The latest articles on DEV Community by Bhanu Teja (@bhanuteja_300d1716778a357). https://dev.to/bhanuteja_300d1716778a357 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4212812%2F52d0dda8-9656-4dfd-9ea3-694b931029c0.jpg https://dev.to/bhanuteja_300d1716778a357 en Bhanu Teja Wed, 28 Oct 2026 10:28:31 +0000 https://dev.to/bhanuteja_300d1716778a357/i-replaced-four-paid-sales-tools-with-one-open-source-pipeline-3mi9 https://dev.to/bhanuteja_300d1716778a357/i-replaced-four-paid-sales-tools-with-one-open-source-pipeline-3mi9 <p>I built OpenProspect because the workflow behind a small outreach campaign was scattered across too many tools. Finding a relevant business, identifying a contact, writing a useful email, and tracking the response all lived in separate places.</p> <p>OpenProspect brings that workflow into one self-hosted project. It combines business discovery, lead enrichment, AI-assisted email drafting, campaign sending, and a dashboard. The goal is to make the process easier to inspect, adapt, and run on your own infrastructure.</p> <h2> How the pipeline works </h2> <ol> <li>Discover businesses relevant to your campaign.</li> <li>Enrich the records with contact details and context.</li> <li>Draft personalized outreach using AI, then review the copy.</li> <li>Send through your own configured email account.</li> <li>Track campaign activity in the dashboard.</li> </ol> <p>The repository documents a sending cap of <strong>20 emails per hour</strong>. That limit matters: it gives you a pace to review outreach quality and avoid treating the tool as a bulk-spam engine. You are responsible for your own contact data, consent, and sending setup.</p> <h2> Why open source and self-hosted? </h2> <p>I wanted a workflow I could understand end to end. With a self-hosted setup, the configuration, prompts, and pipeline are visible. You can change how leads are qualified or how emails are written without waiting for a vendor feature. It also makes it easier to see where the system needs human review.</p> <p>OpenProspect is a practical starting point for developers and small teams who want to experiment with prospecting and outreach. It is not a promise of automatic sales. Good targeting, a useful offer, and respectful communication still matter more than automation.</p> <p>The code and setup instructions are here: <a href="https://github.com/Bhanuteja005/openprospect" rel="noopener noreferrer">OpenProspect on GitHub</a>.</p> <p>I would welcome feedback on the workflow, the developer experience, and the safeguards you would want before using a tool like this.</p> opensource showdev ai startup