Caio takes us behind the scenes of building an internal CRM from scratch in two weeks, how much the company saved by dropping an expensive platform, and how he'd do it even faster today with AI. Marina asks the questions every founder would want answered before making that call.
In this episode
01 The Hook: Why Ditch HubSpot
- Marina asks point-blank: why leave a proven platform and build from scratch?
- Caio lays out the real problem: paying a fortune for features nobody used and getting stuck on the tool's limitations
- The number that opens the episode: monthly spend versus the cost of running the in-house build
- The concrete operational pain: the CRM was shaping the process, when it should be the other way around
02 Behind the Scenes of Those 2 Weeks
- What the first week looked like: mapping the real sales process before writing a single line
- The mistake that almost happened: trying to copy HubSpot instead of solving the specific operation
- Marina pushes back: isn't two weeks too short for something this critical? Caio explains the lean scope
- What made it into the MVP and what got left out on purpose
03 The Turning Point: What I Learned Along the Way
- The most expensive lesson: too many features kill an internal project, not too few
- Why talking to the sales team was worth more than any market benchmark
- Marina asks about maintenance: what happens when you need to change it? Caio answers with the advantage of owning the code
- The moment that shifted his thinking toward product vision, not just technology
04 How I'd Do It Today, Faster and Better
- AI's role today: from two weeks down to how long, in practice
- Prompt-generating tools to speed up the spec and structure work
- Marina asks for a concrete example: what AI does that used to take days
- The difference between using AI to code faster and using AI to think through the product better
05 The Math That Works: Real Savings
- The cost comparison over a year: in-house versus subscription plus add-ons
- Caio is honest about the hidden costs: maintenance, team time, risk
- When it's worth building and when it's smarter to keep paying for the off-the-shelf tool
- Marina presses the other side: who is this NOT a good idea for
06 Practical Wrap-Up
- The quick checklist for anyone thinking about building in-house before signing up for one more platform
- The question Caio asks every client before deciding build or buy
- Final takeaway: start with the process, the tool comes later
- Teaser for what's next: where AI changes the build-versus-buy game going forward