Nate Herk is one of the fastest-rising names in the AI automation space. Goldman Sachs Business Intelligence analyst turned full-time AI educator — it’s a credible origin story, and the free AI Automation Society community he built on Skool to 300,000+ members demonstrates genuine audience trust.
AI Automation Society Plus is the paid tier of that community. $99 per month, or $839 per year. The question is whether it delivers enough beyond the free version to justify the ongoing subscription — and whether the underlying business model it teaches is as accessible as the marketing suggests.
First — This Is Important
Hey, I’m Mark. 15+ years reviewing online business programmes. Before the full breakdown — the model I personally recommend for building real recurring online income is below.
👉 My #1 Recommendation for Building a Real Online Income
Key Takeaways
- AI Automation Society Plus is a $99/month (or $839/year) Skool community by Nate Herk teaching AI automation agency building using n8n, Make.com, and related no-code tools
- Nate Herk (Herkelman) graduated from the University of Iowa with degrees in Business Analytics and Marketing, then worked as a Business Intelligence Analyst at Goldman Sachs before leaving in November 2024
- The free AI Automation Society has 300,000+ members — one of the largest AI communities on Skool globally
- Plus membership includes 90+ workflow templates, weekly live Q&A, Slack community, monthly workshops, and a One Person AI Agency course
- 5-day refund policy — short but exists
- Nate claims to have earned $231,000 in a single month — flag this as an income outlier, not a typical result
- Verdict: Strong content for learning AI automation fundamentals — the business model requires significant market knowledge and sales skill not fully covered in the curriculum
👉 My #1 Recommendation for Building a Real Online Income
Who Is Nate Herk?
Nate Herk (full name: Nate Herkelman) built his brand through YouTube, where he posts genuinely useful tutorials on n8n automation workflows. Before creating content, he worked as a Business Intelligence Analyst — including time at Goldman Sachs — where his day-to-day involved process efficiency and automation systems. That background is directly relevant to what he teaches.
He left Goldman Sachs in November 2024 to pursue AI automation full-time. He founded TrueHorizon AI (his agency), Uppit AI (a platform), and AI Automation Society. The timeline is recent — he’s been building this brand for roughly 18 months at the time of writing.
His credibility comes primarily from his YouTube content, which demonstrates genuine technical knowledge. Unlike many course creators who sell lifestyle first and education second, Nate’s content is substantive and functional — the tutorials work, and his audience of 300,000 free members reflects real trust in the content quality.
What Is AI Automation Society Plus?
The free AI Automation Society is enormous — 300,000+ members on Skool. AI Automation Society Plus is the paid upgrade, adding structured courses, more advanced templates, live coaching, and the One Person AI Agency business track.
What Plus members get:
- 90+ AI workflow templates (Zapier, Make, n8n, custom GPT agents) — updated regularly
- Full curriculum on AI agents, vector databases, APIs, and Supabase
- Step-by-step tutorials of Nate’s YouTube builds in structured course format
- Weekly live Q&A with Nate and guest experts
- Monthly deep-dive workshops (2 hours on focused topics)
- Private Slack community with direct access to Nate
- One Person AI Agency course — building and selling automation services
- Subs to Sales course — content-to-client pipeline
- 500+ software discounts, including $1,000 in Airtable credits and $2,000 in Google Cloud credits
- Job listings for freelancers seeking AI automation work
- Monthly giveaways over $6,500 in value
The template library is the primary differentiator from the free tier. Real-world automation workflows you can import directly and adapt for client work or internal business use represent significant time value — building these from scratch could take weeks.
The Income Claim: What $231,000 a Month Actually Means
Nate’s headline income figure is $231,000 in a single month. It’s used as proof of what the model can achieve.
This is worth addressing directly. A $231,000 month is a remarkable outcome that very few practitioners in any field achieve. Citing it as a benchmark sets an expectation that most students will not reach — and the honest context is that Nate’s income likely includes significant revenue from AI Automation Society Plus subscriptions themselves, not just automation agency client work.
