No.
You don't need a CRM.
Why
Fewer than 10 inquiries/month from a single channel (LinkedIn) handled by one person (you) is not a pipeline — it's a list you should know by heart. A CRM at this stage becomes another tab you'll abandon by week three. What you actually lack is a place these conversations live outside LinkedIn's DM rot, and a rhythm for following up before the lead forgets they messaged you.
What you actually need
- LinkedIn "My Network" → Messaging stars (free) — star every active inquiry thread. That's your inbox until volume forces something better.
- Notion database with kanban view (free) — one database called "Inquiries", columns: Name, LinkedIn URL, What they want, Last contact, Next follow-up, Status (New / Talking / Trial / Closed / Dead). Kanban by Status.
- A habit — the Tuesday/Friday 20-minute sweep — twice a week, open Notion and LinkedIn, message anyone whose "Next follow-up" date has passed, update statuses. Done.
Do this today
Open Notion → "+ New page" → "/database - full page" → name it "Inquiries 2026" → add the six properties listed above (Status as a Select with the five options, Next follow-up as a Date). Switch to Board view grouped by Status. Then paste in every LinkedIn conversation from the last 60 days that isn't dead. By tonight you'll see in one glance who's waiting on you.
What to ignore
Skip HubSpot Free, Pipedrive ($24/seat/mo), and Attio — all built for teams with multi-stage pipelines and forecasting needs you don't have as a solo founder doing <10/mo. Ignore any LinkedIn outreach tool (Apollo, Lemlist, Expandi) trying to sell you "scale" — you don't have a volume problem, you have a follow-through problem, and automating outreach makes that worse.
What doing nothing costs you
At <10 LinkedIn inquiries/month, every dropped follow-up is 10%+ of your month's pipeline. For a solo SaaS founder, the cost isn't lost revenue you can name yet — it's the compounding signal that you're not serious, which kills referrals before they start.
Where this leaves you
You've got a Notion database, two weekly sweeps, and a star system in LinkedIn DMs. The plan would add the message templates for each Status transition (cold reply, trial nudge, ghost revive), the exact Tuesday/Friday checklist tuned to your timezone, and what to do the week you skip the sweep — because solo founders always skip week three.
When to revisit this
When you cross 30 inquiries/month or sign your first teammate who also talks to leads.