Building an AI assistant for freelancers who forget to follow up
I’m building a small AI assistant for freelancers who forget to follow up with potential clients.
The idea is simple: instead of maintaining another spreadsheet or CRM, you can just talk to it.
For example:
“Ruchita wants a website redesign for ₹40,000. She’ll decide Friday.”
The assistant turns that conversation into a lead, remembers the follow-up, and helps write the message when it’s time.
I’m still early and testing the idea.
I’d love to hear from other freelancers and indie hackers:
How do you currently keep track of leads and follow-ups?
Spreadsheet? WhatsApp? Notes? CRM? Something else?
Any honest feedback would be really helpful.
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Ran a small team doing client work for a few years -- we used a spreadsheet.
Remembering to follow up wasn't really a problem though. I'd follow up on time and have nothing to say beyond "just checking in." The ones that closed and the approach I found success in were when I had an actual reason -- some clear value add / addressing a real client concern.
Does your product keep the objection or just the timing?
That’s a really helpful distinction. Right now we’re focused more on timing, but I’m thinking the objection/context should be part of the follow-up too. If you were using it, would you want it to remember the last objection and suggest a reason to reach back out?
Yes, but the 'reason to reach back out' needs to be meaningful. The real reasons usually came from my side (ie. we shipped something relevant). If your product generates a reason based on last objection (and not based on things that have actually changed on your end) it can just feel like a fancier follow up, but with no clear value add.
That makes sense. We’re thinking about making follow-ups context-aware rather than just sending “checking in” reminders. What you said about actual changes on either side is especially useful. Thanks — I’ll keep that in mind as we build it.
The interesting tension is that the problem is “forgetting to follow up,” while the proposed alternative is deliberately avoiding another CRM. That distinction seems central to how freelancers will perceive the product.
Exactly — that’s the distinction I’m trying to test. I don’t want freelancers to maintain another CRM or spend time updating records. The goal is that the conversation itself becomes the record, and the assistant handles the follow-up from there. Still early, so I’m trying to learn whether that feels genuinely useful or just like another tool to manage.
That’s the distinction that makes it interesting. If the conversation itself can carry the context without creating another system to maintain, that feels materially different from a lighter CRM.
I’d be interested in continuing the conversation beyond the thread. What’s the best email to reach you at?
Happy to continue the conversation here for now. I’d love to hear more about how you currently handle leads and follow-ups and what you’d want from something like this. What’s your current workflow?
I keep it pretty lightweight — mostly email, notes, and reminders rather than a formal CRM. Happy to share more, but email may be easier for this. What’s the best address to reach you at?
Thanks Aryan — appreciate it. A lightweight workflow is actually exactly what I'm exploring. You can reach me at [[email protected]]. I'd love to hear how you currently handle leads that go quiet and what tends to get missed.
Thanks! I’ve just sent it over.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts whenever you have a chance.