What does it take to disrupt an industry dominated by giants like Salesforce and HubSpot? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, Natalie sits down with Adam Honig, founder and CEO of Spiro, to talk about his journey from building one of the largest Salesforce consulting firms to launching an AI-powered CRM that redefines how companies engage with customers. Adam shares how focusing on the manufacturing vertical transformed Spiro’s trajectory, why provocative positioning (“the anti-CRM”) works, and what leadership lessons he’s carried from scaling services businesses to SaaS.

Takeaways:

• Industry focus unlocks traction. Narrowing your ICP can feel risky, but it drives clarity in both product and marketing.
• Positioning matters. A bold stance, like “the anti-CRM,” creates differentiation even in crowded markets.
• Meet users where they are. Reducing behavior change and automating processes helps adoption stick.
• Transitioning from services to SaaS requires a complete mindset shift. Recurring revenue and lean teams demand new approaches.
• Leadership is shaped by empathy. Having done the work yourself helps you guide teams with understanding, not micromanagement.
• Don’t take it personally. Early leadership often feels high-stakes, but learning to step back makes you more effective.
• Risk is everywhere; building your own company can be as secure, if not more, than working for someone else.

Quote of the Show:

• “ We really leaned into the needs of our ICP, and that made us much richer in terms of the value we were able to provide. Of course, that meant for other sectors, we were less valuable, so it naturally pushed us down that path of being very industry-focused—and it served us well.”

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamhonig/ 
• Website: https://spiro.ai/ 
• Email: [email protected] 

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2D1YbT2QhKxIwbREpU7EMb 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shift-thrive-ceo-insights-on-driving-change/id1740828813 
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/fa60b654-1955-4055-93df-fdd40c2a5c8f/shift-thrive-ceo-insights-on-driving-change 
• iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-shift-thrive-ceo-insights-166792501 
• Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/shift-and-thrive-ceo-insights-on-driving-change/PC:1001086797  

This show is sponsored by Magnetude Consulting, bringing you the thinking-Power of a Growth Consultancy and the Getting-It-Done Power of a full-service B2B Marketing Agency. 

Learn more at: https://www.magnetudeconsulting.com