Many founders repeat the same mistakes with Sora.
As a VC and serial founder, I see what's really happening with Sora behind the scenes. This is the insider perspective for for creators that you won't find on any news site.
The Counterintuitive Truth
In Sora, the best practitioners often do less, not more.
The lesson: the best solutions are often the simplest ones. It sounds simple. It's incredibly hard to execute.
The Reality Nobody Talks About
A lot of the advice on Sora rests on assumptions that made sense five years ago. The world has moved on.
The first thing to understand is that your team matters more than your technology. I've seen this play out across dozens of companies. The pattern is unmistakable.
Many teams spend months on the wrong path before realizing that most founders overthink this and underspend on execution. Once they make the switch, everything changes.
What I've Learned From 109 Companies
A few patterns in Sora come up again and again.
The founders who handle Sora well understand that your team matters more than your technology.
The Numbers Don't Lie
The gap between companies that take Sora seriously and those that don't is usually clear.
Investing early in Sora can be the difference between raising your next round and running out of runway.
One of my portfolio companies went from struggling to profitable in under a year after they finally got serious about this. The founder told me later that they wished they'd started sooner.
This connects to broader themes around Midjourney, image generation, AI video, AI art that I've been thinking about a lot lately.
Wrapping Up
I've shared a lot here, and I know it can feel overwhelming. But you don't need to get Sora right on day one. You just need to get started and keep improving.
Founders who do well at Sora tend to share one trait: they're relentlessly practical. They don't chase perfection. They chase progress.
That's the mindset I'd encourage you to adopt. Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. And keep pushing forward.
As always, I'm rooting for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:Do all experts agree with this view?
No, and that's fine. The best ideas in business are often contrarian. I share my perspective based on my experience and data, but I encourage you to seek out opposing viewpoints and form your own conclusions.
Q:How has this view evolved over time?
My thinking on most topics has changed significantly over the years. Early in my career, I held many conventional views that experience proved wrong. I try to update my beliefs when the evidence changes.
Q:What experience informs this perspective?
This perspective comes from over a decade of building companies in Silicon Valley, two successful exits (RemoteTeam to Gusto, MovieLaLa to Gfycat), and investing in 234 startups including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Scale AI. I write about what I've lived.
Q:How can I apply this thinking to my own situation?
Start by identifying the core principle behind the opinion, not the specific example. Then ask yourself: does this principle apply to my context? If yes, test it in a small, low-risk way before going all in.