In this video, we’re diving into the winning submission from our very first AI Automation Society Plus community hackathon, where the top prize was $5,000. Out of hundreds of participants, the winner was @Azim K, a high school student who had only been experimenting with AI and automation tools for about six months. In our interview, Azim walks us through the mental health web app he built, which used Vapi for the voice agent, n8n for the back-end workflows, and Bolt.new for the front-end web app. He explains how he approached the challenge, the decisions behind his build, and what he plans to do next. This conversation is both inspiring and practical, showing what’s possible when you combine creativity with the power of AI automation. Want to compete for $6,000 total in cash prizes every month? Become a Plus member

Most people think “putting in the work” means life suddenly gets easy.That once you start, the challenges magically disappear. It’s the opposite. Putting in the work means showing up even when it’s hard.Even when you doubt yourself.Even when the results aren’t instant. Back on May 16, I landed my very first client.They paid me $340 for a simple lead qualification system. It felt like the world to me. Fast forward to now — I average $6,000+ every month building automation systems for clients. Here’s just a glimpse of what I’ve built so far: - Solar Lead qualification system — $340 - Lead reactivation sequence — $2,400 - Funnel for a life insurance agent (recruits & qualifies both agents + policies) — $1,500 - Another funnel (same niche) — $1,500 - Chatbot for an insurance website — $400 - Email outreach agent with follow-up + deep personalization — $4,000 - Academic paper experiment system using fictitious emails — $3,200 - Abandoned cart recovery system — $4,000 - Voice Agent(VAPI + N8N MCP) for a Dubai based Real estate company -- $1000 - Plus, over $1,500 in digital product n8n template sales And none of it came easy.There were challenges. Rebuilds. Silent weeks. Rejections. But I kept building. I’m sharing this to say: AI and automation can actually make you real money — if you put in the work. If you’re just starting out, don’t get discouraged by slow days or small wins.Every system you build, every skill you sharpen, compounds. Keep going.Your $340 moment could be the start of your $6K months. 💰

Excited to share that I’ve officially signed my first automation client! This is a performance-based deal—I earn 5% of all closed deals they generate through the automations I set up. They paid a $340 setup fee (not huge, but a start!), and now the real test begins. If this works, it’ll prove that:✅ Businesses see value in automation✅ Performance-based pricing can be a win-win✅ The hustle is paying off This is just the beginning, but it’s a sign that the system works. Onward and upward! #Automation #FirstClient #HustlePaysOff #Entrepreneur

Just wrapped up a 1-month project ($500/month retainer) building an abandoned cart recovery system for a Shopify store, and honestly? I probably undercharged. But here's why it was worth every hour... The System I Built: - Multi-channel recovery: Voice calls → SMS sequences → Email follow-ups - Real-time order tracking with purchase detection - Smart deduplication to prevent spam - AI-powered customer responses via GPT integration - Comprehensive analytics and tracking - Automated unsubscribe handling Key Features: ✅ Voice AI calls within 15 minutes of abandonment ✅ 3-stage SMS sequence with discount codes ✅ Intelligent customer reply handling ✅ Cross-platform order matching (prevents duplicate messaging) ✅ Real-time purchase detection to stop campaigns ✅ Automatic "do not call" list management (Screenshots attached so you can see the actual workflow complexity) The Results (Just 2 Weeks): - 23 carts recovered - $2,850 in recovered revenue - Strong conversion rate on qualified abandonments The Real Lesson: Sure, I could have charged 2x more for this complexity. But working with real production data and high-volume traffic taught me things no test environment could: - How to handle edge cases at scale - Real customer behavior patterns - Performance optimization under load - Data consistency across multiple touchpoints Now I have a battle-tested system I can confidently sell to other high-volume stores for 2-4x the original price. Takeaway: Sometimes the projects that don't pay your full worth become the foundation for systems that do. When you're building in production with real data, every bug you fix and every optimization you make adds value to your future offerings. The store owner got an enterprise-level system for a fraction of market rate. I got a proven automation blueprint worth tens of thousands in future revenue. Not every client will pay what you're worth, but every project can teach you something valuable if you let it.

Huge shoutout to the Top 5 Members of AI Automation Society for July! These are the people leading the way, sharing knowledge, and helping spread the AIS culture: 1️⃣ @Titus Blair – Absolutely crushing it this month! 💪 2️⃣ @Michael Wacht 3️⃣ @Yash Chauhan 4️⃣ @Ilya Emeliyanov 5️⃣ @Shashee Dean And a special mention to @Rodrigo Santos, who landed in 6th place and just missed the Top 5. We’re rooting for you to break through next month! 👏 Keep contributing, sharing wins, and helping others grow! Our community gets better because of you. Let’s keep building, keep learning, and keep spreading that AIS energy. 🚀 Cheers, Nate