A solo founder grew Formula Bot on n8n instead of writing custom code
In plain words
Founder David runs data tool Formula Bot alone. He moved AI and data workflows from custom code into n8n.
What happened: Saves 20–30 hours a month on work that would normally need a bigger team.
Source: n8n.io ↗
How to do it yourself
Our suggested steps. The company didn't publish theirs.
- 1
List the scripts and Lambda functions you maintain by hand.
- 2
Map the steps a person does today and where the data lives.
- 3
Build the workflow in n8n + LLM and use the prompt below for the AI step.
- 4
Run it side by side with the manual process for a week and compare.
- 5
Switch over, keep a human check on edge cases, then automate the next task.
The instructions to give the AI
Paste this into n8n (the free plan is fine), swap the [brackets] for your details, and test it on a few real examples.
This is one part of the setup. It won't connect to your phone, inbox or other apps on its own; the steps above cover that.
Agent instructions (prompt)
Turn this user's question about their data into: 1) a SQL query for [schema], 2) a short explanation of the result. If the question is unclear, ask one question back.
[Highlighted] = replace with your own details before you run it.
What you should get back: "SELECT region, SUM(sales)… — Your top region last month was West, with $1.2M in sales."
Written by Quickly and Good, inspired by this case.
More detail: tools, prices and what you'll need
The company used: n8n + LLM
You could use: n8n + LLM
- n8n
Workflow automation that connects apps and adds AI steps; can be self-hosted.
Free to self-host (Community Edition); cloud: see pricing · Official site ↗
Prices from each tool's own pricing page, checked Oct 2026.
What you'll need
- ☐An automation tool (n8n, Make or Zapier)
- ☐Connections to each app involved (email, CRM, sheets, calendar)
- ☐An AI model account/API key
- ☐The agent instructions (prompt)
- ☐Error handling: what happens when a step fails
- ☐Testing with real data for a week
- ☐A human review step before anything goes out to customers
Can I do this myself?
Yes if you have built a Zapier/Make/n8n workflow before. If those words are new, hire a builder.
Similar cases
A small creator team made a nature documentary with free AI tools and shared every step
A finished 76-second short film using only free tools, with the full workflow and prompts shared.
A builder made a free past-papers site with 29,737 questions in one day
A live, free site with 29,737 questions from 26 boards and 5 entry tests, built in one day.
A video editor who can't code made a 30-second news recap in 20 minutes
About 15-20 minutes for a 30-second motion graphics edit that would take around 6 hours by hand.