Shailesh Hegde is the CEO of <a href= "https://www.hubilo.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Hubilo</a>, a Bangalore-based webinar software company that initially started during COVID as virtual events tech and raised $150M in VC funding before the market shifted. Originally joining as head of product, he stepped into the CEO role during a chaotic downturn and led the company through a full strategic reset after returning all the remaining capital to investors. When the virtual events boom collapsed, Shailesh and the team rebuilt Hubilo into a mid-market webinar platform serving B2B marketing teams. They shifted from large in-person event organizers to marketers running frequent webinars, emphasizing differentiated AI-driven content repurposing. Hubilo stabilized revenue, rebuilt its GTM motion, and reached a 50/50 split between new webinar revenue and legacy customers. Earlier this year, Hubilo was acquired by BrandLive, a U.S. enterprise video platform seeking a complementary webinar product. About 80% of Hubilo's team moved over, and Shailesh now leads product integration and customer continuity during the transition. He shares hard lessons on pivots, returning capital, leading through uncertainty, and executing a practical exit when the original VC-scale vision is no longer realistic. Key Takeaways <ul> <li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Refounder Mindset – Shailesh stepped into the CEO role and reframed the mission from hypergrowth to survival, focus, and a practical exit.</li> <li dir="ltr" role="presentation">New ICP Reality – Moving from event organizers to B2B marketers required a complete repositioning and GTM rebuild that took longer than expected.</li> <li dir="ltr" role="presentation">AI as Differentiator – Hubilo used AI-generated content and repurposing tools to stand out in a crowded webinar category with entrenched incumbents.</li> <li dir="ltr" role="presentation">Practical GTM – LinkedIn thought leadership, SEO content, and product-led demos outperformed outbound or expensive Google ads in this competitive space.</li> <li>Strategic Fit Wins – BrandLive acquired Hubilo for complementary capabilities, product acceleration, and access to a strong India-based engineering team.</li> </ul> Quote from Shailesh Hegde, CEO of Hubilo "Now that I just sold our company, I'm thinking about what's next for me. It comes down to, Will I be able to find a viable problem that people are willing to pay for and will I be able to use sort of all of this experience that I have in order to solve it really well and kick off a company off the ground? "Now is probably the best time to start a company where there's so much action, there's so much happening in AI, and it's super exciting to be in this space. It's also a great time to not have like revenue pressure on your shoulders and just think out loud, have open conversations and just be free, before you really dive in and choose a focus. "The same types of business pressures will come back as you start a company. But now is a great time to just help with transition, make sure the team is good, but at the same time, start thinking about the types of problems I want to solve in the future with a new startup." Links <ul> <li dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaileshhegde/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shailesh Hegde on LinkedIn</a></li> <li dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.linkedin.com/company/hubilo/?originalSubdomain=in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hubilo on LinkedIn</a></li> <li dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.hubilo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hubilo website</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.brandlive.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Brandlive website</a></li> </ul> Podcast Sponsor – Fraction This podcast is sponsored by <a href= "https://www.hirefraction.com/?utm_source=practicalfounders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fraction</a>. Fraction gives you access to senior US-based engineers and CTOs — without full-time costs or hiring risks. Get 10 to 30 hours per week from vetted and experienced US-based talent. Find your next fractional senior engineer or CTO at <a href= "https://www.hirefraction.com/?utm_source=practicalfounders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fraction.work.</a> You can start with a one-week, risk-free trial to test it out. The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the <a href= "https://practicalfounders.com/podcast">Practical Founders Podcast</a> for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/@PracticalFounders">YouTube channel</a>. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at <a href= "https://practicalfounders.com/newsletter">practicalfounders.com.</a> Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding. 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#173: From COVID Boom to Bootstrap Mode: Hubilo's Refounder Story - Shailesh Hegde

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