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Why We’re Building a CRM Without the CRM Baggage

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Jenna Marks

Jul 7, 2025

Summary

CRMs were built for a version of sales that no longer exists: static, repetitive, manager-driven. Today’s sales workflows are async, fast-moving, and human. In this piece, I share why Hexa doesn’t look or feel like a traditional CRM — and why we believe that’s exactly what modern teams need.

Summary

CRMs were built for a version of sales that no longer exists: static, repetitive, manager-driven. Today’s sales workflows are async, fast-moving, and human. In this piece, I share why Hexa doesn’t look or feel like a traditional CRM — and why we believe that’s exactly what modern teams need.

The assumption we started with

When we started building Hexa, we weren’t just trying to “make CRM better.” We were trying to question whether CRM, as it exists today, even makes sense anymore.

Why? Because most of the reps we talked to didn’t really use their CRM. They updated it. They tolerated it. They didn’t trust it.

So the question became:
What would a sales platform look like if it was built for the rep first — not the dashboard?

Why CRMs became broken

Legacy CRMs were never really designed for the rep — they were built for management. They serve reporting, not reality. They’re full of:

  • Static fields that reps don’t update

  • Deal stages that mean different things to different people

  • Notes that no one reads

  • Pipelines that feel like spreadsheets with prettier fonts

And worst of all, they’re passive. They wait for you to do something — update, log, remember. That’s not how reps work. Reps move fast. Reps need tools that think with them, not behind them.

What we’re doing differently

Hexa is built with one idea at its core: context over control.

We don’t want to control reps. We want to capture what actually happened — and turn it into structure that helps them move forward. That’s why:

  • Every call summary is auto-generated and tagged

  • Follow-ups draft themselves from conversation

  • Deal rooms act like shared spaces, not just static records

  • Nudges come based on signal, not timers

  • Managers get clarity without asking for updates

We want the system to serve the rep — and report to the team.

What’s next

We’re not stopping at AI summaries. We’re building toward a CRM that disappears into the workflow: one that knows when to speak up, when to stay out of the way, and when to remind you what matters.

Hexa isn’t trying to be Salesforce with a nicer skin. It’s trying to be the tool that makes sales feel like sales again.

Final Thought

CRMs shouldn't just capture data — they should create leverage. If your CRM isn’t helping you sell, it’s helping you stall.

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