuck in pilot mode. Translation: lots of glitter, not much gold.

2. AI agents are the new interns.

Sixty-two percent of organizations are experimenting with agents, but only 10 percent have them doing real work at scale. Early days—but the ones that figure it out first will have an army of tireless digital doers.

3. High performers think beyond cost-cutting.

The top six percent of companies don’t just use AI to save money—they use it to reinvent workflows and drive innovation. They’re not trimming fat; they’re growing new muscle.

My advice:
Experiment and play with AI. That's how you learn.
But don't stop there.
Lean in and truly leverage it.
Even if it's for small, discrete tasks.

The next frontier isn’t “using AI.”
 It’s working with AI.

At HubSpot we're investing in helping millions of SMBs make this transition -- just like we've done in the past. Everything from our featured agents like Customer Agent and Prospecting Agent all the way down to simple, task-oriented agents on Agent.ai.  

We're not interested in high-falutin', performative AI.  We focus on the practical: What can AI actually *do* for you?

What's the difference between a company's mission and vision?

Here's how I think about it...

A mission states who the company is, what it is pursuing and why.  It's describes what is (hopefully) happening *today*.

A vision describes where the company is going, what direction it's moving and where it aspires to be in the *future*.

For example, HubSpot's mission is to "help millions grow better". So, everything we do can be connected back to that mission. The products we build, the underlying platform it uses, our partner ecosystem, HubSpot Academy, our free tools, Agent.ai, our INBOUND conference...everything. It's all in service of that core mission of helping millions grow better. 

So, what's our VISION? Candidly, we're currently iterating on it. With the advent of AI, we think we can be more aspirational and set a higher bar in terms of what we can accomplish.

Kim Wheatley Mentoring & Coaching

I passed with Honours the Mentors Guild to become a professional mentor to compliment my coaching

Mentors Guild Approved

Danbrias Business Coaching 

Business Coach and Mentor 

Asentiv Worldwide

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺:- Many business owners say they have no time, yet they want more business, a double edged sword?

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:- Or is it?  With the right clients who value you, your time, your worth, your skills and attributes it can be achieved. This is what I help my clients with.

𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘆:-
I come away with knowledge and goals every time.  I recently actioned one of the points and this secured a £70k project that we have now started.
Martyn Guest
Ivel Group

Kim has helped me regain focus in my life and my business. He has enabled me to "work smarter" towards my goals, I cannot thank him enough.
Jack Longman
Director at Longman Media Co. Limited

Kim is no ordinary business coach, he is a mentor
Mike Allison
Director at Mayflower Ltd

Kim is obviously an expert in his field.
Sam Neame
CEO & Founder at Sam Neame Consulting

Kim is brilliant and really helping me in my business. I got to the point where I needed something more to help me push to the next level 
Mark Holmes
Director at MAH Builders (Essex) Ltd

Super nice guy, really helping me with structuring our business relationships.
Rich Brassett
Long Live King Ltd

I cannot thank Kim enough for his help and guidance and look forward to what the future brings for my Company, myself and my family.
Mark Ellett
MD at Powerlec Electrical and Testing Ltd

Kim makes you learn doing the small tasks everyday he helps to create huge outcomes with your clients.
Ricky Shah
MD at Techpoint Distribution Ltd

When I was first approached by yourself, I was a little sceptical, to be expected, having not done anything like this. I can honestly say with hand on heart, that the whole experience has been absolutely fantastic.
Nigel Leaver
Absolute Creations Limited

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱❓ Call for a chat on 07806 701156, message me here or email me at kimw@asentiv.com for something different to an average business coach.
Helping you have an amazing business and spectacular lifestyle.

Business Consulting / Mentor

Creative Art Ltd

I often have wondered over the years, why did I become a printer, of all the things I could do? After much thought I had one of those light bulb moments, I feel they don’t come often enough in life. 
However, it dawned on me, how did I not realise this years ago, the following is my logic behind my thinking.

