TL;DR: Bootstrapped Indian founders can now automate lead gen and customer support using Custom GPTs—zero cost, zero code. All you need is ChatGPT (free or Plus) and this playbook.
Right now, early-stage Indian startups can’t afford large sales or support teams. Hiring SDRs? Too expensive. Buying CRMs and bots? Out of budget. But guess what—ChatGPT’s new Custom GPTs feature just unlocked game-changing automation at ₹0, perfect for India’s frugal founders.
How to Build a Custom GPT for Leads & FAQs in <₹0
Here’s a tactical guide to build your own GPT-based Sales + Support assistant using Free or ChatGPT Plus (₹1660/month optional):
- Step 1: Go to chat.openai.com/create and click “Create a GPT”.
- Step 2: Describe your startup and target audience in natural language. Example: “You are a support bot for a B2B SaaS tool targeting D2C founders in India. Handle onboarding queries + generate cold email templates.”
- Step 3: Upload an FAQ doc / brochure / pricing PDF so the Custom GPT can reference it.
- Step 4: Add key actions. Tell GPT it should: 1) Answer product questions, 2) Write cold emails using {Company, Use case}, 3) Suggest LinkedIn post hooks.
- Step 5: Share the GPT with your team or embed the link into your site as a support widget (via GPT share).
Voila! You now have a mini-SDR + support rep working 24×7, without hiring or engineering.
The Strategic Power of Lean AI Automation
This isn’t just about saving time. For early-stage founders, Custom GPTs mean faster validation loops, fewer support tickets, and warmer top-of-funnel leads. You get to scale conversations before scaling headcount. In India’s brutal zero-to-one landscape, that’s your moat.
Companies like Meesho and Razorpay made brutal efficiency a culture. You can now replicate that mindset using Custom GPTs to simulate feedback flows, user onboarding, and content assets—all before your first hire.
How to Apply This in Your Startup
- List your 10 most common product/feature questions. Feed them into a Custom GPT.
- Write 5 cold outreach prompts based on your ICP. Train GPT to generate variants.
- Replace your site chat widget with a GPT share link. Capture leads and FAQs live.
- Iterate weekly: Review how GPT responded and update its knowledge files.
Key Takeaways
- ChatGPT Custom GPTs are free tools Indian founders can deploy in 1 hour
- No code, no API, no team needed—great for sales and support automation
- This helps you validate, automate, and grow lean before hiring
Trend Signal: Based on High signals from Reddit + OpenAI launch. Urgency: 10/10
Sources: Reddit: India’s founders are automating lead gen using ChatGPT, OpenAI launches custom GPTs
