Which CRM did you choose, and what broke or surprised you after a few weeks?

Ruben R. · 2026-10-26T10:21:28.527Z

revops folks, would love your read. we're an early-stage startup choosing our first CRM, and the decision is between: 1. stick with hubspot and build the AI part in-house 2. an AI-native CRM instead, think zero or lightfield 3. the full-suite route, e.g. monaco for anyone who made this call in the last ~6 months: which did you go with, and what broke, needed rework or surprised you after the first few weeks of real use?

9 comments

· Sorted by Oldest

Brad M.
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At Reputation Boost we built a sales CRM with scripts built right into where reps worked, and it got new reps closing about 60% faster. If I were choosing a first CRM at an early-stage startup, I'd settle the pipeline stages and the handful of fields you actually need before picking a tool, since those are hard to rework later. I'd also point the AI pieces at what reps do every day, like call prep and follow-ups, rather than at reporting. Glad to share more on how we set up the scripts if it's useful.
Rutger K.
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Process is key. You want to track that. Anything that gives you insight into your ICP, buying process, objections, stage metrics, is key. AI native makes that easier, because with Hubspot that is a lot of configuration. Also if you are looking at a MAP, check out Phave. Fully AI native, will be easier than Hubspot for you.
Kshitij B.
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i'd stay on hubspot at your stage tbh. the ai native ones look great in demos but i'd check the boring stuff first like email sync, data export and whether your enrichment tools plug in. thats the stuff that would worry me, and moving off a crm later is painful
Daniel S.
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Yeah definitely stick with your HubSpot, Breeze is getting a bit smarter at being able to help setup the necessary connective tissues for early startups. Workflows, etc. Not worth switching surely.
Chalique S.
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Hubspot + n8n
Brittni A.
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I agree. Stick with HubSpot and build in house. That’s what we’re doing. Happy to chat if you want. HubSpot has also been rolling out a fair bit on agents/AI front lately post Unbound.
👍1
akostiuk
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Most replies here vote HubSpot, so one note on the "build the AI part in-house" half: the build is the quick part, the upkeep is what bites. Someone has to own the prompts, catch it when a field or an API changes, and fix things when reps stop trusting the output. What I'd do: name the 2-3 jobs first (call prep, follow-up drafts, field hygiene), and keep the AI layer outside the CRM, talking to it through the API. Then a CRM switch later doesn't mean rebuilding the agents too.
Alex C.
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HubSpot is a great CRM for your stage. The only other option you should be considering if at all would be Salesforce, but that's also not required. Do not move to anything else, you'll be running another CRM migration in 12 months.
Alex N.
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As a Salesforce alum (and someone who has a love/hate relationship with the CRM). If your company is scaling quickly and wants you to do the same, go Salesforce or HubSpot. I just went through 2 migrations in the last 3 months. Once from loose notes across Notion/ Google to Attio. Then immediately from Attio to Salesforce. AI + n8n sounds good, but akostiuk nailed it with their comment. SFDC or Hub... this is the way!

Brad M.
·
·
At Reputation Boost we built a sales CRM with scripts built right into where reps worked, and it got new reps closing about 60% faster. If I were choosing a first CRM at an early-stage startup, I'd settle the pipeline stages and the handful of fields you actually need before picking a tool, since those are hard to rework later. I'd also point the AI pieces at what reps do every day, like call prep and follow-ups, rather than at reporting. Glad to share more on how we set up the scripts if it's useful.
Rutger K.
·
·
Process is key. You want to track that. Anything that gives you insight into your ICP, buying process, objections, stage metrics, is key. AI native makes that easier, because with Hubspot that is a lot of configuration. Also if you are looking at a MAP, check out Phave. Fully AI native, will be easier than Hubspot for you.
Kshitij B.
·
·
i'd stay on hubspot at your stage tbh. the ai native ones look great in demos but i'd check the boring stuff first like email sync, data export and whether your enrichment tools plug in. thats the stuff that would worry me, and moving off a crm later is painful
Daniel S.
·
·
Yeah definitely stick with your HubSpot, Breeze is getting a bit smarter at being able to help setup the necessary connective tissues for early startups. Workflows, etc. Not worth switching surely.
Chalique S.
·
·
Hubspot + n8n
Brittni A.
·
·
I agree. Stick with HubSpot and build in house. That’s what we’re doing. Happy to chat if you want. HubSpot has also been rolling out a fair bit on agents/AI front lately post Unbound.
👍1
akostiuk
·
·
Most replies here vote HubSpot, so one note on the "build the AI part in-house" half: the build is the quick part, the upkeep is what bites. Someone has to own the prompts, catch it when a field or an API changes, and fix things when reps stop trusting the output. What I'd do: name the 2-3 jobs first (call prep, follow-up drafts, field hygiene), and keep the AI layer outside the CRM, talking to it through the API. Then a CRM switch later doesn't mean rebuilding the agents too.
Alex C.
·
·
HubSpot is a great CRM for your stage. The only other option you should be considering if at all would be Salesforce, but that's also not required. Do not move to anything else, you'll be running another CRM migration in 12 months.
Alex N.
·
·
As a Salesforce alum (and someone who has a love/hate relationship with the CRM). If your company is scaling quickly and wants you to do the same, go Salesforce or HubSpot. I just went through 2 migrations in the last 3 months. Once from loose notes across Notion/ Google to Attio. Then immediately from Attio to Salesforce. AI + n8n sounds good, but akostiuk nailed it with their comment. SFDC or Hub... this is the way!