As a young child my Dad trained and entered competitions with gundogs, Labradors. We travelled all over the country most weekends to one of these events where my Dad would display his considerable skill with his dogs, he really was very good, representing England several times. 
To become that good it took an awful lot of his time and I remember in his older years him telling me despite loving every minute of this life with the dogs his one regret was that it hadn’t left him with enough time to spend with me. My two older brothers had been given much more of his attention in there very young years as the dogs didn’t enter our lives until they were about eight. I loved my Dad enormously, sadly no longer with us, but I often sort his recognition and approval, and for me, I didn’t get it enough. I felt invisible, I wasn't being recognised for my achievements.
That’s why now I very much enjoy working with businesses and showing them off to the world in the most positive of lights, so they cannot be missed and the recognition coming from the new clients they receive and the great feedback they give me.
It fullfils me and at the same time grows their business.

READY TO TALK? ► If you would like to know how I can help your business, wherever you are in the country, message me on LinkedIn, or call 01277 211 708.

Managing Director

By providing dynamic, varied print that solves a broad range of marketing essentials, Creative Art assists businesses to promote their company in a unique, positive light, causing them to attract the clients they desire and generate amazing business for themselves and their community. Whether it be, flyers, leaflets, brochures, business cards, exhibition graphics etc we have the answer

I joined BNI the world's largest referral based network organisation in 2011. Having found it to be the best way to gain business and the most enjoyable I fully embraced it's concept.  I joined the Directors team so I could impart the knowledge I have gained on to other members and to help them to make the most of this great opportunity, to grow their business and provide more for their families and local communities.

Director Consultant

Metropolitan Police

Worked as a Police Constable on the street, then onto Licensing issues. Enjoyed a lot for a number of years, then a career change needed, due to a number of reasons and have never regretted the change!

Police Officer

Are you an SME business owner who is frustrated with the lack of quality referrals you receive from your network? 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 '𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲' 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 👉

Want to get referrals from your Network?
Want to grow your Business from your Networking?
Want to fill your calendar with qualified perfect prospects?

But struggling to:

→ Get enough quality referrals from your contacts
→ Generate a consistent flow of referrals from your Networking activity
→ To motivate people to refer you proactively
→ Penetrate your Target Market 

I have a passion for helping business owners earn more, work less and receive a consistent flow of referrals in to their perfect clients and identify business growth strategies that work and support growth of the business.
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👉𝗔 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗲:-
I love to help people, I joined the police service in 1983, unfortunately I wasn't helping people as much as I envisaged, now I help people achieve their dreams every day!

As a 14 year old boy I remember my Grandfather passing away, he lived in the same house as us, this was the first time I had lost someone. 

It was a shock, I couldn’t understand that I was never going to see him again. How was I going to get back that time with him? Eventually it sunk in, I wasn’t. I wish I had spent more time with him, hanging out, having fun, etc. 

This is the first time I realised how precious time and what you do with it is, you never get it back. Now that I am somewhat older, as all of us I have lost other important people in my life which has just reinforced my belief, we need to find as much time as possible to do the things we want to do with those important people in our lives. 

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Here’s how I can help you:
→ Identify the perfect people to introduce you to your ideal clients
→ Educate those referral partners on how they perfectly position you to solve a person or companies need
→ Show referral partners why they should actively introduce you
→ Create a golden message that generates referrals
→ Book meetings with prospects that value your time, worth and expertise
→ Consistently nurture the relationship of your introducers
 
𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱❓ Call 07806 701156, message or email me kim@kimwheatleymentoring.co.uk
I can help to create you an amazing business and spectacular lifestyle.

👉Book a 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥e𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 meeting;-
https://calendly.com/kimw-3/30-minute (just copy and paste in your browser)

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The Battle

Dharmesh Shah

Kim Wheatley

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Dharmesh Shah's LinkedIn Performance

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