Why I Built LinkedLead: A Letter from the Founder
From a BS Computer Science student to building a tool that helps researchers save thousands of dollars on data costs.
Published March 2, 2026
Hi, I’m Aurangzeb Abbas.
I’m currently a BS Computer Science student, but beyond the code and the classes, I’ve always been obsessed with one thing: efficiency.
If you’ve ever tried to do B2B research or scale a marketing campaign, you know the frustration. Data is expensive. Most professional tools charge you $500, $1,000, or even $5,000 a month to give you access to lists that—honestly—should be more accessible. I saw people struggling with these high costs, and I thought, "There has to be a better way for the community."
The Core Philosophy
The secret isn't in how much you spend; it's in how you manage your resources. LinkedLead was built to help you get $5,000 worth of data using nothing but free tiers and smart management.
The "Multi-Key" Hack (How to 10x Your Data for Free)
Here is the truth that most agencies won't tell you: Platforms like Apify give you a $5 monthly free quota. On its own, that allows for a decent amount of research. But what if you could orchestrate 5, 10, or even 20 keys simultaneously?
I built LinkedLead to be the central brain for these keys. You bring your free-tier keys, and our platform rotates them automatically. This means:
- Zero Markup: You pay the data provider directly (or use their free tier), and we provide the management software.
- Scale for Free: By spreading the load across multiple free keys, you can achieve enterprise-level scraping volume without the enterprise-level bill.
- Proprietary Caching: Once you scrape it, you own it. You never pay for the same data twice.
Helping You Win on the Free Plan
I know many of you are just starting out. That’s why I designed our Free Plan to be actually useful—not just a placeholder.
| The "Repeat & Win" Strategy |
|---|
Step 1: Scrape & Save Save your first batch of profiles to your collection. |
Step 2: Export your Data Export your list to CSV or Excel for your outreach/work. |
Step 3: Clear & Repeat Delete the profiles from LinkedLead once you have your export. Your limit resets, and you can scrape a whole new batch for free! |
My Promise to You
I didn’t build this to be another "salesy" corporate tool. I built this for students, entrepreneurs, and researchers who need high-quality data but don’t have a billion-dollar VC budget.
Every feature I add—from the tracker system to the multi-key manager—is designed to put power back into your hands. This is my way of contributing to the dev and marketing community while I finish my CS degree.
Let’s build something great together.
— Aurangzeb Abbas
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