In September 2024, Nate Herk published his first YouTube video. He didn’t have a big plan, just curiosity about AI automation and a desire to document what he was learning as a non-coder while building credibility in the industry.
What started as a side project quickly gained momentum. Within two months, Nate left his full-time job at Goldman Sachs to focus entirely on building innovative automation systems.
Today, his agency brings in up to 8 qualified inbound leads every day, and the workflows behind that growth are powered by tools like Apify - from lead scraping and proposal preparation to live data monitoring for clients.
Where it all began
Nate started in business intelligence at Goldman Sachs, building internal automations using tools like Alteryx. He had no background in coding but enjoyed the problem-solving side of creating systems that could run hands-free.
Eventually, he hit a wall - traditional automation could handle rules and logic, but not judgment or decision-making. That limitation led him to explore what AI could do.
I loved the puzzle of connecting data and building systems that ran hands-free and delivered daily value. But traditional automation hit a ceiling when tasks required reasoning rather than simple logic. That limitation led me to AI.
-- Nate Herk
He began experimenting, combining AI with automation, and sharing his discoveries on YouTube.
Growth fueled by content
Nate didn’t plan for his YouTube channel to drive growth. But by mid-November, it had gained enough traction to support his move into full-time entrepreneurship.
By June 2025, the channel had grown to 230,000+ subscribers, attracting a steady flow of high-intent leads, from solo founders to 8-figure companies.
That visibility became the foundation of his agency. The next step: building systems that could scale.
A quick look at how Apify fits into Nate’s automation stack.
Why web scraping matters
AI agents are only as effective as the data they access. Pre-trained models have limits, and that’s where Apify comes in.
You can’t build adaptive systems with static knowledge. Without tools like Apify, workflow automation is stuck with stale or incomplete data.
-- Nate Herk
Nate discovered Apify while researching scraping tools on YouTube. What stood out was Apify Store, which offers thousands of ready-to-use tools (called Actors) for platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, and more.
Instead of building custom scrapers, Nate could plug in an Actor, connect it to his workflow, and start pulling live data right away.
Nate’s three key Apify automations
Apify isn’t just part of Nate’s experiments. It powers revenue-driving workflows in his business:
Lead research agents
When a lead comes in through the form, a backend automation is triggered that uses Apify Actors to scrape public data from platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube, and company websites. This powers a personalized email or outreach message that feels handcrafted, but is fully automated.
Proposal generation
Before a sales call, internal automation scrapes the prospective client’s digital footprint and generates a custom proposal brief. This helps tailor the pitch with relevant data and improves close rates.
Client delivery agents
AI agents to monitor changes in a client's competitor landscape and industry trends. These agents run on a schedule and notify clients, or update dashboards with fresh insights, giving them a strategic edge and improving retention.
Growing a global community
As the channel grew, Nate launched a paid private community: AI Automation Society Plus. Built on Skool, it's a global space for automation learners — from marketers and solopreneurs to complete non-coders.
Tools like Apify make it approachable for people who aren’t engineers, and that’s been core to the mission: democratizing AI through education and accessibility.
-- Nate Herk
What’s been especially meaningful for Nate is how global and connected the community has become. With members from the U.S., Germany, India, Brazil, Australia, and more, it has led to real friendships, collaborations, and even in-person meetups at AI conferences and hackathons.
With tools like Apify, even those without a technical background can build real automations, aligning with the mission to make AI more accessible to everyone.
Apify remains central to many scraping workflows in the community, supporting a culture of learning, experimenting, and building together.
Where things are going
In early 2025, Nate partnered with two co-founders to launch True Horizon, a hybrid AI consulting and product studio. The goal is to move beyond custom client work and build scalable systems, such as reusable automation templates and micro-SaaS tools.
At the same time, Nate is focusing on education, helping non-coders build powerful automations with tools like Apify, n8n, and Make. He aims to bridge the gap between technical innovation and everyday problem-solving.
Through the Apify Affiliate program, Nate has helped more people discover practical automation, proving that sharing the right tools can create real momentum for everyone.
Want to grow with us? Apply to the Apify Affiliate program.
