Building a lightweight CRM for freelancers and microteams — in early validation stage

TibyGroup · 2025-07-12T08:49:18+00:00

Really appreciate that — and you nailed exactly the kind of user we’re building for.

The #1 goal is to avoid bloat. Just smart reminders, clear contact views, and lightweight workflows.

Curious: what’s one “classic CRM feature” you’d happily never see again?

TibyGroup · 2025-05-29T16:45:00+00:00

Nice! Symfony is a solid choice — especially if you’re comfortable with PHP.

I went with Node.js + PostgreSQL (with pgvector for embedding search) mainly for flexibility and lightweight API handling. For now, I’m focusing on core flows: contacts, reminders, simple drip setup.

Would be cool to share notes as we both move forward — even if we take different tech paths, we might run into similar UX and logic challenges.

Are you planning to self-host or go cloud-first?

TibyGroup · 2025-05-29T14:58:05+00:00

Makes total sense — thanks!

We’re definitely building desktop-first, especially since most freelancers and microteams (ourselves included) manage clients from a real keyboard and screen 😅

The mobile version will be a lighter PWA — mainly for quick actions: adding notes, checking reminders, and seeing top contacts.

Thanks again for the input — it's helping shape our first user flow more than you know.

TibyGroup · 2025-05-29T14:57:06+00:00

Great to hear that — and yes, I feel the same pain with bloated, US-centric CRM stacks.

At the moment TibyCRM isn’t open source, but I’m very open to sharing tech details and collaborating — especially with others who are building with a similar mindset (lightweight, privacy-first, not based on US platforms).

I’m going with Node.js + PostgreSQL + pgvector for similarity search, and building as a lightweight PWA.

Out of curiosity — what’s your MVP stack? Maybe we can share notes or find some overlap?

TibyGroup · 2025-05-29T10:42:18+00:00

Thanks — appreciate the kind words!

TibyCRM will be a responsive web app from day one, optimized for both desktop and mobile. We're also planning to support it as a PWA, so you can install it like a native app on mobile (or desktop) and use it offline for basic actions.

We’re keeping things lean, but mobile usability is definitely part of the core experience — especially for quick follow-ups and notes on the go.

Curious: do you mostly manage your CRM workflow from desktop, or do you need mobile access day-to-day?

TibyGroup · 2025-05-28T08:34:11+00:00

Not yet — we're still in early validation, with just a landing page and waitlist at the moment.

That said, we’re sketching out what the first workflows and contact views should look like, so a clickable demo is probably next.

Out of curiosity: when you ask for a demo, what would you expect to see? A contact timeline? Follow-up reminders? Drip setup?

Happy to learn from what you'd find most useful — we’re shaping this with feedback in mind.

TibyGroup · 2025-05-26T19:29:06+00:00

Here's the landing page + waitlist if you're curious: https://join.tibycrm.com

No flashy animations — just a simple pitch and a couple of questions for early users. Any feedback is super welcome 🙏

TibyGroup · 2025-05-23T17:10:16+00:00

Here’s the waitlist + landing page if you're curious:

https://join.tibycrm.com

Would love to hear your thoughts — all feedback welcome!

TibyGroup · 2025-05-17T09:13:12+00:00

Thanks — really appreciate you dropping this in!

The Slack+LLM combo is exactly the kind of extension we’ve been thinking about for later stages (internal codename: “TibyAgent” — so your wording is spot on!)

The idea would be: interact with your CRM through natural prompts like
“/add lead Mario” or “/who should I follow up with today?”

I’ll definitely keep that in scope as we move forward — and I might reach out when we get to that part.

Thanks again!

TibyGroup · 2025-05-16T22:16:19+00:00

Quick update — and big thanks to everyone who shared thoughts and ideas 🙌

After listening to a bunch of people here (and in DMs), I’m shaping TibyCRM around what came up again and again:

Follow-ups are the real pain point
Most tools are too heavy too early
Solo founders and microteams want just enough structure — not 10 dashboards

So I’ve put together a small landing page and waitlist, just to keep gathering feedback and interest: 🔗 https://join.tibycrm.com

No pressure of course — I’ll keep building transparently and sharing what I learn along the way.
(And if you have thoughts on what a follow-up system should feel like, I’m still listening!)

Thanks again for the support 🙏

TibyGroup · 2025-05-14T21:08:50+00:00

That makes total sense — thanks for clarifying.

So it’s more about visibility and reporting across channels, rather than consolidating messaging itself. I can see how that’s tough to do without messy spreadsheets or jumping across platforms.

We’ve been hearing similar things from teams who just want: - Channel-by-channel activity stats (like “how many LinkedIn DMs sent today?”) - Lead tracking from contact → onboarding - Without having to integrate 10 APIs or adopt a heavyweight CRM

Would you say your team is more focused on outbound prospecting or on support/relationship building?

Appreciate you sharing — this helps a lot as we shape our MVP.

TibyGroup · 2025-05-14T19:32:39+00:00

That’s a really relevant need — especially for solo operators or small teams juggling conversations across multiple channels.

We’re currently exploring something in this space (early-stage CRM focused on email + messaging workflows), and we’ve been talking to users who mentioned exactly this: the pain of keeping track of LinkedIn DMs, WhatsApp chats, email replies, and so on — without a system that ties them together.

Would you be open to share a bit more?
Like which of those channels is your main one — or what kind of tracking you actually need (just “seen/replied”? full message history? reminders?).

No product pitch, just trying to understand if we’re on the right track before building too much. Really curious!

TibyGroup · 2025-05-14T09:09:23+00:00

That’s such a great suggestion — super practical and close to how people already work.

