Podcast Summary

Unemployable with Jeff Dudan (Homefront Brands)

Episode: How GoHighLevel Became the #1 CRM for Agencies | CEO & Co-Founder Shaun Clark Explains (#234)
Guest: Shaun Clark, CEO & Co-Founder, GoHighLevel
Date: December 9, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

In this episode, host Jeff Dudan dives deep with Shaun Clark—the “incredibly ingenious” co-founder and CEO of GoHighLevel—to explore how GoHighLevel became the leading CRM for marketing agencies and “saaspreneurs.” The discussion covers the importance of building around community, GoHighLevel’s innovative go-to-market strategy, its unique business model and pricing, and the impact of AI on software development and business outcomes. The episode is rich with entrepreneurial insight, practical advice, and candid reflections on partnership, growth, and product evolution.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Building Around the Customer Community ([01:12]-[03:32])

• Shaun emphasizes the critical role of building for, with, and around an expert user base—specifically marketers—who know exactly what they want:
  • “Instead of us trying to figure out what they needed or wanted, they already knew all of that. And so all we had to do was sit back and listen… our community is our secret sauce.” (Shaun, [01:12]-[03:32])
• Community members aren’t just customers, but active collaborators and peers. This collaboration has driven product refinement and innovation.

2. Key Pivot: Serving Agencies, Not Small Businesses Directly ([03:44]-[05:43])

• GoHighLevel’s pivotal insight came after failing to retain small business users—too time-strapped to implement new tech.
• A cold call from a marketing agency unlocked the idea: serve the experts who serve small businesses.
  • “If you really want to help the small business, you need to help the people helping the small business. That for us was the big aha.” (Shaun, [04:35])

3. GoHighLevel vs. Salesforce & HubSpot ([06:32]-[09:03])

• Whereas Salesforce went enterprise and HubSpot followed, GoHighLevel focused intentionally on the “S” and “M” in SMB.
• Unique to GoHighLevel:
  • Unified toolset—a “one app” approach to cut down reliance on multiple point solutions.
  • Simple, flat, unlimited pricing (“no per-seat, per-user nonsense”).
  • An expert-centric go-to-market strategy; agencies fully implement and maintain the platform for clients.
• “Our products are not anything you haven’t seen before… what makes us innovative is we have a lot of them up in one app… pound for pound we probably have more features than anybody else.” (Shaun, [07:19])

4. The Power of Done-for-You Implementation ([12:23]-[14:11])

• Agencies onboard clients with pre-built assets: templates, funnels, follow-up sequences, and more—so businesses don’t start from scratch.
• “It’s the nurture where the money gets lost… If you don’t have that entire process of nurturing automated to get me down the next step, I’m just going to move on.” (Shaun, [13:00])

5. Integrations & Open Ecosystem ([14:11]-[15:20])

• GoHighLevel integrates with “hundreds” of platforms, offers an open API, and connects to major automation tools (Zapier, n8n, etc.).
• “We’re not trying to say, ‘Throw out your existing system.’… Whatever it is you need from us that you don’t have today, you can plus one.” (Shaun, [14:17])

6. No Sales Team, No Complicated Math ([15:20]-[17:59])

• “We don’t actually have a sales team… If we do a great job building a great tool, we don’t have a problem with them trying to use it. They’re going to want to use a great product.” (Shaun, [15:50])
• The business relies on the natural advocacy of agencies and customers—no paid promoters, only users who believe in and profit from the product.

7. Turning Customer Input into Product Direction ([18:25]-[19:39])

• Though it started organically, GoHighLevel’s feature roadmap is now rigorously data-driven:
  • An “ideas board” where customers vote on features.
  • Product managers build from the top-voted requests down.
  • Regular live town halls and deep Facebook group engagement.

8. Innovating Customer Support: The “Zoom Lobby” Model ([19:44]-[22:21])

• All support is handled live via Zoom rooms, inspired by Apple and Verizon’s check-in experience.
• Customers wait in a virtual lobby with others—often solving each other’s issues or even forming business partnerships.
  • “Magic happens… I’ve seen business partnerships come out of those interactions.” (Shaun, [21:25])

9. Talent Pipeline Through Community ([24:56]-[25:49])

• Many team members are recruited directly from the user community, bringing deep, organic product understanding and motivation.

