Article

The Rise and Fall of 11x: A Cautionary Tale

ML Notes (Substack) · mlnotes.substack.com

Connects the 11x saga to broader lessons about buying AI tools on vibes.

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It answers 2 questions

  1. Should I buy an AI SDR, or keep prospecting human?
  2. Do AI SDRs actually work, or are they hype?

Read with it

  1. The investigation that punctured AI SDR hype: 70-80% churn and phantom customers at the category poster child. techcrunch.com Article a16z- and Benchmark-backed 11x has been claiming customers it doesn't have TechCrunch
  2. A CFO's read on inflated AI ARR, teaching you to interrogate vendor traction claims. onlycfo.io Article AI Company Accused of Fraud? OnlyCFO
  3. A sober cost-benefit analysis from a vendor with no AI SDR to sell you. usergems.com Article Are AI SDRs really worth it? UserGems
  4. Frames the human-vs-AI split in outbound with Sam Blond's practical examples. saastr.com Article Outbound Isn't Dead. AI Just Radically Changed How It Works. SaaStr
  5. The Artisan founder's own GTM story, useful for judging the company behind the AI SDR pitch. open.spotify.com Podcast 1st-time AI founder grows from $0 to $1.3M ARR in 8 months | Jaspar Carmichael-Jack (Artisan) A Product Market Fit Show
  6. The 'Stop Hiring Humans' founder walking back to a hybrid position, revealing where the tech really is. techcrunch.com Podcast Don't stop hiring humans, stop hiring the wrong humans (Artisan, TechCrunch podcast) TechCrunch (Build Mode)
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