652 - Building a Top 3% HubSpot Partner Through Vertical Focus and Culture-First Leadership with Gemma Price

Why you should listen

1. Gemma shares how she turned a £7 million stack of paper inquiries into a thriving HubSpot consultancy—proof that seeing inefficiency others ignore can become your biggest opportunity.
2. Understand why narrowing your focus during uncertainty can accelerate growth faster than diversifying.
3. Discover how building a culture focused on psychological safety helped HubGem become one of the world's happiest workplaces—and why that's their competitive advantage against bigger agencies.

How do you compete with bigger agencies when you can't match their salaries? In this episode, I sit down with Gemma Price, founder of HubGem, who built a 20-person HubSpot consultancy focused exclusively on the education sector. Gemma shares the moment she discovered millions of pounds worth of leads sitting in a colleague's bottom drawer on paper, and how that frustration sparked her entrepreneurial journey. We dive into why she resisted the urge to diversify during COVID, the change management principles that make tech adoption actually stick, and how prioritizing human connection over perks created a culture that retains talent. Plus, Gemma's take on where AI meets CRM and why the future belongs to those who don't sacrifice humanity for efficiency.

Key Highlights

• The Ferrari Analogy: Having incredible technology means nothing if no one knows where the garage is, or how to start the engine. Adoption starts with understanding humans, not features.
• 80 Blog Posts in One Month: When COVID quieted client work, Gemma doubled down on content. That library became the engine that attracted inbound leads when the world reopened.
• "You Just Get Us": The consistent feedback that validated staying vertical—clients valued not having to explain their business, which no generalist agency could replicate.
• Connecting ChatGPT to HubSpot: One text prompt now delivers deep insights across company data in minutes. The evolution from "I use it for social posts" to genuine business intelligence.
• Two AI Responses: When you mention AI to education clients, you get defensiveness or "I use ChatGPT." Both are valid starting points—psychology matters more than the technology.

About Gemma Price

Gemma Price is an entrepreneur and award-winning CEO recognised for building one of the world’s happiest workplaces. She scaled HubGem to become a Top 3% global HubSpot partner by vertically specialising in education and leading with a culture-first approach.

Gemma helps founders harness AI, experience the power of intuitive psychology coaching, and embrace human-centred leadership to build scalable businesses without the burnout.

Resources and Links

• Hubgem.co.uk 
• Gemma's LinkedIn profile
• 642 - Stop Being a Platform Expert - Why Business Growth Advisors Win in the AI Era with Sarah McDevitt
• Why Culture Is the Real Competitive Advantage in the AI Era
• Previous episode: 651 - Platform-Agnostic Consulting: Why SaaS Partners Are Making the Switch to AI with Leandra Nisbet
• Check out more episodes of the Paul Higgins Podcast
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @PaulHigginsMentoring
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• Suggested resources

Gemma offers transformational 1:1 and group Intuitive Psychology Coaching and also consults with leaders on building happier workplaces. Learn more about the different ways you can work with Gemma at Intuitive.co.