David Kim’s $385,000 contract is cited as a student result — again, an outlier case study rather than an average outcome. The programme is careful to describe these as success stories rather than guarantees, which is the right framing. But in the make money online space, readers tend to anchor to the headline figure.
Realistic expectations for most people following this model: learning automation skills takes months of genuine practice. Building a client base for automation services requires active marketing and sales work that the curriculum addresses but does not automate. A first client in 3–6 months of dedicated effort is a more honest benchmark than $231,000 in a month.
The Business Model Reality
AI automation services are genuinely in demand. Businesses pay for workflows that reduce manual work, automate reporting, connect their software stack, and streamline client communication. The market is real.
The challenge Scamrisk’s review of the programme correctly identifies: this is an advanced technical skill set that goes significantly beyond “no-code.” n8n, APIs, vector databases, Supabase — these require genuine learning investment. Students who arrive expecting plug-and-play income will hit a wall.
The sales and marketing side is also genuinely difficult. Finding clients who need automation services, convincing them of the ROI, scoping and pricing projects correctly, and managing delivery — none of this is automated by the tools Nate teaches. The programme’s One Person AI Agency course covers client acquisition, but the fundamentals of selling a technical service to non-technical clients is a skill that takes time to develop regardless of how good the curriculum is.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs BI analyst background — genuinely relevant credentials | $231,000/month income claim is an outlier — sets unrealistic benchmarks |
| 300,000+ free community members — real audience trust validated externally | 5-day refund window is short for a monthly subscription |
| 90+ templates that import directly — real time value | Learning curve is significant — n8n, APIs, vector databases require real study |
| $99/month is accessible price for the content volume | Sales and client acquisition skills not fully covered by technical curriculum |
| Weekly live calls with Nate — accessible for a community at this size | Income primarily from subscriptions, not just agency work — relevant context |
| 500+ software discounts partially offset subscription cost |
Is AI Automation Society Plus Worth It?
At $99/month, the entry barrier is low enough to justify trying it — particularly given the 5-day refund window, the template library value, and the software discounts. If you’re genuinely interested in AI automation skills for either client work or internal business use, the curriculum is among the more substantive in this space.
The honest caveat: the business model Nate teaches requires real skill development, real sales effort, and realistic time expectations. If you’re approaching this as a fast path to significant income, the gap between the headline claims and the typical student journey will be frustrating. If you approach it as a skill-building investment with a 6–12 month horizon before meaningful client income, the value proposition is considerably stronger.
What to Do Instead
If you want income that doesn’t require mastering n8n workflows and pitching automation projects to sceptical business owners, the model I recommend builds passive online income through a simpler mechanism — one that compounds over time without the technical maintenance demands of automation client work.
Final Verdict
AI Automation Society Plus is a legitimate, well-structured community backed by a creator with genuine technical credentials. The content is real, the templates are useful, and Nate Herk is authentically present in the community.
The headline income claims set unrealistic expectations, and the business model is more demanding than the marketing implies. But at $99/month with a 5-day trial window and meaningful software discounts, the risk of testing it is relatively low.
Go in as a skills investment, not an income shortcut — and AI Automation Society Plus is worth your time.
👉 My #1 Recommendation for Building a Real Online Income
FAQ
How much does AI Automation Society Plus cost? $99/month or $839/year. The free AI Automation Society community has 300,000+ members and is separate.
Who is Nate Herk? Former Goldman Sachs Business Intelligence Analyst. University of Iowa graduate with Business Analytics and Marketing degrees. Left corporate in November 2024 to build his AI automation brand full-time.
What tools does the programme cover? n8n, Make.com, Zapier, Airtable, ChatGPT (custom agents), vector databases, APIs, Supabase, and more.
What is the refund policy? 5-day refund guarantee. Short window — decide quickly if the content isn’t right for you.
Is the $231,000/month income realistic for students? No — this is an outlier figure, likely including subscription revenue from the community itself. Realistic first-year outcomes for dedicated students are much more modest.
Mark is the founder of MarksInsights and has spent 15+ years testing online business programs and tools. He focuses on honest, experience-based reviews that help people avoid scams and find real, sustainable ways to make money online.