First, check out my new promo video. Then let’s talk about how the new AI video tools can help your startup build awareness, and success, faster:

The technology is incredible—and we get numb fast.

We acclimate to miracles. I showed this to our teenage son and he’s like, yeah, AI video, whatever. But the fact that, with a just a few prompts, I can create convincing—dare I say impressive—footage (including a goat vomiting at Caesar’s feet…scene mercifully cut) is still jaw-dropping.

In theory, the production process is straightforward.

1. Nail the idea.

2. Iterate in ChatGPT on the script + shot list.

3. Generate clips with a video generator like Google’s Veo 3.

4. Assemble in iMovie / CapCut.

In reality, making a great video is still harder than you think.

It turns out that the path from decent to great is still challenging. My final output still leaves lots to be desired, and even getting to this took hours of experimentation. Generating the scenes you want is often an exercise in prompt trial-and-error. If you want the same character and look across shots, it’s even harder. Then there’s the editing, the sound effects, the voiceover intonation, and most importantly, having everything build to making exactly the point you want to make, and doing so powerfully. It makes you realize and appreciate how much skill and experience goes into producing the content you see every day. Audiences’ expectations have also risen with production values; what would have crushed in 1990 is baseline now.

AI advertising is misleading.

Every AI company hypes their products by touting magical results from a few half-baked prompts. While the rote, tedious, and resource-intensive work has been rolled up and automated for you, what that does is it elevates, not diminishes, the importance of your initial thinking. Garbage in, garbage out still holds true.

The revolution is not that you can be effective while being lazy. The true revolution of AI is that sharp ideas compound faster. That’s why everyone in Silicon Valley is waiting for the first single-employee startup unicorn. And they’re still waiting—it takes more than a half-wit typing “create me a billion-dollar idea” into Perplexity. It will be a next-level founder who is able to amplify piercing insight using new technology.

Get inspired.

Here are some AI-created videos that inspired me to try it out for myself. I have issues with each of these, but they all amply illustrate the incredible power that marketers now possess.

StartX’s very own Huang Song and his Typeless launch video. Be sure to read his how-to explainer.

The Power of Genelle and The Power of Chris by8x8.

PJ Ace’s newsletter is good reading. Check out his ads for KLED AI, Lindy, and Kalshi.

You Have the Power

Agency, control, and power is concentrating at the top of the organizational pyramid. It used to feel somewhat insightful to see how a founder’s personality was reflected through an organization. Increasingly, the founder IS the organization. Be the smartest and work with the smartest, and it’s remarkable how much you can accomplish without leaving your laptop.