AI in Go-To-Market: What Entrepreneurs Really Think

YFM hosted a portfolio event on  “AI in Go-To-Market,” bringing together 19 founders and senior leaders from across the portfolio,  alongside guest speaker Mark Walker, co-founder of RevvedUp.ai, to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming the way businesses build pipeline, engage customers and drive growth. 

Hosted by YFM, the session focused on practical insights rather than theory, drawing on Mark’s extensive experience in go-to-market strategy and AI-driven revenue operations. Without giving away his full presentation, the agenda covered key areas including common GTM challenges, what’s hot across go-to-market right now, the fundamentals that still matter, and how AI is being applied across pipeline generation, deal management, and creative workflows. 

The headline takeaway? The go-to-market playbook has changed dramatically. 

Traditional cold outbound is all but dead, even best-in-class email campaigns are now seeing response rates below 0.3%. Paid channels are increasingly expensive and noisy, while SEO has been fundamentally disrupted. The tactics that once built predictable pipelines simply don’t deliver the same results anymore – how can we tell which tools are actually delivering value? 

With vast experience in the room, we discussed the merits of specific tools – from list building to account intelligence and outbound cadencing – deciphering which are driving performance, and which just have great marketing! 

Rather than replacing human judgment, the most effective teams are learning to blend human creativity with AI-enabled efficiency. 

AI is proving powerful for research, prospecting and campaign optimisation, but the art of persuasion still depends on the human touch. As the group agreed, fully automated outreach tools have largely failed to deliver meaningful engagement. 

What’s working is a co-pilot approach, where AI handles the heavy lifting, analysing data, spotting buying signals, and speeding up workflows, while people focus on strategy, storytelling and relationships. 

Interestingly, while technology dominates the conversation, many of the most effective tactics are decidedly traditional. 

Events, gifting and account-based marketing (ABM) are making a strong comeback as businesses look for ways to cut through the digital noise. Micro-events such as VIP dinners, workshops and networking breakfasts are creating high-quality conversations that convert. 

Similarly, physical and digital gifting is re-emerging as a smart channel, delivering response rates of 5–40%, far above what’s possible via email. As one founder put it during the session, “If everyone’s hiding behind screens, sending something real can make all the difference.” 

Another consistent theme was list building. Poor-quality prospect data kills campaigns before they even start, while clean, verified contact lists remain one of the few sustainable competitive advantages in go-to-market execution. 

The consensus in the room: data deserves ownership. Investing in a dedicated role or process to manage, verify and enrich data can dramatically improve efficiency and ROI across sales and marketing. 

Focus on tools to provide you with account data first and then layer in contact data – they may come from different sources! 

Despite the explosion of AI tools and tech stacks, the session concluded with a reminder that strong fundamentals remain the cornerstone of great go-to-market. 

A clear Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), a compelling value proposition, and genuine alignment between sales and marketing teams still drive performance far more than any single platform or automation. 

As Michael Newton summarised, “AI won’t fix weak strategy, but it can supercharge the teams that have one.” 

A huge thanks to Mark Walker of RevvedUp.ai for sharing his expertise and sparking valuable discussion around how AI is reshaping go-to-market strategy.

His perspective, combined with the real-world experiences of our portfolio founders and leaders, made for an engaging, thought-provoking session that captured both the opportunities and realities of applying AI in commercial growth. 

This session is one of many ways YFM helps portfolio companies share what’s working, swap experiences and stay ahead of market trends.

To find out more or discuss future sessions, contact Michael Newton, Revenue Operations Lead.