Hedra’s Founder: Build the MVP, There’s No Excuse Anymore

Welcome to our series featuring creators across industries who share the small and big ways to just get started. This week we’re speaking with Michael Lingelbach, Stanford researcher turned a16z-backed founder of Hedra, the AI video generation platform that's redefining creative expression – like the internet famous Baby Podcasts you probably saw.

Michael went from Stanford researcher to builder of one of the most talked-about AI companies in Silicon Valley. After diving deep into research and falling in love with entrepreneurship, he co-founded Hedra to pioneer character-consistent AI video generation. Now he's helping creators and businesses bring their wildest video ideas to life – including some from his most favorite comedian (a pinch me moment).

TL;DR

The ‘25 graduates just walked across the stage and into their new careers. How should recent grads think about their careers given the AI age?

Michael Lingelbach: AI is eating up junior roles because it can handle the rote labor people typically start with. Career progression now needs to be about co-working with AI or supervising it, because AI makes so many mistakes: from marketing copy to production code bugs.

Don't just copy and paste from ChatGPT, that's automatable. Use your critical thinking to build better pipelines, add quality control, and make AI a force multiplier, not a replacer.

What's your take on AI's current moment?

ML: There hasn't been a more exciting time to build a company. There are so many things that you haven't thought of that are problems that someone cares very deeply about.

Paul Graham had this really great essay where he talked about thinking about these problems that aren't at the forefront of your consciousness because the things that you hate doing are often things that don't want to think about. And that's paradoxically where you get the best ideas for businesses. So try to think about the things that you don't like in your job.

You've said "Build an MVP. There's No Excuse Anymore." What do you mean?

ML: The bar on AI coding tools is so low you can very quickly put together an MVP and then show it to people and get at least 50 people really excited. If you can't convince them on the spot to give you at least $10 a month, that business isn't going to work.

Best entrepreneurship advice you've gotten?

ML: Launch quickly, build for people who are willing to pay.

Worst advice you've heard for new founders?

ML: You don't need to hire a full-time designer yet.

Strangest Hedra videos?

ML: RedoLam and Baby Podcasts.

Take 1 hour using Michael's method:

• Week 1: Use AI coding tools to build basic MVP

• Week 2: Show it to 10 potential users

• Week 3: Get feedback and iterate quickly

• Week 4: Test pricing - can you get 50 people excited enough to pay $10/month?

• If no: pivot or kill the idea

• If yes: Congrats, you have a real business

Answers in bold

Any place or SF • Most used emoji: Facemelt • Theater kid or Tech bro • Music Genre: Indie • Research scientist or Entrepreneur • Favorite Show Ever Acted In: Grease • Tinkering on Products or Launching Products • Coding at 3AM or 3PM • Founder superpower: Caring deeply about the work • Build fast or Build perfect • Bucket List Country: Germany • Hidden talent: Singing • Entrepreneurship is endless work • Thing that never fails to make him laugh: questions about his free time 🫠

Follow his journey here.

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