Gorgias
San Francisco, CA
8
$50K–$60K
$75K–$90K
Outbound Tech Stack
Team Structure
Automation-first: built AI email system before hiring first SDR. 8 SDRs approve and personalize AI-generated outreach, handle replies.
Gorgias flipped the script. They built their entire outbound automation system BEFORE hiring their first SDR. The result: 5,000+ unique AI emails per day at $0.002/email across 900 inboxes. SDRs don't write emails — they review AI drafts, approve sends, and handle replies. One AI sequence drove +150% more positive replies than their old templates.
What Makes Gorgias’s Outbound Interesting
Gorgias took the automation-first approach to its logical extreme: build the machine, then hire the operators.
Automation Before Headcount
Most companies hire SDRs, then buy tools. Gorgias reversed it:
- Built the AI email generation system
- Built the signal-based targeting (Clay)
- Built the feedback loop (PromptLayer)
- THEN hired SDRs to operate the machine
The AI Email System
The three-layer architecture:
- Research Layer: Clay pulls real-time signals — hiring activity, tech stack changes, events, company news
- Generation Layer: 400-500 line structured prompts feed GPT-4o-mini. Each email is unique, not a template variation
- Review Layer: SDRs approve sends, LLM categorizes replies, feedback loop improves prompts weekly
Scale and Economics
- 900 cold email inboxes managed simultaneously
- 5,000+ unique AI emails per day
- $0.002 per email generation cost
- +150% positive reply rate vs. old templates
The Philosophy
“Automate the process, not the conversation.” AI writes the first touch. Humans handle the reply. This preserves authenticity where it matters most — in the actual conversation.
Key Metrics
- 8 SDRs (lean team, heavy automation)
- 5,000+ unique emails/day via AI
- 900 inboxes at scale
- $0.002/email cost
- +150% reply rate improvement with AI sequences
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