10. Lessons from Prior Entrepreneurial Experiences ([25:49]-[33:27])

• Shaun describes moving from an early, long partnership (AnswerConnect) to solo founder (Invoice Sherpa, “really bad idea”), and finally to a team model (GoHighLevel) with clear upfront agreements for partnerships:
  • “Tell them how they’re going to get out when they hate you and want to be done… just write it up to begin with so everybody’s happy or at least knows how they’re going to get out.” (Shaun, [29:36])

11. Growth, Scale & Internationalization ([34:26]-[39:46])

• Scale: Over 3 million businesses, larger than HubSpot by user count, “second only to Salesforce.” (Shaun, [34:40])
• Global Spread: GoHighLevel is used in many countries—expanding by learning from local users and beginning to establish regional teams for nuance and compliance.

12. The AI Revolution in Context ([39:46]-[49:50])

• AI is “infused in everything we do,” but always as part of a business outcome—not as “pie in the sky” tech.
  • Example: AI voice agents handle missed calls, book appointments, significantly boost conversion rates.
• The market is in a “big fuzz”—eventually, AI will be utility-scale, part of every solution, and will drive down costs across the board.
  • “If you’re using AI to create outcomes, you’re going to do awesome. But if you’re trying to compete with an LLM or something, good luck.” (Shaun, [47:07])

13. Entrepreneurial Advice & Final Thoughts ([55:16]-[56:45])

• If forced to start from scratch, Shaun would “go out and help local businesses get more customers,” focusing on direct, results-driven services.
• Takeaway advice: “Start today. Don’t wait… the sooner you remove the excuses of ‘I need this or that,’ the better.” (Shaun, [56:06])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On community as a product driver:

  • “Our community is our secret sauce.” (Shaun Clark, [03:22])

• On the importance of pivoting to serve agencies:

  • “You need to help the people helping the small business.” (Shaun Clark, [04:35])

• Explaining GoHighLevel’s value prop:

  • “We help our customers go from seven apps to one app. We also do not have per seat, per contact pricing or any of this nonsense.” (Shaun Clark, [07:33])

• On business model simplicity:

  • “Simple math. And you have simple math.” (Jeff Dudan, [15:47])
  • “We don’t actually have a sales team.” (Shaun Clark, [15:50])

• On handling partnerships:

  • “Tell them how they’re going to get out when they hate you… just write it up to begin with so everybody’s happy.” (Shaun Clark, [29:36])

• On AI as a means, not an end:

  • “We don’t sell AI… AI is infused in everything we do, but we focus on business impact.” (Shaun Clark, [39:54])

• Advising entrepreneurs:

  • “Start today. Don’t wait.” (Shaun Clark, [56:06])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:12] Embracing user community in company building
• [03:44] GoHighLevel’s pivot from small business to agency focus
• [07:19] Differentiating GoHighLevel from Salesforce and HubSpot
• [12:23] Done-for-you assets for agencies and clients
• [14:17] Open integrations and ease of adding GoHighLevel
• [15:50] No sales team, reliance on advocates and simple business model
• [18:25] Product development driven by customer-voted ideas
• [19:54] Innovating support with Zoom lobbies and peer troubleshooting
• [24:56] Recruiting talent from user community
• [29:36] Lessons from partnerships; importance of upfront agreements
• [34:40] GoHighLevel’s global scale and market position
• [39:54] The role and application of AI in GoHighLevel’s products
• [55:16] Shaun’s hypothetical “next business” and advice to entrepreneurs
• [56:06] Key life lesson: “Start today. Don’t wait.”

Episode Takeaways

• GoHighLevel’s explosive adoption is built not merely on features, but on community collaboration, laser focus on agencies, radically simple pricing, and outcomes over tools.
• Shaun Clark’s experience from partnership failures and solo business ownership informs GoHighLevel’s open, clear partnership agreements and strong customer alliances.
• The future of business tools is all-in-one, integration-friendly, and increasingly AI-enabled—but always focused on tangible business results, not just technology for technology’s sake.
• Don’t wait for perfection—start with what you have, and improve through feedback and real-world experience.

For more insight:

• Explore GoHighLevel’s offerings, user demos, and agency collaborations on their YouTube channel.

Memorable closing advice:

“Start today. Don’t wait. The sooner you remove the excuses, the better off you’re going to do because you’re going to get there sooner.”
— Shaun Clark ([56:06])