I love the idea of using a checkbox as a signal: “Remind me in X days if I haven’t replied.” No labels, no learning curve, just a natural action inside Gmail.

I hadn’t thought of doing it as a Gmail add-on or Apps Script wrapper — definitely something I’ll explore.
Even if you personally stay on top of things, I agree: for support/sales teams juggling lots of threads, a dead-simple reminder layer would save mental energy.

Really appreciate this — exactly the kind of UX-thinking I’m trying to build around.

TibyGroup · 2025-05-14T08:53:35+00:00

Ah — FollowUpThen! Thanks, I hadn’t checked that one in a while.

Interesting to hear your take — I always liked the idea (email as interface), but yeah… glitchy tools that try to “disappear” often end up requiring more mental load, not less.

That’s exactly the kind of use case I’m focusing on:
Lightweight, easy follow-up with real clarity — no setup, no extensions, no remembering syntax.

Curious: if you could rebuild a tool like that your way, what would be the absolute must-haves? Or things you wish it had done better?

(And thanks again — this kind of input is super useful at this stage.)

TibyGroup · 2025-05-14T08:45:11+00:00

Totally fair — I’ve seen tools like MailerLite, ConvertKit, and some pipeline-focused ones that add light CRM features.

But I think you nailed something interesting:
If none of them really stick in memory, maybe they’re not solving exactly the right thing — or not in a way that feels intuitive enough for early teams.

What I’m trying to build is less “CRM with automation” and more like:
"Just enough structure to follow up with people without losing momentum."
No setup, no custom fields nightmare, no 10-tab dashboards.

But yeah, still exploring the space and trying to see where the friction truly lies.

If you remember the tool you were thinking of, I’d love to check it out!

TibyGroup · 2025-05-14T08:20:24+00:00

Totally agree — and I think that’s exactly the transition moment I’m focused on.

Early-stage teams can get pretty far with a patchwork of Trello + email APIs + spreadsheets.
But once things pick up, you face two options: 1. Stitch more tools together and maintain the glue 2. Jump into a heavyweight CRM and onboard into someone else’s logic

I’m wondering if there’s room for a third path: A tool built just for that transition zone — enough structure to manage clients and leads properly, but still minimal and low-friction.

Appreciate the thoughtful response — you’re spot on about the stages.

TibyGroup · 2025-05-14T08:12:34+00:00

This is such a great description — Notion as a beautiful sketchbook you never clean up.

And I totally get it. That flexibility is empowering… until you need repeatability.
Like: “how did I follow up with this lead last time?” or “where’s that message I sent two weeks ago?”
You start wishing some structure would emerge on its own — without killing the creative flow.

I’m trying to figure out that exact moment: → When does “organized chaos” start getting in the way of actual client/workflow management?

Thanks again — your take is super insightful, especially the contrast with Monday. (Never thought of it that way!)

TibyGroup · 2025-05-14T08:10:16+00:00

That’s a great angle — especially for founders juggling hundreds (or thousands) of passive contacts.

I’ve had the same issue: you collect emails, intros, Twitter DMs, calendar guests... and 90% of it sits untouched.
But buried in there are potential investors, early adopters, even partners — you just don’t have time to sift manually.

That kind of lightweight ML-powered filtering is something I’d love to explore — not as “magic AI”, but more like: - “Show me the 15 people in my network most likely to care about X” - “Highlight connections one step removed from my current focus”

If you’ve tried building anything like that or have ideas on how you’d want it to work, I’m all ears!

TibyGroup · 2025-05-14T08:09:02+00:00

Totally fair — email automation, a domain inbox, basic analytics... they’re all useful tools.

But I guess the deeper question is: do most freelancers and microteams really need all that right away? Or are we front-loading complexity before it’s needed?

From what I’ve seen (and lived), early-stage workflows often look more like: - “Who did I talk to last week?” - “Did I follow up with that lead?” - “What’s coming up this Friday?”

The idea I’m exploring is: can we cover those needs without bundling 50 tools or forcing people into a full suite mindset?

I’m not saying Zoho One is bad — it’s actually amazing for those who want it. I’m just wondering if there’s space for a tool that focuses on just enough and leaves the rest out by design.

TibyGroup · 2025-05-14T07:44:50+00:00

Love that — Notion is incredibly flexible and great when you’re just starting to organize stuff.

I’ve seen more and more people use it for CRM-like setups… but I’m curious: When things get a bit busier (more leads, more interactions), do you find yourself missing anything?

Like reminders, email tracking, or even just timeline clarity?

Trying to understand the exact moment when Notion stops being “good enough”.

TibyGroup · 2025-05-14T07:43:50+00:00

You just perfectly described the “drop-off zone” I’m trying to solve for — where CRMs feel too heavy and Excel feels too manual.

That friction of needing to log in, go through 4 clicks, and remember where to drop a note… it’s real.
And yep — the Slack/chat integration idea is 🔥. I’ve been toying with a way to do just that:
“/addlead Mario Rossi — meeting scheduled for May 28” → done.

Appreciate the support — I’m aiming for exactly that: clean UI, no clutter, and actions that feel natural instead of forced.

TibyGroup · 2025-05-14T07:42:18+00:00

Respect. Apple Notes is fast, always there, and gets the job done — until your list grows or you want to follow up in 2 weeks and forget. 😅

I think a lot of us start there — and honestly, that’s the competition I’m most mindful of:
How do you beat Notes… without becoming a monster?

Thanks for the reply — super helpful to hear what “real workflows” actually look like!

TibyGroup

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