Why HubSpot’s Co-Founder Is Betting Against the SaaSpocalypse

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

November 10, 2026

Duration

59m

Channel

a16z

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

As frontier AI labs expand into applications, where should startups build? a16z Partner Joe Schmidt joins HubSpot co-founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah to explore why the software opportunity is growing, and how founders can stay off the “Yellow Brick Road” the labs are racing down. Drawing on HubSpot’s evolution, Dharmesh explains why founders should start with a narrow market, learn quickly, and solve the whole customer problem. They discuss where application companies can build lasting value as models become infrastructure: workflows, customer context, and the systems where work happens. They also explore HubSpot’s AI experiments, the rise of one-person businesses, and why cheaper software creation could unlock markets that previously couldn’t support a software company. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:47 The Best Time Ever to Be a Builder 6:46 How to Actually Pick a Startup Idea 10:32 From LegalSpot to HubSpot: The SMB Bet 14:40 The 60% That Weren't Using a CRM 20:29 Building an Ecosystem Developers Trust 23:33 Staying Off the Yellow Brick Road 27:23 Why Models Are Becoming Infrastructure 31:49 ChatGPT Is the New OS 37:04 Rethinking HubSpot's Primitives for AI 40:44 Replaying 20 Years of Code With AI 43:47 HubSpot Next and the Birth of uSpot 46:38 A Startup Within a Startup 49:43 The Rise of the One-Person Company 53:07 AI Is Still Just Software 56:06 Lightning Round Resources: Follow Dharmesh Shah on X: https://x.com/dharmesh Follow Joe Schmidt on X: https://x.com/joeschmidtiv Read Joe’s essay, “Avoiding Death on the Yellow Brick Road”: https://a16z.com/avoiding-death-on-the-yellow-brick-road/ Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Dharmesh Shah

  guest

  Co-founder and CTO of HubSpot, long-time commercial software builder focused on SaaS and AI-driven product strategy.

• Joe Schmidt

  host

  a16z podcast host and Andreessen Horowitz investor who interviews founders and operators about technology and business strategy.

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of a16z, featuring Dharmesh Shah and Joe Schmidt, Why HubSpot’s Co-Founder Is Betting Against the SaaSpocalypse explores AI is the new OS, but software opportunities keep expanding Dharmesh Shah describes the current AI moment as “best of times, worst of times,” emphasizing that it’s the most fun he’s had building software because AI enables higher abstraction and faster iteration.

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