
Ask HN: For your startup, do you use a CRM? - tixocloud
I&#x27;m doing research on CRMs and am interested in what are some of the major problems with CRMs that startups use.<p>Seems like there are a million CRMs out there so I&#x27;m curious about the pros and cons of each one.<p>Hoping to get a great discussion and insight.
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patio11
I really like Close.io; everything less-technical sales reps/etc need from a
CRM (principally it plays _really_ well with Gmail so even if they don't live
in the app your business can pretend that they do) plus a really powerful API
for integrating deep into your app/email toolchain/Slack channel/etc.

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tixocloud
Thanks for your thought. Any downsides you see with using Close.io?

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pjh
Nope, no CRM here at Beeminder.com

We support our 4,500 active users with a combination of a shared gmail support
account, admin screens on the core web app, and a tiny globally distributed
team.

One day that won't be sufficient, but it's seen us through the first five
years.

Our original intention was to automate some of the standard interactions, that
we would just manually process the transactional emails 'for a while'. But
funny thing is, the human interaction has proved to be a critical and valued
part of our service. We’re pretty sure those actual humans will always be part
of the service Beeminder provides.

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tixocloud
Wow. That's a great story that you can support that many users without the
need for a CRM.

Would you care sharing what are some of the key functions that the combination
of a shared gmail support account and admin screens that made your team so
effective?

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rcavezza
Hubspot CRM seems like a no-brainer for small startups. 100% free and you get
their GMail chrome extension that allows email open and click-rate tracking.

I've heard a lot of good things too. It was discussed the The Steli and Hiten
podcast. Steli thinks Hubspot went and took certain features that people like
from various CRMS when they built this CRM. Seems solid.

I'm using it by default since I use their Gmail chrome extension. I think each
time you send an email using the email tracking, that contact is automatically
created in the CRM. So it should be able to track each email I've ever sent to
each person as long as I had the tracking on.

[https://www.hubspot.com/products/crm](https://www.hubspot.com/products/crm)

(edited to add link)

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tixocloud
That sounds like a really handy feature.

On the flipside, any reason why you think Hubspot CRM isn't a good tool for
small startups? Is there anything that you don't like about it or that it
can't do?

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dreeves
Here are my notes on possibilities, for if we ever actually get a CRM:

1\. HelpScout -- [http://helpscout.net](http://helpscout.net) \-- Seems nice

2\. SupportBee -- [http://supportbee.com](http://supportbee.com) \-- Almost
want it for the name alone but we got an anti-recommendation from a friend at
Gratipay

3\. BeSnappy -- [http://besnappy.com](http://besnappy.com) \-- Possibly
recommended by patio11 but then I heard they shut down?

4\. Intercom -- [http://intercom.io](http://intercom.io) \-- Recommended by
Matt at HookFeed

5\. FreshDesk -- [http://freshdesk.com](http://freshdesk.com) \--
Recommendation from friend at Gratipay

6\. Front -- [https://frontapp.com/](https://frontapp.com/) \-- Lots of
funding and big names behind it; Patrick Collison recommened it now too
(coupon code for 3 months free: startuppack)

7\. FogBugz -- [http://blog.fogcreek.com/fog-creeks-email-
workflow/](http://blog.fogcreek.com/fog-creeks-email-workflow/) \-- Blog post
by Fog Creek about what they do

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tixocloud
Thanks. What would make you actually think about getting a CRM in the first
place?

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david_bonilla
Here you have another alternative: Pipedrive
[https://www.pipedrive.com](https://www.pipedrive.com)

It's easy to use, it has tons of integrations and it's cheap. About why you
should use a CRM, for example, to classify different leads.

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tixocloud
Thanks. The product DOES look simple and easy to use.

What are some of the things that you don't like about Pipedrive or that it
can't do?

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forgotmysn
streak.com is the way to go. integrates right into gmail.

