I built an AI assistant so I didn't have to hire a salesperson
I hate following up.
There, I said it.
I've been in sales for over a decade, and the part I dread the most isn't the cold calling or the pitching – it's the grind of manual follow-ups. The "just checking in" emails. The spreadsheets tracking who replied and who didn't. The guilt of letting warm leads go cold because I got busy delivering actual work.
When I started my own small business last year, I promised myself things would be different.
Spoiler: They weren't.
3 months in, I was spending 15+ hours a week on follow-ups that led nowhere. My pipeline was full of "maybe later" and "not right now" – and I had no system to nurture them.
So I did what any sleep-deprived founder would do: I built a bot to do my job for me.
🤖 Meet My Lead Assistant Ai
I built a simple AI tool that:
· Captures leads from multiple sources
· Sends personalized follow-ups automatically
· Learns what works and adjusts over time
· Never forgets to follow up (because bots don't get busy)
I called it My Lead Assistant Ai, and honestly? I built it for myself first.
But then something unexpected happened.
Friends started asking to use it. Then strangers. Then a guy from a SaaS company in Texas emailed me at 2am asking if he could pay for access.
That's when I realized: I'm not the only one who hates following up.
📊 Where we're at today
We launched quietly 4 weeks ago. No marketing. No ads. Just me sharing what I was building in a few online communities.
The numbers (completely honest):
· Users: 23 active (mostly friends and early beta testers)
· Leads processed: 340+ through the system
· Revenue: $0 (still free while we iron out bugs)
· Hours saved for me personally: ~40 (conservative estimate)
It's tiny. Microscopic, even. But here's what excites me: people are actually using it.
One user (a freelance web designer) told me last week: "I've gotten 3 clients from leads I would have forgotten about. This thing paid for itself in the first week."
He's not even paying yet. But that feedback? That's worth more than any MRR number right now.
🧠 What I've learned so far
1. Build for yourself first
The best feedback I've gotten came from scratching my own itch. When I built features I wanted, users liked them. When I built what I thought users wanted, they collected digital dust.
2. "Just checking in" doesn't work
Generic follow-ups get ignored. AI-generated personalized follow-ups? People actually reply. Who knew.
3. Small businesses need this
Big companies have CRMs and sales ops teams. Small businesses have... a notebook and good intentions. There's a real gap here.
🤔 What I'm struggling with
Distribution.
I'm a builder, not a marketer. I can code features in my sleep, but asking people to try my tool? That keeps me awake at night.
I know Indie Hackers values genuine conversations, not spammy "check out my startup" posts. So I'm trying to do this right:
· Share what I'm learning (the good and the embarrassing)
· Answer questions about lead gen and AI when I actually have something useful to say
· Only mention My Lead Assistant Ai when it's relevant
But honestly? I could use some advice.
For those of you who've grown B2B SaaS products:
· How did you get your first 50 paying users?
· What channels actually worked for you?
· Any distribution hacks that don't feel icky?
I'm all ears. And if you're curious about the AI follow-up thing, happy to show you what I've built. Just don't ask me to send you a "just checking in" email. I'm officially retired from that.
TL;DR: Built an AI lead assistant because I hate follow-ups. 23 users, $0 revenue, learning in public. Ask me anything or tell me why I'm wrong.
