👋 Hey,
Welcome to another fresh release. Small in size, big in honesty.
Quick update on the wins: I launched a curated AI tools directory, shipped a Medium piece on 10 under-the-radar AI tools, and just dropped a new article on Claude Fable 5 — Anthropic's new top model, free until June 22 (worth reading before that window closes).
But the real story this week?
I sent 34 cold emails to prospects. 12 bounced. Zero replied. Not even a "no thanks."
That's the kind of thing I'll be sharing here — not just the polished wins, but what actually happened. Some weeks it'll be progress; some weeks it'll be lessons. This one is a lesson. I’ll change this into a win, just a few steps away
Let's get into this build.
🛠️ Build of the Month — A Sponsor Intake System (yours to steal)
For my directory, I needed a way to handle inbound sponsor leads without manually replying every time. So I built a Google Apps Script that:
Creates a Google Form for "Get Featured" applications
Auto-replies with a rate card the moment someone submits
Drops the lead into a tracked pipeline sheet
Pings me with the details
It runs from a single Google Sheet. Setup takes ~5 minutes. Total cost: $0.
The full script is here on GitHub.
What I learned building it: Apps Script triggers are the unlock. Most people use Apps Script as a one-off — but the moment you add a onFormSubmit trigger, your sheet quietly becomes a tiny app. That's the whole idea behind my consulting work, really.
⚡ 3 tools I'm testing right now
I've been running a live prospect-finding workflow this week — these three are doing the real work:
1. Apollo.io — company + contact discovery. The free tier is stingy on email reveals now (good luck), but it's still the fastest way to find a real Marketing or Founder name. Use it for the names, then…
2. Hunter.io — domain → verified emails. Free 25/month. The Chrome extension is the killer feature: visit any tool's website, click, and see all emails for that domain. Way faster than Apollo for small batches.
3. NeverBounce — email verification. Drop your list in, get back only the valid ones. This is the one I wish I'd used before sending those 34 emails. Free tier covers 1,000 verifications/month, which is plenty.
Working on a full write-up of this stack once I've actually got it humming.
💡 Tip you can use this week — a 15-line Apps Script
If you keep anything in a Google Sheet (sales pipeline, signups, content calendar), drop this snippet in, and you'll get a daily email summary of new rows added in the last 24 hours:
function dailyDigest() {
const sh = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheetByName('Leads');
const data = sh.getDataRange().getValues();
const since = new Date();
since.setDate(since.getDate() - 1);
const fresh = data.slice(1).filter(r => r[0] instanceof Date && r[0] > since);
if (!fresh.length) return;
const body = fresh.map(r => r.join(' · ')).join('\n');
MailApp.sendEmail(Session.getActiveUser().getEmail(),
`Daily digest — ${fresh.length} new`, body);
}
Set it on a daily trigger (Apps Script → Triggers → Add Trigger → Time-driven → Day timer). You'll never miss what came in overnight again.
(Change 'Leads' to your sheet's tab name, and make sure column A is a date.)
❓ One question I'm chewing on
For cold outreach to small AI startups — does a Founder DM on LinkedIn actually beat a verified marketing email?
My gut says yes (more personal, harder to ignore), but I haven't tested it properly yet. If you've done partnership or sponsorship outreach to SaaS companies, hit reply and tell me what's worked for you.
Genuinely — I read everyone.
📰 In case you missed it
📂 Directory: AI Automation Tools — fresh AI tools for SMBs, updated monthly.
📝 Last week: Forget ChatGPT — 10 Under-the-Radar AI Tools Doing the Real Work in 2026
That's it for this issue. Reply if anything caught your eye — the inbox stays open.
— Dilip ❤️ Love from India
p.s. Some links in future issues will be affiliate links. I only recommend tools I actually use — and you'll always know which is which.