He Cut 4 Hours of Daily Sales Research to 10 Minutes | Sushant Pandey, Prava Payments

In this episode, Sushant shares a detailed walkthrough of how they’ve built and optimized Hermes AI agent like called Yumiko to automate and improve lead generation and business workflows. Learn how cutting-edge tools are making it easier for startups to scale prospecting and outreach in minutes, not hours.Main topics:* Manual vs. automated lead sourcing: the evolution* Setting up Hermes AI agent: step-by-step process* Integrating tools like Google Cloud, Composio, Apify, Crust Data, and more* How Hermes learns and improves over time through self-updating skills* Cost considerations and infrastructure setup for startups* Ensuring lead quality and avoiding hallucinations* Practical steps for deploying a lead-generation AI in 20 minutesTimestamps:00:00 - How Sushant automated his lead sourcing process using Hermes02:08 - The pain points with manual LinkedIn prospecting and outreach03:04 - How Hermes searches, gathers, and organizes leads automatically04:11 - The importance of giving context to AI agents for precision05:15 - Limitations of tools like Apollo and manual lead vetting06:38 - Setting up virtual machines on Google Cloud easily08:15 - How Hermes learns and refines its lead-finding skill over time09:01 - Adding proactive lead alerts and social post monitoring10:21 - The orchestration engine powering multiple AI agents working together11:44 - Demonstration of Yumiko, the AI executive assistant, in action12:48 - Managing meetings, contacts, and data without manual input14:10 - Tools like Composio, Crustdata, and EXA for enriched lead data15:58 - Self-updating skills make Hermes more accurate over time16:36 - Common mistakes and safety guardrails during automation18:22 - How AI agents can send emails, but with safeguards20:27 - Infrastructure setup: virtual machine configurations and APIs23:00 - Connecting Hermes to messaging gateways like Telegram and Slack24:34 - Cost analysis: infrastructure + API credits, budget-friendly options34:44 - Ensuring lead authenticity and avoiding hallucinations36:24 - How simple and accessible deploying AI-based lead gen has become38:13 - Final tips for non-technical founders to set up in 20 minutes39:02 - The future of AI agents acting as virtual team membersResources & Links:* Hermes* Composio* Crust Data* Exa Search API* Apollo* SimpleClaw (easy setup virtual machine service)Connect with Sushant:* LinkedIn* TwitterNote:This methodology demonstrates that with minimal setup—roughly $50/month in cloud and API costs—any startup can automate lead sourcing within minutes, making outreach smarter and scalable. Whether you’re technical or not, the ecosystem options now support effortless deployment. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shippingwithai.substack.com