How Clarify is reinventing CRM for the AI Era with Patrick Thompson

In this conversation, Stacey Epstein interviews Patrick Thompson, co-founder and co-CEO of Clarify, a company focused on revolutionizing CRM through AI. They discuss the evolution of CRM, the challenges faced by sales teams, and how Clarify aims to simplify and enhance the sales process. Patrick shares insights on the importance of a unified platform that integrates sales and marketing functions, the role of AI in automating administrative tasks, and the future of go-to-market strategies in the SaaS landscape.

Transcript

Stacey Epstein:
Today on our show, I'm excited to have Patrick Thompson, co-founder and co-CEO of a company called Clarify. Now, for those of you who worked with me at Clarify back in the '90s — this is not the same one! But as you put it, Patrick, you're bringing Clarify back.

Patrick Thompson:
That's right — and thanks for having me. We’re building an effective, autonomous CRM that helps sales and marketing teams keep their customer data up to date using AI. So yes, we’re reviving the name — but with a very modern twist.

Stacey:
Well, maybe "legendary" is a stretch — not everyone remembers the original Clarify! But it was one of the early CRM companies, even before the term CRM or the cloud existed. I'm excited to have you here. Let’s start by helping listeners get to know you. Tell us a bit about your background — you’ve done some really interesting things.

Patrick:
Definitely. I started in marketing doing conversion optimization and analytics, then moved into product design and management. I worked at EMC, then joined Atlassian where I was part of the growth team, building systems to drive virality and customer engagement. Later, I founded a CDP company that was acquired by Amplitude in 2021. I spent the last few years there before starting Clarify in early 2024. We’re now a team of 21, venture-funded, and it’s been a wild 15-month ride.

Stacey:
Even just your time at Atlassian is impressive. That company helped define product-led growth. And Amplitude too. It’s always great to talk to someone who understands what it's like to be a marketer, especially at a time like this when everything is changing fast. You mentioned legacy cloud companies struggling to keep up — Salesforce comes to mind — while younger AI-first companies are starting to rise. So let’s get to it: are you out to replace Salesforce?

Patrick:
We’re aiming to be the next generation. Every decade, a new CRM leader emerges — Act, Siebel, Salesforce, HubSpot. It's been over a decade since we’ve seen the next one. That’s where we see Clarify fitting in: AI-native, focused on simplicity, and designed to automate workflows from the start. Many incumbents are trying to bolt on AI, but we built our data model and primitives from the ground up with AI in mind.

Stacey:
Don’t forget Freshworks — I worked there too! They took a different angle on CRM, starting from customer support. How do you define CRM? Some say it’s just sales and marketing. Others include customer success and service. Where do you draw the line?

Patrick:
We see CRM as the unified platform for all go-to-market functions. Right now we’re focused on the active sales side, but we’re expanding to pre-sales and post-sales. The issue most companies face is too many tools — Outreach for outbound, Gainsight for post-sales, Salesforce in the middle, and a CDP on top to stitch it all together. Clarify consolidates that: one platform for all customer data, structured and time-series. In a way, it’s CDP + CRM in one.

Stacey:
That’s helpful. Are you focused on building the full platform from the start? Or will others build on top of you, like the Salesforce AppExchange model?

Patrick:
We're building Clarify as a platform. Eventually, we want others to build and integrate with us. But in the near term, we’re focused on the active sales user — making their workflow more productive, less manual. Then we'll expand to marketing automation, support, and success. It's all about reducing the friction and making CRM something people want to use.

Stacey:
I recently saw a post on LinkedIn from a CRO who was shocked by how little time their sales team actually spent selling — something like 15%, with the rest on admin work. Is that what you’re solving?

Patrick:
Exactly. Even Salesforce’s own data shows that 72% of reps’ time is spent on non-selling activities. We want to flip that. Instead of replacing reps, AI gives them superpowers: better support for more accounts, higher quota capacity, and less admin. Most reps use Salesforce only when managers demand it. Clarify aims to be something reps actually love to use because it just works — it runs in the background and does the heavy lifting for them.

Stacey:
So walk me through a typical day. What’s life like for a sales rep using Clarify?

Patrick:
We’ve built an ambient AI agent that supports reps throughout the day. It starts with a meeting brief — who you’re meeting with, what it’s about, recent emails, call history, research on the person — all in one place. During the call, we record, transcribe, summarize, and automatically create tasks with due dates. We detect when deals should be created, update fields as they evolve, and offer next-best-action nudges to keep deals moving forward. We even help with follow-ups — a huge pain point.

Stacey:
That’s so much more than admin automation. You’re giving reps the kind of research, prep, and follow-up support that only the best reps normally do — and you’re doing it for everyone.

Patrick:
Exactly. We’re giving everyone access to that “top rep” playbook by automating what makes them great.

Stacey:
Let’s shift to marketing. What features are especially useful for marketers?

Patrick:
We have built-in list segmentation with natural language filters. You can say, “Find all companies we talked to in the last 30 days who didn’t convert,” or “All CMOs at Series B+ companies in Seattle,” and get a segment instantly. It’s all built into the CRM. We also support intent data and third-party event streams like website visits — so marketers can build powerful audiences without needing a separate CDP.

Stacey:
It’s amazing how much of what used to require a rev ops team and multiple tools you’re folding into one platform.

Patrick:
Totally. At Atlassian, we built an internal behavioral audience segmentation system — a kind of homegrown CDP. It was one of our biggest growth levers. We're bringing that same concept to Clarify, building it into the foundation.

Stacey:
What kind of companies are you targeting right now?

Patrick:
Primarily early-stage B2B SaaS companies and some venture funds. The product is generalized enough for SMBs too, but our focus is where we have the most expertise — B2B SaaS.

Stacey:
Last question: where is this all going? What’s your vision?

Patrick:
The best marketers and sellers will be those who learn how to leverage AI tools to be more productive, more personalized, and more strategic. Just like engineering has embraced new tech to improve, go-to-market teams are next. Our goal at Clarify is to consolidate the fragmented stack and deliver that kind of capability in one platform. We’re still early, but that’s where we’re headed.

Stacey:
Amazing. I can’t wait to see how it evolves. How can people learn more or get in touch?

Patrick:
You can visit us at clarified.ai or find me on LinkedIn — Patrick Thompson.

Stacey:
Thanks, Patrick. And thanks to everyone for listening. Don’t forget to follow us so you never miss an episode!