The latest articles on DEV Community by Client Radar (@frienzey). https://dev.to/frienzey 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%2F4133346%2Fa284c54f-5f0e-4e08-a2a7-c313159f580b.png https://dev.to/frienzey en Client Radar Sat, 19 Sep 2026 20:11:17 +0000 https://dev.to/frienzey/i-built-a-buying-intent-radar-that-watches-reddit-and-hacker-news-for-my-buyers-59h6 https://dev.to/frienzey/i-built-a-buying-intent-radar-that-watches-reddit-and-hacker-news-for-my-buyers-59h6 <p>Every lead-gen tool I tried was either $99/month or a black box I couldn't inspect. So I built the opposite: a small radar that watches the exact phrases my buyers type when they want what I sell — and pings me before a competitor sees the thread.</p> <p>It's called Client Radar. Here's how it works and how it's built.</p> <h2> What it does </h2> <p>You enter buyer phrases — "looking for a logo designer", "need a video editor", "recommend a bookkeeper". Every 30 minutes it scans Reddit and Hacker News for new mentions, scores each one 0-10 on buying intent with a written rationale, and drafts an outreach reply for anything scoring 7+. The digest lands in your inbox; you reply like a human.</p> <h2> How it's built </h2> <p>Python + Flask, SQLite, single-tenant by design. Each buyer deploys their own private copy — Render's free tier works, about 5 minutes. Your keywords, your data, nobody else's.</p> <p>The trick that makes one-time pricing possible: the buyer brings their own LLM key for the intent scoring. No API bills on my side means no subscription on theirs — $49/$99/$199 by keyword limit, done.</p> <h2> The honest part </h2> <p>It's a radar, not a money printer. You still have to reply like a human, and keyword quality in = quality out. Reddit rate limits mean 30-minute polling, not real-time. It finds buyers; it doesn't close them.</p> <h2> Links </h2> <p>Repo is public: <a href="https://github.com/frienzey/client-radar" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/frienzey/client-radar</a><br> Packaged version: <a href="https://frienzey.gumroad.com/l/radar-scanner" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://frienzey.gumroad.com/l/radar-scanner</a></p> <p>Brutal feedback welcome — especially on the scoring. What would make you trust a 7+ enough to reply within the hour?</p> showdev opensource productivity freelance