SMBs, AI, and the Future of Accessible Innovation
When Brian Halligan, the CoFounder of HubSpot, Jason M. Lemkin,Rory O’Driscoll, and Harry Stebbings get together, the insights flow fast. Their recent conversation touched on one of the most important tensions in tech today: how to build AI-powered products for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs).
SMBs as “Anti-Consensus” Bets
As Brian shared, focusing on SMBs was deeply counter-consensus in Silicon Valley. At the time, investors and Founders alike dismissed SMBs as “too small,” “too fragmented,” and “too hard to serve.” Yet companies like HubSpot, Shopify, Monday.com, and others proved that the anti-consensus path can create tens of billions in enterprise value.
The lesson? Great companies often come from serving the overlooked. Where others see risk, bold Founders see opportunity.
Why AI for SMBs Feels Different
But here’s the rub: as Jason Lemkin pointed out, many AI products require training, customization, and ongoing orchestration, something SMBs just can’t dedicate resources to. Unlike enterprises with full AI teams, most SMBs are run by owners juggling payroll, customers, and survival. They don’t have time to “train the AI.”
That’s why today’s AI landscape feels polarized:
- Prosumer tools like Canva, Gamma, and Replit thrive with intuitive, lightweight adoption.
- Enterprise deployments like Palantir work with deep customization and teams.
- The middle ground, AI for SMBs, is still unsolved.
Cracking the Code: Pre-Trained, Pre-Packaged, Plug-and-Play
Rory O’Driscoll offered a hopeful take: SMBs eventually adopt what enterprises already define, but only once it’s packaged tightly and priced simply. Think phone-answering AIs, order dispatch bots, or pre-trained customer service agents. The SMB version can’t require a year-long rollout; it has to work in minutes, not months.
That’s the opportunity: whoever can deliver AI “value without the overhead” will win the SMB market.
My Take: Why SMB AI Matters More Than Ever
I couldn’t agree more. The small business owner is the backbone of the economy, but they’ve long been underserved by technology. AI offers them leverage they’ve never had before, if it’s delivered right.
The winning formula will be:
- Pre-trained AI agents that come “out of the box” ready to work.
- Consumer-grade simplicity (think: no manuals).
- Affordable, modular pricing so SMBs can adopt incrementally.
- Immediate ROI in hours saved and customers served.
This isn’t just a market opportunity, it’s our mission. The same way HubSpot pioneered inbound marketing for SMBs, the next wave of innovation will pioneer agentic AI for SMBs. And history tells us: betting on SMBs is still the best “anti-consensus” move you can make.
– Felicite Moorman